Barren Rich¹

1 ¹ “Barren Rich” (“Ricas Secas”) appears in Marcelino Freire's short story collection Amar é crime (Editora Record, revised edition, 2015). A number of passages in this story refer directly to characters and events in the classic novel Vidas secas (1938) by Graciliano Ramos. In “Barren Rich,” however, the setting shifts from the impoverished, drought-stricken sertão of Brazil's Northeast (with its “reddish plains” and “jujube trees”) to the sprawling metropolis of São Paulo, which today faces its own water shortages. The character of Vitória and the dog named “Baleia” (Whale), the most famous dog in Brazilian literature, both appear in Vidas secas. In fact, Part IV of “Barren Rich” is fully transcribed from the novel.

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Notes

1 ¹ “Barren Rich” (“Ricas Secas”) appears in Marcelino Freire's short story collection Amar é crime (Editora Record, revised edition, 2015). A number of passages in this story refer directly to characters and events in the classic novel Vidas secas (1938) by Graciliano Ramos. In “Barren Rich,” however, the setting shifts from the impoverished, drought-stricken sertão of Brazil's Northeast (with its “reddish plains” and “jujube trees”) to the sprawling metropolis of São Paulo, which today faces its own water shortages. The character of Vitória and the dog named “Baleia” (Whale), the most famous dog in Brazilian literature, both appear in Vidas secas. In fact, Part IV of “Barren Rich” is fully transcribed from the novel.

2 The phrase “dead volume” (“volume morto”) refers to the water below the pipe intakes of a reservoir, water that theoretically should not be used for human consumption as it contains much higher levels of toxic sediment and heavy metals.

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Marcelino Freire

Marcelino Freire, 49, was born in Sertânia, Pernambuco, in the northeast of Brazil. Since 1991 he has resided in Sāo Paulo. He is the author of such works as the short story collection Contos negreiros (2006; Slave Stories), which won the prestigious Jabuti Award in 2006, and the novel Nossos ossos (2013; Our Bones), which received the Machado de Assis Award in 2014. His books have been published in translation in Mexico, Argentina and France.