The Discovery Of America By The Turks, The

For the first time in English- legendary Brazilian author Jorge Amado's spirited novella about Arab immigrants to South America - published for the centennial of Amado's birth Two Arab immigrants - 'Turks,' as Brazilians call them-arrive in the rough Brazilian frontier on the same ship in 1903, hoping to find a future. They rub shoulders with gunslingers and plantation owners, and also tangle with merchants, one of whom is desperate to marry off his impossible daughter. Thus ensues a farcical drama that produces, in a humorous twist, the unlikeliest of suitors in this whimsical Brazilian take on The Taming of the Shrew. 'Delightful . . . A wonder of the art of narration by the voice, the feeling, and the joy of Brazil.' Jose Saramago, from the Foreword