Customer Reviews

A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions (John MacRae Books)

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"A Death in Brazil" is more than a mere personal memoir, travelogue, or political history. Rather, it combines all three, creating a whole that is more than the sum of its parts, a vivid, impressionistic tableau of Brazilian life and culture in which Robb interlaces past and present in a compelling, sometimes seamless manner.

If you've spent much time in Brazil, Robb's brushstrokes of local color will bring back many memories. In my case, "A Death in Brazil" evoked a scary taxi ride in Maceio in Brazil's northeast in 1989; the mold encrusting the walls of a cheap hotel in Salvador in 1984, flavoring the room with a smell that I can still detect almost as soon as I set foot in the country; the protests for eleicoes direitas ja (direct elections now) in 1984, toward the end of military rule. Even the cover photo, of old pastel houses and people lingering aimlessly in their doorways to escape the stifling indoor heat, brings back memories of Rio de Janeiro's Gloria neighborhood, where in 1984 my hotel charged U.S. $3.20 a day for a room with intermittent air conditioning (depending on the mood of the reception desk) and private bath (thankfully with a gas-powered hot shower, rather than the uncertain chuveiro eletrico with wires dangling ominously behind the shower head, which always forced a choice between the promise of hot water and the possibility of sudden electrocution). The last time I was in Rio, in 2000, the hotel was more like $40 a day, and it had installed bulletproof glass to protect the reception desk from street crime. Armed violence is now a serious problem in urban Brazil; the urbane news presenter Boris Casoy devotes much of the Record Network television news to it. I went to Brazil twice in 2000, but a daily dose of the "Jornal da Record" newscast on satellite TV is scaring me from returning.

For those who know little about the country, much of what Robb describes may seem mysterious, as though he were venturing into the Africa of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." Speaking of which, Robb's encyclopedic knowledge encompasses a mention of Conrad's voyage to the Congo River on the "Ville de Maceio" in 1890, and allows him to bring in figures ranging from Roger Casement to Fernando Ramos da Silva, the star of the critically acclaimed 1981 movie "Pixote, a lei do mais fraco."

Not only is Robb extremely knowledgeable, but his writing is first-rate (why does the British Commonwealth continue to produce so much fine and subtle writing?). He fills his narrative with imagery like this: "It was dark now, so damp the air was palpable, and silent outside. The smell of rank plaster filled the little room. It was peeling off the blue-washed walls in foamy patches. . . . In the world outside a fine and soundless rain was falling and a scarf of tiny droplets floated under the bulb of a yellow streetlight." (Pp. 305-306.)

Robb's political perspective is to the left of mine and probably that of most American readers. As a result, I occasionally found fault with aspects of his book. Robb rhapsodizes over Lula (Luis Inacio Lula da Silva), the current Brazilian president, but suggests, explicitly or implicitly, that Lula's predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, was a neoliberal who did much to placate international capital and little to ease Brazil's vast disparities in wealth and income. I think the election of Lula is of enormous historical importance and has the potential to bring revolutionary change to relations between the developed and less-developed worlds. But I regret the portrayal of Cardoso, a distinguished centrist whose achievements include taming inflation, an astonishing feat that benefits Lula's administration every day. The Brazilian currency, the real, is essentially stable against the U.S. dollar, and that too is thanks to Cardoso, and to Lula's continuation of many of Cardoso's policies.

Nevertheless, Robb's ruminations on Brazilian society, culture, and mores are among the best I've read, and I highly recommend "A Death in Brazil."

I have also researched one of the subjects with which A Death in Brazil deals, namely the election, government and impeachment of Fernando Collor, the former President of Brazil. From 1991 to 1997, I was managing editor at Veja, the magazine with the widest circulation in Brazil, which played an influential role in bringing about Collor's impeachment. In 1992, I received the Editor of the Year Award from the World Press Review for Veja's coverage during the period.

At the end of 1999, after almost two years of full-time writing, I finished my 720-page book on the subject, entitled Notícias do Planalto: A imprensa e Fernando Collor (News From the Planalto: The press and Fernando Collor). In writing the book I interviewed 140 people and read more than a hundred books. Notícias do Planalto was a bestseller in Brazil, selling more than 80,000 copies.

Peter Robb invited me to lunch in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of 2001. Robb praised Notícias do Planalto and told me of his plans to write a book about Brazil, Fernando Collor and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. I recommended that he read certain books and gave him phone numbers for both Collor and Lula da Silva. I never heard from him again.

When I read A Death in Brazil I was rather shocked. There were nineteen passages in Robb's book that were startlingly similar to passages in Notícias do Planalto. What we are dealing with here is not simply use of information, as is normal in intellectual work. The fact is that entire sentences, lines of reasoning and images recur with only a few words changed. I have prepared translated transcripts of the passages in question from Notícias do Planalto and the corresponding passages from A Death in Brazil.

Robb mentions my book only once. On page 313, in the section "Sources and Readings", he says that Notícias do Planalto is a "very fluid and complete account of Fernando's fast rise and faster fall as seen by the journalists of Brazilian press and television, not least of whom [is] the author". This mention in no way justifies the use Peter Robb seems to have made of my book. One wonders if he would have used my book so freely had it been published in English.

Last October, I ordered Peter Robb's "A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions," paying for hardcover on the strength of its reviews. It was worth the price. And well worth the weight. I hauled it around in my rucksack for during a four-week trip in the state of Bahia. Being a story hog, I generally read fiction written by local authors when I travel. But this nonfiction kept me fascinated throughout. As a visitor with little information about Brazil, I found the book gave me a tremendous headstart on the culture, the political history, the food, the population and TV. With many quirky details.

Robb's mix of political history, personal travelogue, and ideology sustained me throughout. After I gobbled up the book, my husband read it. A fellow traveler borrowed it and read it in two days. Then a Brazilian friend insisted I leave it for her and now I'm ordering the book in paperback to take with me this winter when I return to Bahia.

Peter Robb has surpassed 'M' in this book. From a slow start (and patience is a virtue here) the insight of Brazil through Robb's eyes is nothing short of stunning. I bought the book because I loved 'M', Robb's swashbuckling analysis of Caravagio's passionate work and life. Be warned though, I gave a copy to a friend who 'couldn't get into it'. Robb has a style that requires the reader to go for the ride. I found it superbly rewarding. My only complaint is it's too long between books. This book ? Thank you Mr Robb. Brilliant. I bought my copy in a bookstore. This review is a result of sending a copy to a friend. That's my view. *****

I really enjoyed this book. I approached it with apprehension because of the mediocre reviews some other readers gave it, but Robb really drew me in from the first chapter (in which he recounts how he almost got murdered in Rio de Janeiro). While his tendency to jump from theme to theme (from current political actors to food to conquest to everyday life in Recife to historical wars like Palmares and Canudos and back), I found the jumping around invigorating--it was kind of like reading a novel whose chapters end in cliffhangers, but at the conclusion the reader feels truly enlightened. His narrations of the Brazilian colony and state's quests to stamp out the rebel communities of Palmares (a quilombo, or escaped slave colony) and Canudos (a religious community formed by economic refugees) are especially gripping, though Mario Vargas Llosa's "The War of the End of the World" still gives a better picture of Canudos (although Vargas Llosa's interpretation of it as a community of religious extremists may be flawed). Robb also paints in-depth portraits of important Brazilian writers, such as Euclides da Cunha and Machado de Assis.

The best parts for me were the lucid and entertaining stories of the rise of Lula da Silva and the rise and fall of Fernando Collor de Mello. (On a side note, if I had read this book prior to my trip to Brazil last year, I might have appreciated the otherwise dull but pleasant city of Maceio much more than I did.) I agree with other critics that Robb dismisses Fernando Henrique Cardoso's presidency too quickly and unfairly, but that fact hardly detracts from the book's strengths.

Don't be put off by the mingling of genres. Although Robb has written a book that is both history and travel, politics and opinion, he is a more than able enough author to keep the reader turning the pages. The prevailing question of the book is, 'What is Brazil?' and Robb entertains us by cherry picking historical anecdotes, then relating them to the political scene of the last 20 years. It's definitely rich picking. The presidency of Fernando Collor, which forms a healthy chunk of the book, is an utterly absorbing scandal, depicting a total abuse of the system. Yet it is in Brazil's history where Robb is at his best, his detailed description of slave societies that formed outside of the 'state', the manner in which they were dealt with, sounds strong comparisons with the problems that both gave Lula his presidency and ensure that his hold on power will be hard to keep.

When I pick up a book about Brazil, or some other country that is difficult to reach and about which I know little, I don't want to know, primarily, what the gross domestic product is, or what percentage of people are below the poverty line, or how many members are in the legislature. I want to know what it *feels like* to be there, and Robb's skill in conveying this is nearly without parallel.

He's also skillful enough to weave a lot of factual information into his accounts, but this is primarily an emotional response to his time there rather than a thesis defense.

Your enjoyment of this book will be directly proportional to your desire to know what the country feels like on a street level. I loved it.

I'm a big fan of Peter Robb's Midnight in Sicily. About that masterpiece, The Economist called it "simply the best book in English about Italy." The author's latest work, A Death in Brazil, promised and delivered much of the same - a heady, erudite mix of Mr. Robb's skillful interspersing of equal parts history, political machinations, and personal travelogue. For good measure, like Midnight in Sicily you also get a gastronomic tour de force. Robb appreciates the regional dishes and describes what brings them to the table as well as what they taste like going down, what he drank with it, who served him, who he was dining with, other characters in the restaurant that night...you get the idea. As noted in an excellent review in the UK's Telegraph, A Death in Brazil is, like Midnight in Sicily, "impossible to corral into a single genre" and "a dazzling testament to [Robb's] appetite for knowledge and understanding." Exactly. Mr. Robb's home base for this tale in a restaurant in Recife called Bangüê. His descriptive writing puts you square in the middle of the place, with proprietor Vavá chatting you up and Vavá's wife Dona Lia working the Burroughs accounting machine at the bar.

For me, the best parts are the political stuff detailing the rapid rise and equally rapid fall of Brazil's president (1990 - 1992) Fernando Collor de Mello and his personal fixer and moneyman, PC Farias. Robb also details the rise of the Workers' Party and of its leader, Luis Inácio 'Lula' da Silva. We get all sorts of delightful asides from the author. 'Lula' means 'squid' in Portuguese...he is so-named because in his early days, the now-President's unruly mane of hair draped his head like a mass of tentacles. Who knew?

Another good touch is the hand-drawn maps of Alex Snellgrove. There's one of Brazil as whole and another providing more detail on the northeast section of the country where Robb does the majority of his reporting. Every place Robb mentioned in the text is marked clearly on one or both maps.

This is the book to read on a trip to the Northeast. It's well written, but not an easy read. The author's personal indulgence, tastes and quirks may sometimes irk the reader, but he has such a good grasp of Brazilian literature and politics that eventually these intrusions don't matter. The characters -- from ordinary people to the current and former Presidents -- are masterpieces. This book is an eye-opener, as timely as the current headlines. The tales of Alagoas may seem like magical realism, but it is all true.

Peter Robb's book is a masterpiece - nothing I have read in recent years comes as close to giving the reader a deep and meaningful insight into this fascinating country. From corruption to carnival, from history to food, Robb is the master of his topic and you move effortlessly through a book that is always a compelling read. You put 'A Death in Brazil' down at the end with that sense of regret you always get with a book that is a truly wonderful read. I was entertained and informed at the same time, and didn't want it to end. If you want a better understanding of Brazil - its terrible problems and its wonderful people and culture - simply don't hesitate to buy this book. Should the author chance to read this - I would just like to say thank you for a terrific piece of work. Having reviewed this book on Amazon UK I have only recently seen the claims that some elements of this book were lifted from another work. Clearly this is unsettling, but I have not seen any response from the author.