April 22 is the day of the “discovery” of Brazil. Nowadays, the national holiday is Tiradentes (revolutionary who fought against the Portuguese monarchy) and we ignore the discovery fallacy that was taught for many years in school.
To me, sounds like the perfect excuse for today’s book review to be a Brazilian one. You’re not going to read about a classic today, they’re excellent, but it wasn’t the classics that made me fall in love with the books.
Maria José Dupré may never have received the spotlight she deserved. Most likely because, unlike most of our renowned classic writers, she wrote stories very close to reality through accessible language. She may not have invented a new narrative form, but she sure enchanted and engaged from beginning to end.
Éramos Seis is her most popular work, and when I say popular we are talking about millions of copies sold, adaptations for theatre, TV, and cinema, as well as translations into French, Spanish, and Swedish (We are talking about 1940’s).
The book tells the story of Dona Lola and her family. Her husband and four children live in São Paulo and, like most of society, face many challenges to continue to have food on the table and, sometimes, even a roof over their heads.
The verb used in the past is a strong indication of what will happen in the plot, over the years the family of six is decreasing due to the adversities of life and family conflicts. The portrait of an era full of prejudices is a lesson that we have a lot to evolve, but some steps have already been taken.
I read this book as a teenager, it was one of the first books I wanted to read, and not because the school required me to read it. I remember the first time feeling pleasure going to my room, opening the book, and forgetting myself. At that time I didn’t understand why the main character has such an outdated view. I wanted to feel sorry for her ending up alone, but I couldn’t. Today, I appreciate the book for the portrayal of the society it provides and part of me wishes that Dona Lola had the opportunity to live in a society where it wasn’t so wrong to be a woman.
Meu grão de areia 