Jorge Amado

Amado, Jorge (zhôrˈzhĭ əmäˈdŏ) [key], 1912–2001, Brazilian novelist. Amado's works deal largely with the poor urban black and mulatto communities of Bahia. His early novels, such as The Violent Land (1942, tr. 1945), are marked by grim and violent realism. His later works, such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958, tr. 1962), Doña Flor and Her Two Husbands (1966, tr. 1969), Tent of Miracles (1969, tr. 1971), and Tieta, the Goat Girl (1977, tr. 1979), frequently have a comic element and stress folkloric and popular themes related to Afro-Brazilian culture. Alive with vibrant characters, his novels often reflect his left-wing political views and his deep sympathy for women. Although sometimes criticized for stereotyped female characterizations and for romanticizing poverty, Amado is acclaimed for his portrayal of ordinary Brazilians and is the most widely read Brazilian novelist of the 20th cent. and among the most translated novelists in the world. His later fiction (he wrote 32 books in all) includes Pen, Sword, Camisole (1979, tr. 1985), Showdown (1984, tr. 1988), and The War of the Saints (1989, tr. 1993).

See biography by B. J. Chamberlain (1990); study by K. H. Brower et al., ed. (2000).

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