4.0
So Many People, Mariana
ByPublisher Description
Maria Judite de Carvalho (1921-1998) is now recognized as a major Portuguese writer of the twentieth century. In the short story she found the perfect vessel for her frank depictions of tragic, ordinary lives, and So Many People, Mariana collects her first four books of short fiction in English for the first time, telling of women and men in moments of existential conflict: with their families; with themselves; with the prospect of a better future—or any future at all. These stories, originally published between 1959 and 1967, when the Salazar dictatorship and the rigid edicts of the Catholic church reigned, are acerbic, artful, and funny. Translated by the renowned Margaret Jull Costa, Carvalho leads readers into the sensuous dark of life under patriarchal capitalism, proffering tragic visions of class-conscious malaise “as precisely and without sentiment as an autopsy” (New York Review of Books).
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesSo Many People, Mariana Reviews
4.0
A’s Reading Room
Created 11 months agoShare
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Rachel B.
Created almost 2 years agoShare
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naddie.reads
Created almost 2 years agoShare
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“Rating: 4.75
"So Many People, Mariana" is a collection of short stories by Maria Judite de Carvalho (translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa) which were written between 1959 and 1967, during which the Salazar dictatorship & the Catholic churches' edicts give rise to a period of censorship where literature such as de Carvalho's remain sidelined. Through the 26 stories in this collection, de Carvalho gave an interesting mix of portraits of people from all walks of life, where all their struggles, petty misgivings & thoughts in relation to others around them were laid bare to reveal one of the universal truths of life: our human need for a meaningful connection.
While most short story collections often fall short in terms of the variety offered and the quality of each story, here, de Carvalho's storytelling abilities are demonstrated beautifully through the curated selections. Even within the shortest story, there's always something to like or even love about the author's writing, which ranges from acerbic observations of human's duplicity & hypocrisy to the melancholic & wistful reflections of our regrets and things unsaid. Extra kudos to the translator for making this an enjoyable read and making de Carvalho's writings accessible to the English-speaking audience, without which I wouldn't have been able to read this.
People talk and talk, he thought. Life is one long monologue repeated a million times that ends in death. Meanwhile, everyone carried on talking and not listening to the others, not a word, so focused were they on their own voices. Always making the same points, always arguing (With the others? With themselves?) about the same subjects.
I find myself getting emotional at various points throughout the read whenever I empathize with any of the characters and their private turmoils, as de Carvalho manages to expose the truths beneath the veneer people utilize as a mask to show to the outside world. All of our insecurities, doubts, and anxiety -- the myriad emotions that make up the human experience -- are laid bear within this compilation, and I find myself liking every single one of the stories, which is a rare feat for a collection of this size. In short, this is a highly recommended read that will stay with me for a very long time.
Many thanks to the publisher & Edelweiss+ for the eARC copy; all opinions are my own. This book will be published in English on 10 October 2023.”
Smlaurie
Created about 2 years agoShare
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“I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.
This collection of 26 Portuguese short stories is set mostly in mid-20th century urban Portugal. The stories focus on the mundanity, lack of purpose or meaningful human connection experienced by modern citizens. The lives of men and women, married, widowed, single, childless and with children, are detailed. They see their lives as uneventful and seem to lack the agency to change that–or fear to act on agency, trapped in unsatisfying lives:
“Sometimes, she would pick up her alarm clock and make the hands spin. One day, eight days, thirty days…But when she stopped, only two or three minutes had passed, five at most, and there she was in the same place, still holding the clock.”
There is no hope offered in these stories, and although they are quite well written, it took me several months to read the entire collection.”
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