Popular South American Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from South America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (15)
11.
The Book of Emma Reyes by Emma Reyes EN
Country: South America / 
Colombia
Colombia
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 . . .
12.
The Diary of “Helena Morley” by Helena Morley EN
Country: South America / 
Brazil
Brazil
Description:
Originally published in 1942 under the title Minha Vida de Menina—Portuguese meaning “My Life as a Little Girl or “Young Girl”—this book is a diary that was kept by the author, Helena Morley (pseudonym of Alice Dayrell Caldeira Brant), when she was between the ages of twelve and fifteen (1893-1895), and living in Diamantina, a small diamond mining town in southeastern Brazil. The little girl describes her homework, her love of parades and dresses, her father who could scarcely make a living in the mines, and her most beloved grandmother. The diary was admired by French Novelist Georges Bernano... continue
13.
The ghetto within by Santiago H. Amigorena EN
Country: South America / 
Argentina
Argentina
Description:
In his English language debut, Santiago H. Amigorena writes to fight the silence that “has stifled [him] since [he] was born”, weaving together fiction, biography, and memoir to distill a stirring novel of loss and unshakeable love. A critical sensation in France, The Ghetto Within is its author’s personal attempt to confront his grandfather’s silence. Passed down, from generation to generation, the silence of Amigorena’s grandfather became his own. A gripping study of inheritance,The Ghetto Within re-imagines the life of this Jewish grandfather, a Polish exile in Argentina, whose guilt provok... continue
14.
The Girl from Lamaha Street : A Guyanese Girl at a 1950s English Boarding School and Her Search for Belonging by Sharon Maas EN
Country: South America / 
Guyana
Guyana
Description:
‘I was utterly mesmerized… powerful, moving, and heartwarming… I devoured this book, and it is no doubt a five-star read.’ Goodreads reviewer Perhaps it’s true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps it’s true that you only know what you truly love when you no longer have it. But I wouldn’t have known any of this if I hadn’t left it all behind to discover where my home truly was… Growing up in British Guiana in the 1950s, Sharon Maas has everything a shy child with a vivid imagination could wish for. She spends her days studying bugs in the backyard, eating fresh mangos straight from... continue
15.
The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara EN
Country: South America / Argentina
Argentina
Description:
Publisher Description