Popular South American Cultural Books
Find cultural books written by authors from South America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (15)
1.
Affections : A Novel by Rodrigo Hasbún EN
Country: South America / 
Bolivia
Bolivia
Description:
The award-winning and haunting novel from Rodrigo Hasbún, the literary star Jonathan Safran Foer calls, “a great writer,” about an unusual family’s breakdown—set in South America during the time of Che Guevara and inspired by the life of Third Reich cinematographer Hans Ertl. Inspired by real events, Affections is the story of the eccentric, fascinating Ertl clan, headed by the egocentric and extraordinary Hans, once the cameraman for the Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Shortly after the end of World War II, Hans and his family flee to Bolivia to start over. There, the ever-restless Hans d... continue
2.
Capitães do Brasil by Eduardo Bueno PT
Country: South America / 
Brazil
Brazil
Description:
No terceiro volume da sua provocadora série que conta a história do Brasil colônia, Eduardo Bueno foca no período de 1530 a 1550 para nos revelar quem foram esses homens, as aventuras e tragédias de suas vidas, e como ajudaram a moldar a experiência brasileira. Podemos ver o tamanho da missão conferida, as razões do fracasso do modelo de capitanias hereditárias (com a exceção do êxito das capitanias de Pernambuco e São Vicente) e, também, a origem de chagas que assolam o país ainda hoje, como o clientelismo, o latifúndio improdutivo e a falta de um projeto coletivo e inclusivo.
3.
Chilco: A Novel by Daniela Catrileo EN
Country: South America / 
Chile
Chile
Description:
A near-future fable about love, life, and friendship in a world that’s coming apart. Chilco is the name of Pascale’s home island. It is also the Mapudungun word for fuchsia: a word that evokes tropical lushness, wetness, the deep greenness of the forest. Pascale's partner, Marina, grew up in the vertical slums of Capital City, a place scarred by centuries of colonialism and now the ravages of feckless developers. Every day the two women fear a sinkhole will open up and take with it another poor neighborhood, another raft of desperate refugees from the hinterlands: the indigenous, the poor, who... continue
4.
Facundo : Civilization and Barbarism by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento EN
Country: South America / 
Argentina
Argentina
Description:
An educator and writer, Sarmiento was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. His Facundo is a study of the Argentine character, a prescription for the modernization of Latin America, and a protest against the tyranny of the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1835-1852). The book brings nineteenth-century Latin American history to life even as it raises questions still being debated today--questions regarding the "civilized" city versus the "barbaric" countryside, the treatment of indigenous and African populations, and the classically liberal plan of modernization.
5.
Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado EN
Country: South America / Brazil
Brazil
Description:
Ilhéus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonça discovers his wife in bed with a lover, he shoots and kills them both. Political contests, too, can be settled by gunshot... No one imagines that a bedraggled migrant worker who turns up in town–least of all Gabriela herself–will be the agent of change. Nacib Saad has just lost the cook at his popular café and in desperation hires Gabriela. To his surprise she turns out to be a great beauty as well as a wonderful cook and an enchanting boon to his busi... continue
6.
Gran sertón : veredas by João Guimarães Rosa ES
Country: South America / Brazil
Brazil
Description:
Grande Sertão: Veredas es la compleja historia de Riobaldo, un ex yagunço (mercenario o bandido) del interior pobre y estepa del río São Francisco, conocido como Sertão, de los estados de Minas Gerais y Bahía en los albores del siglo XX. Ya viejo y campesino, Riobaldo cuenta su larga historia a un oyente anónimo y silencioso de la ciudad. El libro está escrito en una sección larga, sin secciones ni saltos de capítulo.
7.
Guyana8.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez EN
Country: South America / 
Colombia
Colombia
Description:
One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.
9.
Open Veins of Latin America : Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano EN
Country: South America / 
Uruguay
Uruguay
Description:
Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hi... continue
10.
Sea of Death by Jorge Amado EN
Country: South America / Brazil
Brazil
Description:
Sea of Death tells stories of the dockside of Salvador, Bahia. The lives of the sailors of sloops in the bay from which Bahia gets its name are centred on the mythology surrounding the goddess Iemanjá, the "Queen of the Ocean" or the "Mother of Waters", are central to this novel, which portrays their daily struggle for survival. The novel features a variety of characters whose lives unfold around the story of two lovers, Guma and Lívia. They include the black Rufino and his mulatto lover Esmeralda; Francisco, Guma’s uncle, who mends nets; and the foul-mo... continue