Iracema: A Novel (Library of Latin America (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: A romantic vision of the origins of modern Brazil
Review: Jose de Alencar (1829-77) is an important figure in the history of Brazilian literature, and his book "Iracema" is a significant landmark in the literature of 19th century South America. A novel written in flowery, poetic language, "Iracema" tells the story of a romance between a South American Indian woman and a white man who has arrived on the continent. The novel has been translated from Portuguese into an elegant English by Clifford E. Landers.

As Naomi Lindstrom notes in her foreword to the book, "Iracema" is an anagram for "America." The story as a whole has a mythic, legendary feel to it. However, the melodramatic tone of much of the story also feels a bit like a contemporary soap opera. The endless pining and melancholy does get a bit tiresome. And the portrayal of Native Americans is problematic; they seem like stereotypically childlike "noble savages."

Still, "Iracema" is a fascinating tale of intercultural relations. The story contains some episodes of real power. And the book is an important document of the literary quest for a Brazilian identity. "Iracema" an essential volume for scholars of South American literature.

One final note: for an interesting book that effectively complements "Iracema," check out "The Vinland Sagas," translated by Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Palsson. This book contains two sagas about the Norse discovery of North America, and the early encounters between Europeans and Native North Americans. Like "Iracema," these sagas are landmarks in the literature of contact between alien cultures.

Rating:
Summary: Short on plot, long on historical importance
Review: With the aim of introducing a wider audience to classics of nineteenth century Latin American literature, Oxford launched the Library of Latin America (LoLA). English-speaking readers can now have access to important writers from the South. One such important writer was Jose M. de Alencar (1829-77), who was born in Brazil and served as that country's Minister of Justice. He is most famous for his cycle of three novels that explore Indian identity in Brazil. Alencar's most important contribution was to help Brazil form a unique national literary identity that would distinguish the new country after its independence from Portugal. Because Brazil had an indigenous population by which it could differentiate itself from the colonial power, Alencar, like many romantic-era lettered statesmen, immersed himself in the Indian oral tradtion and languages. Influenced by James Fenimore Cooper and U.S. narratives of pilgrims and Indians, ALencar looked to Brazil's native popoulation to form a coherent background shared by all who lived in the new nation. Alencar's "Iracema" shares many similarities with other mid-nineteenth-century romances: flowery language, sentimental plot, a brave hero, a blushing heroine, and a weepy tragedy. Readers who do not like Cooper should turn another writers' pages. "Iracema" has much to offer for those interested in allegory, foundational fictions, literary history, and exotic landscape. LIsten to the opening lines of "Iracema": "Green, impetuous seas of my native land, where the jandaia sings amid the carnauba fronds: Green seas, that gleam with liquid emerald in the rays of the rising sun, skirting alabaster beaches shaded by coconut trees." Here Alencar follows many Latin American novelists who intimately detail their countries in an effort to fix the landscape in the literary imagination. An anagram for "America," the heroine Iracema is the daughter of the shaman of the inland Tabajara people. She is a priestess for her tribe and has sworn vows of chastity. It is not hard to guess what happens when she meets a dashing Portuguese soldier named Martim. Iracema's love for Martim enrages the Tabajara chief, Irapua, not only because her love endangers her critical virgin status, but also because Martim is the spiritual brother of Poti, the chief of the Pitguara people, the Tabajara's enemies. In true Romantic convention, many turns of events prevent the lovers from uniting. Finally, they do escape together and have son, Moacir, the first mestizo child who thus represents a new race of people born in what will be a new country. However, tragedy follows inevitably. One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel is the daunting aspect of translation. The translator had to find a balance between a literal translation and an overly modern rendition. He has found an apt balance here, for he lets stand many Portuguese words that evoke an exotic landscape while maintaining a luminous, enchanting cadence to the words.