Texts
“She saw her father’s stern look; her mother’s recriminations. She, nevertheless, had to get married. She couldn’t spend her entire life like that, a dog without an owner…Her parents were going to die one day, and she couldn’t be left in the world helpless…A doubt came over her: he was white; she, mulatto…
Excerpt from the short story "Clara dos Anjos", by Lima Barreto
"During the centuries of slavery, their ancestors who lived in cities would only have been able to relive the ceremonies of their hutments or villages during Carnival. The tradition was passed down to their children, then their grandchildren, who continued to observe an inevitably warped version of it."
Excerpt from the short story "Cló", by Lima Barreto
“When I leave home and go to the corner of the Estrada Real de Santa Cruz, to wait for the streetcar, I get a good look at the misery that runs through this Rio de Janeiro.”
Excerpt from the chronicle "The smuggler", by Lima Barreto
“Simões was the descendant of a well-known family from Rio de Janeiro, the Feitais, from whom the 13 th of May snatched over a thousand slaves. A real fortune, because slaves, in those days, despite abolitionist agitation, were a prized commodity.”
Excerpt from the short story "The Domestic Hunter", by Lima Barreto
"No one wants to argue; no one wants to shake things up; no one wants to add excitement. Everyone wants to 'eat.' Jurists 'eat,' philosophers 'eat,' doctors 'eat,' lawyers 'eat,' poets 'eat,' novelists 'eat,' engineers 'eat,' journalists 'eat': Brazil is a vast 'pig out'.”
Excerpt from the chronicle "Republican Politics", by Lima Barreto
"This time however, contrary to the norm, Saint Peter, before leaving, took a preemptive look at the list; and this action was useful, because if he hadn’t, perhaps, from that time on, for the rest of time – who knows? – Heaven might have been totally ruined. Saint Peter read the report: there were a lot of souls, many indeed, but out of all them and the attached explanations, one of them stood out and looked particularly odd."
Excerpt from the short story "The sin", by Lima Barreto
As part of the Hearing Lima project, Companhia das Letras has made available a free e-book with a selection of short stories by Lima Barreto, organized by Lilia M. Schwarcz. The stories are part of the book Contos completos (Complete Stories) by Lima Barreto, published in 2010.
©2022 THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
