(5 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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Product Description
Deliciously sensuous and fascinating, Robb renders in vivid detail the intoxicating pleasures of Brazil’s food, music, literature, and landscape as he travels not only cross country but also back in time—from the days of slavery to modern day political intrigue and murder. Spellbinding and revelatory, Peter Robb paints a multi-layered portrait of Brazil as a country of intoxicating and passionate extremes.
Author: Peter Robb
Lowest price @ Amazon.com $1.98
Amazon Average Rating 4.0/5.0
A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions
An interesting enough book, with great descriptions of the cuisine and the people. A bit too leftist for my tastes, but as long as you take the politics with a hefty pinch of salt or better still ignore it entirely, it’s quite harmless.
The most irritating thing, however, is the overuse of italics. About half way through the book, that’s going to really start getting on your nerves.
Rating: 2 / 5
It started out promising – the perils of present day Rio- but then it turns into a very messy history book. It’s full of interesting facts and it inspires a great reading list, but it was a real chore to finish. A rambling romp through Brazil’s sexy and horrible history.
Rating: 2 / 5
This book is very strange. It is neither an academic essay nor a good analisys of Brazilian history and costumes.It is a combination of everything that ends up being very dissapointing.
For a brief book on Brazilian history, I reccomend “Brazil: Five Centuries of Change” by Thomas Skidmore. It is an excellent first step on the subject.
Rating: 2 / 5
Gripping book about Brazil that captures the feel and contrasts of the country’s many dimensions.
The Collor/PC Farias story is just one of many. Just read the paper everyday in Brazil.
Like Mr Stroll, I also think the author does injustice to ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and idolizes Lula too much. Especially since there is an epitath to the book. Lula has now governed for 4 years and :
- continued Fernando Henrique’s sound economic policies, which were the basis for his government
- his government (and party and allies) were caught up in a series of corruption scandals, which would make a book by itself
- has now been reelected (thanks to sound economic policies …)
- Collor has also been elected as senator and invited by Lula to contribute to the new government ..
Rating: 4 / 5
i have been to brazil and enjoyed it immensely, my favorite part of the country being salvador, bahia. i picked up this book with some interest, and was gratified that it provided so much more than a fluffy novel. the author moves from sugar plantations to conversations with a bar owner to military rule to endemic corruption to street kids to issues of race – within 5 or 6 pages. and none of it feels forced, he provides insightful details that explain so much to people accustomed to western cultures – or even other latin american cultures to those who have traveled outside the u.s.
part history, part novel, part memoir, the book is worth a read to anyone with an interest in brazil. it will entertain while you learn – i wish history had been this intriguing when i took it in school.
Rating: 5 / 5