Two sisters, Bibiana and Belonísia, grow up in a farming community of descendants of enslaved people in the backlands of Bahia, Brazil. As children they find an old knife, which changes their lives: one of them loses her tongue and the other takes on her voice. The novel is told in three parts, with different narrators, following their lives as workers on a plantation, the fight for land and the role of the community's spiritual traditions. A cousin returns and leads the struggle for rights.
A strong, tough novel about rural Brazil for those who want to read about land, race and inheritance. It is poetic and angry.
Thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
