Ancient Tillage - Softcover

Nassar, Raduan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141396784 ISBN 13: 9780141396781

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2016

Synopsis

'How often, honestly, does the unveiling in translation of a 'forgotten genius' live up to the hype? Well here's one that does: Raduan Nassar' Times Literary Supplement

'I felt the powerful strength of my family overrunning me like a heavy rush of water'

For André, a young man growing up on a farm in Brazil, life consists of 'the earth, the wheat, the bread, our table and our family'. He loves the land, fears his austere, pious father who preaches from the head of the table as if it is a pulpit, and loathes himself, as he starts to harbour shameful feelings for his sister Ana. Lyrical and sensual, told with biblical intensity, this classic Brazilian coming-of-age novel follows André's psychological and sexual awakening, as he must choose between body and soul, duty and freedom.

About this title

Review:

Raduan Nassar became a sensation with his first novel. Now published in English, the world will come knocking. (The Independent)

One of the most important novels in Brazilian literature (Revista Cult)

Nassar's book is a masterwork, a rare exception in a constantly levelling out literature business (Die Zeit)

While reading, and marveling at, Ancient Tillage and A Cup of Rage -- both of them set on farms in the Brazilian outback, both of them stylistically bold achievements -- we are struck by two other feelings: disappointment that Nassar wrote so little, and disbelief that it took so long to render his unique voice into English. (Malcolm Forbes The National)

About the Author:

Raduan Nassar was born in 1935, in Pindorama, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. He was raised mainly in small rural towns, then went on to study Law at the University of São Paulo. Like his Lebanese immigrant family, the author's life has been bound in agriculture and writing. Ancient Tillage (1975) and A Cup of Rage (1978), a novella, are his two major literary works. He also worked as a journalist and editor for the newspaper Jornal do Bairro, jointly founded with his brothers. Although an acclaimed literary author, since 1985 Raduan Nassar has led a private existence dedicated to farming and livestock production. He retired to a smaller farm in 2011, having donated his entire commercial property to the agricultural departments of the Federal University of São Carlos for the creation of a new campus.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0141396784
• ISBN 13: 9780141396781
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144