English books from South America

Recommended English books (335)
Travel the world without leaving your chair. If you speak English here are some English books from South America for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".
221.

The Book of Emma Reyes by Emma Reyes EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
A literary discovery: an extraordinary account . . .of a Colombian woman's harrowing childhood. This astonishing memoir of a childhood lived in extreme poverty in Latin America was hailed as an instant classic when first published in Colombia in 2012, nine years after the death of its author, who was encouraged in her writing by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Comprised of letters written over the course of thirty years, and translated and introduced by acclaimed Peruvian-American writer Daniel Alarcón . . .


223.

The Caiman by María Eugenia Manrique EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
The unforgettable story of a man and his alligator. When Faoro the clockmaker adopts a baby alligator, he has no idea that someday their story will travel far and wide. But the town of San Fernando de Apure would never forget this kind young man and his adoring alligator, who played with the neighborhood children, took part in Faoro's wedding, and, eventually, mourned his loss. Now their story is being shared with the world. In this delightful picture book first published in Venezuela, the author brings us back to her own childhood in Venezuela, as one of the children who used to visit this fa... continue
Genre

224.

The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod EN

Rating: 2 (3 votes)
Description:
The Cost of Sugar is an intriguing history of those rabid times in Dutch Surinam between 1765-1779 when sugar was king.Told through the eyes of two Jewish step sisters, Eliza and Sarith, descendants of the settlers of 'New Jerusalem of the River' know today as Jodensvanne. The Cost of Sugar is a frank expose of the tragic toll on the lives of colonists and slaves alike.
Genre

225.

The Cubs and Other Stories by Mario Vargas Llosa EN

0 Ratings
Country: South America / Peru flag Peru
Description:
The Cubs and Other Stories is Mario Vargas Llosa's only volume of short fiction available in English. Vargas Llosa's domain is the Peru of male youth and machismo, where life's dramas play themselves out on the soccer field, on the dance floor and on street corners. The title work, The Cubs, tells the story of the carefree boyhood of PP Cuellar and his friends, and of PP's bizarre accident and tragic coming of age. In a candid and perceptive foreword to this collection of early writing, Vargas Llosa provides background to the volume and a unique glimpse into the mind of the artist.
Genre

226.

The Curse of Nemur : In Search of the Art, Myth, and Ritual of the Ishir by Ticio Escobar EN

Rating: 3 (2 votes)
Description:
The Tomáraho, a subgroup of the Ishir (Chamacoco) of Paraguay, are one of the few remaining indigenous populations who have managed to keep both their language and spiritual beliefs intact. They have lived for many years in a remote region of the Gran Chaco, having limited contact with European or Latin American cultures. The survival of the Tomáraho has been tenuous at best; at the time of this writing there were only eighty-seven surviving members. Ticio Escobar, who lived extensively among the Tomáraho, draws on his acquired knowledge of Ishir beliefs to confront them with his own Western i... continue

227.

The Curse of the Flores Women : A Novel by Angélica Lopes EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Description:
In this haunting novel about the enduring bonds of womanhood, a young girl weaves together the truth behind her family history and the secrets that resonate through generations. Eighteen-year-old Alice Ribeiro is constantly fighting--against the status quo, female oppression in Brazil, and even her own mother. But when a family veil is passed down to her, Alice is compelled to fight for the rights of all womankind while also uncovering the hidden history of the women in her family. Seven generations ago, the small town of Bom Retiro shunned the Flores women because of a "curse" that rendered t... continue

228.

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez EN

Rating: 4 (13 votes)
Description:
A masterpiece of contemporary Gothic from the internationally acclaimed author of Things We Lost in the Fire.

229.

The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenorio EN

0 Ratings
Description:
Life under Brazil's brutal "cordial racism" comes painfully alive in this novel of fathers and sons. How do you become the protagonist of your own life? For Pedro, it means searching for himself in the objects his father left behind: the layers that make up his life, and that of his parents, and the circumstances, geographies, and wounds that shaped them all. It's an archaeology of affections, but also of life in southern Brazil, where being black on the streets of Porto Alegre manifests violences large and small. Where being a young woman, raised by a single mother, may find you seeking secur... continue

230.

The Days of the Rainbow : A Novel by Antonio Skarmeta EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
A novel based on the true story of how an advertising campaign caused the fall of Chile’s dictator, General Pinochet Nico, the son of a noted Chilean philosophy professor, witnesses his father’s arrest while he is teaching a class. Bettini, the father of Nico’s best friend, is a leftist advertising executive who has been blacklisted and is out of work after having been imprisoned and tortured by Pinochet’s police. This doesn’t stop the ministry of the interior from asking Bettini, who is the best in the business, to come up with a plan for the upcoming referendum designed to say “yes” to Pinoc... continue


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