A review by snowmaiden
The Centaur in the Garden by Moacyr Scliar
4.0
It's long been my contention that Brazilian fiction is about 40 years ahead of American fiction, and this book seems to prove it. First published in Brazil in 1980, it feels like it could be published in the U.S. right now. This is the story of Guedali, a boy born on the plains of southern Brazil with a centaur's body, and how he makes his way in the world. It's not really about being a centaur, of course, but about being ashamed of the body you were born with and wishing you could change yourself into something better (or at least more normal). Guedali eventually has his wish granted and becomes something resembling a regular human, but as often happens in real life when people go on extreme diets or have plastic surgery, he ends up no happier than he was before and starts to wish he could change back again.
As translated by Margaret A. Neves, Scliar's prose is simple yet serviceable. The focus here is not on beautiful language, but on accurately rendering Guedali's stream of consciousness and all the subtle gradations of his emotions.
If you've never tried any Brazilian fiction but have enjoyed books like [b: The Snow Child|11250053|The Snow Child|Eowyn Ivey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327098624s/11250053.jpg|16176521] or [b: The Book of Speculation|23014670|The Book of Speculation|Erika Swyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1422476749s/23014670.jpg|42580799], you might want to add this to your list. (It's not even hard to find! Used copies of this edition are plentiful and available on Amazon for about $3.) Try it. You just might like it.
As translated by Margaret A. Neves, Scliar's prose is simple yet serviceable. The focus here is not on beautiful language, but on accurately rendering Guedali's stream of consciousness and all the subtle gradations of his emotions.
If you've never tried any Brazilian fiction but have enjoyed books like [b: The Snow Child|11250053|The Snow Child|Eowyn Ivey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327098624s/11250053.jpg|16176521] or [b: The Book of Speculation|23014670|The Book of Speculation|Erika Swyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1422476749s/23014670.jpg|42580799], you might want to add this to your list. (It's not even hard to find! Used copies of this edition are plentiful and available on Amazon for about $3.) Try it. You just might like it.