Menino de engenho
Encyclopedia
Menino de engenho is a novel
written by the Brazil
ian writer José Lins do Rego
. It was first published in 1932
.
Santa Rosa. When his father was sent to a mental house after killing his mother, Carlinhos moved from Recife
to Santa Rosa, in the plantation that belonged to his grandfather, Coronel José Paulino. Carlinhos' childhood was divided between "good" and "evil": in the company of his aunt his behavior was more gentle (the "good"); living with his cousins, he was extroverted and libertine (the "evil").
Living in the plantation, Carlinhos became familiar with the social inequalities between the plantation masters and their employees; in addition, he almost joined the Cangaço
(he even asked the bandit Antônio Silvino to let him follow the group). There Carlinhos also came to know love, first with his cousin Lili, who died as a child and later with another cousin, Maria Clara, who lived in Recife and spent a few days visiting the plantation. Maria Clara was a little older than Carlinhos and told him about all the fun and new things that happened in the city. But the romance didn't last long, as the cousin went back to Recife. Soon after, Carlinhos lost his "second mother": his aunt Maria got married and the boy was left to the care of his cold and strict aunt Sinhazinha.
However, aunt Sinhazinha's austerity made Carlinhos even more libertine: the boy, only twelve years old, caught gonorrhea. His relatives then decided to "set him straight" by sending him to school.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian writer José Lins do Rego
José Lins do Rego
José Lins do Rego Cavalcanti was a Brazilian novelist most known for his semi-autobiographical "sugarcane cycle." These novels were the basis of films that had distribution in the English speaking world...
. It was first published in 1932
1932 in literature
The year 1932 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. V. Knox replaces Sir Owen Seaman as editor of Punch magazine.*Samuel Beckett's first novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, is rejected by several publishers....
.
Synopsis
Carlos Melo, or Carlinhos, narrates in first person, in a nostalgic manner, the childhood spent in the plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
Santa Rosa. When his father was sent to a mental house after killing his mother, Carlinhos moved from Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
to Santa Rosa, in the plantation that belonged to his grandfather, Coronel José Paulino. Carlinhos' childhood was divided between "good" and "evil": in the company of his aunt his behavior was more gentle (the "good"); living with his cousins, he was extroverted and libertine (the "evil").
Living in the plantation, Carlinhos became familiar with the social inequalities between the plantation masters and their employees; in addition, he almost joined the Cangaço
Cangaço
Cangaço is the name given to a form of "social banditry" in the Northeast of Brazil in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hardships, and in a form of reaction against the domination of the land owners and the government, many men and women...
(he even asked the bandit Antônio Silvino to let him follow the group). There Carlinhos also came to know love, first with his cousin Lili, who died as a child and later with another cousin, Maria Clara, who lived in Recife and spent a few days visiting the plantation. Maria Clara was a little older than Carlinhos and told him about all the fun and new things that happened in the city. But the romance didn't last long, as the cousin went back to Recife. Soon after, Carlinhos lost his "second mother": his aunt Maria got married and the boy was left to the care of his cold and strict aunt Sinhazinha.
However, aunt Sinhazinha's austerity made Carlinhos even more libertine: the boy, only twelve years old, caught gonorrhea. His relatives then decided to "set him straight" by sending him to school.