Rubem Fonseca
Encyclopedia
Rubem Fonseca is a Brazil
ian writer.
He was born in Juiz de Fora
, in the state of Minas Gerais
, but he has lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro
. In 1952, he started his career
as a low-level cop and, later became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil. Following the steps of American novelist Thomas Pynchon
, a close friend of Fonseca, he refuses to give interviews and feels strongly about maintaining his privacy.
His writing is pretty dark and gritty, filled with violence
and sexual
content, and it usually happens in an urban
setting. He says that a writer should have the courage to show what most people are afraid to say. His work is considered groundbreaking in Brazilian literature , up until then mostly focused on rural settings and usually treating cities with a very biased point-of-view. Almost all Brazilian contemporary writers acknowledge Fonseca's importance. Authors from the rising generation of Brazilian writers, such as Patrícia Melo or Luis Ruffato, have stated that Fonseca's writing has influenced their work.
He started his career by writing short stories
, considered by some critics as his strongest literary creations. His first popular novel
was A Grande Arte
(High Art), but "Agosto" is usually considered his best work.
In 2003, he won the Camões Prize
, considered to be the most important award
in the Portuguese language
.
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.
He was born in Juiz de Fora
Juiz de Fora
-Industry, Trade, and Culture:Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial center in the state of Minas Gerais, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century...
, in the state of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, but he has lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. In 1952, he started his career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
as a low-level cop and, later became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil. Following the steps of American novelist Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
, a close friend of Fonseca, he refuses to give interviews and feels strongly about maintaining his privacy.
His writing is pretty dark and gritty, filled with violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
and sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
content, and it usually happens in an urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
setting. He says that a writer should have the courage to show what most people are afraid to say. His work is considered groundbreaking in Brazilian literature , up until then mostly focused on rural settings and usually treating cities with a very biased point-of-view. Almost all Brazilian contemporary writers acknowledge Fonseca's importance. Authors from the rising generation of Brazilian writers, such as Patrícia Melo or Luis Ruffato, have stated that Fonseca's writing has influenced their work.
He started his career by writing short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, considered by some critics as his strongest literary creations. His first popular novel
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....
was A Grande Arte
A Grande Arte
A Grande Arte , is a 1991 Brazilian movie directed by Walter Salles Jr. and starring Peter Coyote. Loosely based on the book A Grande Arte written by Brazilian Rubem Fonseca, it is one of the first works of Salles Jr...
(High Art), but "Agosto" is usually considered his best work.
In 2003, he won the Camões Prize
Camões Prize
The Camões Prize , named after Luís de Camões is the most important literary prize for the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese Fundação Biblioteca Nacional and the Brazilian Departamento Nacional do Livro to the author of an outstanding work written in Portuguese.It...
, considered to be the most important award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
in the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Novels and novellas
- O Caso Morel (1973)
- A Grande Arte (1983)
- Bufo & Spallanzani (1986)
- Vastas Emoções e Pensamentos Imperfeitos (1988)
- Agosto (1990)
- O Selvagem da Ópera (1994)
- Do Meio do Mundo Prostituto Só Amores Guardei ao Meu Charuto (1997, novella)
- O doente Molière (2000, novella)
- Diário de um Fescenino (2003)
- Mandrake: A Bíblia e a Bengala (2005, novella)
- O Seminarista (2009)
Short story collections and anthologies
- Os Prisioneiros (1963)
- A Coleira do Cão (1965)
- Lúcia McCartney (1967)
- Feliz Ano Novo (1975)
- O Homem de Fevereiro ou Março (1973)
- O Cobrador (1979)
- Romance Negro e Outras Histórias (1992)
- Contos Reunidos (1994)
- O Buraco na Parede (1995)
- Romance Negro, Feliz Ano Novo e Outras Histórias (1996)
- Histórias de Amor (1997)
- Confraria dos Espadas (1998)
- Secreções, Excreções e Desatinos (2001)
- Pequenas Criaturas (2002)
- 64 Contos de Rubem Fonseca (2004)
- Ela e Outras Mulheres (2006)
English translations
- High Art (translation Ellen Watson. Harper & Row, New York, 1986)
- Bufo & Spallanzani (translation Clifford E. Landers. Dutton, New York, 1990)
- Vast Emotions and Imperfect Thoughts (translation Clifford Landers, Ecco Press Publisher, New York, 1998)
- The Taker and Other Stories (translation Clifford E. Landers. Open Letter, New York, 2008)
Further reading
Portuguese- Rubem Fonseca: Proibido e Consagrado / Deonísio da Silva., 1996
- Os Crimes do Texto: Rubem Fonseca e a Ficção Contemporânea / Vera Follain de Figueiredo., 2003
- Acercamientos a Rubem Fonseca / José Bru., 2003
- No Fio do Texto: A Obra de Rubem Fonseca / Maria Antonieta Pereira., 1999
- Roteiro Para um Narrador: Uma Leitura dos Contos de Rubem Fonseca / Ariovaldo José Vidal., 2000
- O Realismo na Ficção de José Cardoso Pires e de Rubem Fonseca / Petar Petrov., 2000
- Literatura e Consumo: O Caso Rubem Fonseca / Ana Cristina Coutinho Viegas., 2002
- "O Mago Artificial", in O Estudante do Coração / Luis Carlos de Morais Junior, 2010
External links
- Writer´s official site
- Short biography, in Portuguese
- Descriptions of Fonseca's books from one distributor, in Portuguese
- Critics, in Spanish