The Review of Contemporary Fiction

Tent of Miracles; Tieta, by Jorge Amado, translated by Barbara Shelby Merello
reviewed by Sophia A. McClennen

Untitled document

Trans. Barbara Shelby Merello. Intro. Ilan Stavans. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2003. 380 pp. Paper: $16.95; Trans. Barbara Shelby Merello. Intro. Moacyr Scliar. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2003. 671 pp. Paper: $18.95. (Reprints)

Timed as a memorial to Jorge Amado’s death in 2001, these two novels are new English editions of Tent of Miracles and Tieta. The novels were written in 1969 and 1977 respectively, and they represent the second phase of Amado’s literary career, the phase of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, when he shifted from more overtly political narrative to writing that was full of excess, sensual delight, and the richness of everyday life.

Tent of Miracles will resonate well with readers who have recently come to rethink the relationship between U.S. academic interests and Latin America and the way that it is only after a Latin American writer or scholar gains fame in the U.S. and/or Europe that they are valued at home. The novel’s center, since protagonist is not quite the appropriate term, is Pedro Archanjo, a self-taught Afro-Brazilian scholar who has published on miscegenation, Afro-Brazilian culture, and Bahian cooking. Archanjo’s death sets a series of narrative threads into motion. First, we have the arrival of James D. Levenson, a professor at Columbia University and a Nobel Prize winner, who considers Archanjo a giant in the field of ethnology and folklore and wants to conduct research on his work. Levenson is an instant celebrity with myriad Bahians vying for his attention. Levenson’s interest in the work of Archanjo sets in motion two other threads. In the process of his research the reader receives an extraordinary biography of Archanjo, of his struggles to get his work published, of his avid interest in Afro-Brazilian culture and Bahian life, and of his complicated personal life. Parallel to the unraveling of the dead ethnologist’s life, Amado tells the story of Bahia as it endeavors to capitalize on the centennial of Archanjo’s death by throwing a huge celebration. The plans for the party, the commotion around Levenson, and the memories of those who knew Archanjo reveal larger concerns about Brazilian society and the nation’s problems with cultural identity.

Even though these two novels signal the second phase of Amado’s work, they continue his undying concern for the future of Brazil, and many of the social insights in Tent of Miracles are central to Tieta as well. Tieta also centers on a figure with a marginal and complicated relationship to her community. Also, while Tieta is ostensibly the protagonist of this novel, Amado once again fills the text with a variety of characters (not the least of which is the author himself), who take on key roles in the narrative. Another multilayered story, Tieta is about the return of a woman who had been cast out of her family and her community as a young girl. She returns after years in Sao Paulo as a prostitute to spend time with her family. Over the years she has sent money to her family, and they have come to believe that she went to the city and married a wealthy man. Her wealth and success draw attention and admiration. Tieta embodies two of Amado’s central concerns—sensuality and social activism—and these twin interests are artfully intertwined throughout the novel and across the characters. In Tieta’s case they come to a head in her passionate affair with her virgin nephew, who had planned to become a priest, and her involvement in trying to stop a multinational, famous for excessive pollution, from setting up a plant on the coast of her small town. Rich in narrative structure and remarkable in the description of Brazilian plenitude, these novels are smart, witty, and fun.


Interview with Founder Board of Directors Funders Submission Guidelines Dalkey Archive Full Catalog Current and Forthcoming Titles Recent Titles Review of Contemporary Fiction Special Library Offer Special Backlist Sale Stores & Wholesalers Academics Libraries Reviewers Context Casebooks Author Interviews Links Dalkey Archive News Events Newsletter

The Review of Contemporary Fiction Tent of Miracles; Tieta, by Jorge Amado, translated by Barbara Shelby Merello reviewed by Sophia A. McClennen Untitled document Trans. Barbara Shelby Merello. Intro. Ilan Stavans. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2003. 380 pp. Paper: $16.95; Trans. Barbara Shelby Merello. Intro. Moacyr Scliar. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2003. 671 pp. Paper: $18.95. (Reprints) Timed as a memorial to Jorge Amado’s death in 2001, these two novels are new English editions of Tent of Miracles and Tieta. The novels were written in 1969 and 1977 respectively, and they represent the second phase of Amado’s literary career, the phase of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, when he shifted from more overtly political narrative to writing that was full of excess, sensual delight, and the richness of everyday life. Tent of Miracles will resonate well with readers who have recently come to rethink the relationship between U.S. academic interests and Latin America and the way that it is only after a Latin American writer or scholar gains fame in the U.S. and/or Europe that they are valued at home. The novel’s center, since protagonist is not quite the appropriate term, is Pedro Archanjo, a self-taught Afro-Brazilian scholar who has published on miscegenation, Afro-Brazilian culture, and Bahian cooking. Archanjo’s death sets a series of narrative threads into motion. First, we have the arrival of James D. Levenson, a professor at Columbia University and a Nobel Prize winner, who considers Archanjo a giant in the field of ethnology and folklore and wants to conduct research on his work. Levenson is an instant celebrity with myriad Bahians vying for his attention. Levenson’s interest in the work of Archanjo sets in motion two other threads. In the process of his research the reader receives an extraordinary biography of Archanjo, of his struggles to get his work published, of his avid interest in Afro-Brazilian culture and Bahian life, and of his complicated personal life. Parallel to the unraveling of the dead ethnologist’s life, Amado tells the story of Bahia as it endeavors to capitalize on the centennial of Archanjo’s death by throwing a huge celebration. The plans for the party, the commotion around Levenson, and the memories of those who knew Archanjo reveal larger concerns about Brazilian society and the nation’s problems with cultural identity. Even though these two novels signal the second phase of Amado’s work, they continue his undying concern for the future of Brazil, and many of the social insights in Tent of Miracles are central to Tieta as well. Tieta also centers on a figure with a marginal and complicated relationship to her community. Also, while Tieta is ostensibly the protagonist of this novel, Amado once again fills the text with a variety of characters (not the least of which is the author himself), who take on key roles in the narrative. Another multilayered story, Tieta is about the return of a woman who had been cast out of her family and her community as a young girl. She returns after years in Sao Paulo as a prostitute to spend time with her family. Over the years she has sent money to her family, and they have come to believe that she went to the city and married a wealthy man. Her wealth and success draw attention and admiration. Tieta embodies two of Amado’s central concerns—sensuality and social activism—and these twin interests are artfully intertwined throughout the novel and across the characters. In Tieta’s case they come to a head in her passionate affair with her virgin nephew, who had planned to become a priest, and her involvement in trying to stop a multinational, famous for excessive pollution, from setting up a plant on the coast of her small town. Rich in narrative structure and remarkable in the description of Brazilian plenitude, these novels are smart, witty, and fun.

Search the full text of our books: