Rubem Fonseca

Rubem Fonseca (born May 11, 1925) is an important Brazilian writer.

He was born in Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, on May 11, 1925, but he lived for most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career as a low-level cop and, later, became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil. Even though, he refuses to do interviews and is a very reclusive person, much like Thomas Pynchon, who is a personal friend of Fonseca.

His writing is pretty dark and gritty, filled with violence and sexual content, and it usually happens in a very urban setting. He says that a writer should have the courage to show what most people are afraid to say. His work is considered groundbreaking in Brazilian literature, up until then mostly focused on rural settings and usually treating cities with a very biased point-of-view. Almost all Brazilian contemporary writers acknowledge Fonseca's importance, and quite a few authors from the newer generation, such as Patrícia Melo or Luis Ruffato, say that he's a huge influence.

He started his career with short stories, and they are usually considered to be the best part of his work. His first popular novel was A Grande Arte (High Art), but "Agosto" is usually considered to be his best work.

In 2003, he won the Camões Prize, considered to be the most important award in the Portuguese language.

Bibliography

Brazilians editions

Novels and novellas

*"O caso Morel" (1973)
*"A grande arte" (1983)
*" Bufo & Spallanzani" (1986)
*"Vastas emoções e pensamentos imperfeitos" (1988)
*"Agosto" (1990)
*"O selvagem da ópera" (1994)
*"Do meio do mundo prostituto só amores guardei ao meu charuto" (1997, novella)
*"O doente Molière" (2000, novella)
*"Diário de um Fescenino" (2003)
*"Mandrake: A Bíblia e a bengala" (2005, novella)

hort story collections and anthlogies

*" Os prisioneiros" (1963)
*"A coleira do cão" (1965)
*"Lúcia McCartney" (1967)
*"Feliz Ano Novo" (1975)
*"O homem de fevereiro ou março" (1973)
*"O cobrador" (1979)
*"Romance negro e outras histórias" (1992)
*"Contos reunidos" (1994)
*"O Buraco na parede" (1995)
*"Romance negro, Feliz ano novo e outras histórias" (1996)
*"Histórias de Amor" (1997)
*"Confraria dos Espadas" (1998)
*"Secreções, excreções e desatinos" (2001)
*"Pequenas criaturas" (2002)
*"64 contos de Rubem Fonseca" (2004)
*"Ela e outras mulheres" (2006)

English translations

*"High Art" (translation Ellen Watson. Harper & Row, New York, 1986)
*"Bufo & Spallanzani" (translation Clifford E. Landers. Dutton, New York, 1990)
*"Vast emotions and imperfect thoughts" (translation Clifford Landers, Ecco Press Publisher, New York, 1998)
*"The Taker and Other Stories" (translation Clifford E. Landers. Open Letter, New York, 2008)

Further reading

"Portuguese"
*Rubem Fonseca : proibido e consagrado / Deonísio da Silva., 1996
*Os crimes do texto : Rubem Fonseca e a ficção contemporânea / Vera Follain de Figueiredo., 2003
*Acercamientos a Rubem Fonseca / José Bru., 2003
*No fio do texto : a obra de Rubem Fonseca / Maria Antonieta Pereira., 1999
*Roteiro para um narrador : uma leitura dos contos de Rubem Fonseca / Ariovaldo José Vidal., 2000
*O realismo na ficção de José Cardoso Pires e de Rubem Fonseca / Petar Petrov., 2000
*Literatura e consumo : o caso Rubem Fonseca / Ana Cristina Coutinho Viegas., 2002

External links

* [http://www.releituras.com/rfonseca_bio.asp Short biography] , in Portuguese
* [http://www.ciadasletras.com.br/web_store.cgi?pg_autor=00162&buy=yes&slink=1&cart_id=2524207.23119
* [http://periodicolecturascriticas.blogspot.com/2007/09/de-la-intriga-cotidiana-y-otras.html Critics] , in Spanish Published books] , in Portuguese