Mulatto (Texas Pan American Series) [Paperback]

Aluisio Azevedo (Author), Daphne Patai (Author), Murray Graeme Macnicoll (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Texas Pan American Series | Publication Date: September 1993

In 1881, Brazilian Aluisio Azevedo published "Mulatto," a scathing expose of his native city, Sao Luis do Maranhao. Polemic as well as love story, it brought him much notoriety and is generally considered the first Brazilian naturalist novel. Set before the abolition of slavery and the establishment of the first republic, "Mulatto" tells the story of Raimundo, a young Brazilian of liberal ideas. Kept in ignorance of the identity of his mother and the secret of his mixed birth, Raimundo is educated in Europe and, upon returning to Brazil, struggles against the provincial and bigoted society he encounters. "Mulatto" reveals its author's opposition to both the clergy, whose corruption and influence he denounced, and the racist agrarian society still dependent upon slavery. This English translation of "Mulatto" was first published in 1990 by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Portugese

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292704380
• ISBN-13: 978-0292704381
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,544,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Racism in 19th century Brazil, September 28, 2002

By 

El Cholo Invisivel (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mulatto (Texas Pan American Series) (Paperback)

This book is a good example of a kind of writing which became mildly popular during the second half of the 19th century in which a character's discovery that he is part black is a crucial plot element. Other examples of this can be found in Pud'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain and Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin. So, it is a good book for anyone who is interested in race relations. The story takes place in Sao Luis (Brazil's second largest slave trading port) during the 1870s, when slavery still existed. Sao Luis was a very conservative, provencial city in which the Catholic church was openly against abolition, and the main villian in the book is a catholic priest. Apparently Azevedo, who was just 23 when he wrote the book, angered the local upper class so much with this book that he had to move out of town. Although Mulatto is considered to be the first Brazilian novel in the Naturalist or Realist tradition, there are many elements of romanticism in the plot which tends to be melodramatic and sloppy at times. Still, it serves as a fascinating historical document and at times Azevedo's prose is fantastic, forshadowing the greatness that was to come later with his masterpiece, The Slum.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The first review you see at the top is for a different book., September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mulatto (Texas Pan American Series) (Paperback)

There was an accident here. The review you see at the top of the review column is for a completely different book. There are no photographs in this book. It is a novel with a completely different author and title than the first review sayes it is.