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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
This book doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending, but the road of obsession to find his illegitimate older brother, Ciccio tries to find a deeper connection of belonging, because his father and mother didn’t really give him that.
To be honest I struggled a bit reading this to the end. It didn’t hold my full attention.
I received this ebook from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.
To be honest I struggled a bit reading this to the end. It didn’t hold my full attention.
I received this ebook from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.
It is by coincidence that the Brazilian musician and author learns that his dad fathered a boy when he lived in Germany. Their house has always been full of books, his father a passionate historian and writer, horded them and, at times, forgot letters and other things in them. It is such a letter that Chico finds which indicates that his father had an affair with a certain Anne Ernst when he lived in Berlin as a journalist around 1930. Later, when the Nazi regime took over, he tried to bring his son to Brazil. Since father and son hardly talk to each other, it is not an option for Chico to ask him about the unknown half-brother, thus, Chico starts his research on his own.
Even though the book is classified as fiction, it is based on Chico Buarque’s life and the facts he reports about his father and German brother are actually true. Sérgio Buarque de Holanda spent some time in Berlin where Sergio Günther was born who later became a well-known artist in the German Democratic Republic. Unfortunately, the brothers never had the chance to meet.
I really appreciate Buarque’s tone of narration, especially at the beginning, the light-heartedness with which the young men move around town is well transferred into the language the author uses. Interesting to observe are the family structures. Even though the father’s main occupation is closely linked to language in all shapes and forms, the family members hardly find a way to communicate with each other and the most important things remain unsaid. A third aspect which struck me was the part in the novel which gives insight in the time of the military regime. Hardly do I know anything about the country’s history, therefore those glimpses are most fascinating.
Sometimes life itself invents the best stories. Even though some of it is fictional, I found Chico Buarque’s story about his mysterious brother most intriguing and a perfect example of how complicated families and our lives can be.
Even though the book is classified as fiction, it is based on Chico Buarque’s life and the facts he reports about his father and German brother are actually true. Sérgio Buarque de Holanda spent some time in Berlin where Sergio Günther was born who later became a well-known artist in the German Democratic Republic. Unfortunately, the brothers never had the chance to meet.
I really appreciate Buarque’s tone of narration, especially at the beginning, the light-heartedness with which the young men move around town is well transferred into the language the author uses. Interesting to observe are the family structures. Even though the father’s main occupation is closely linked to language in all shapes and forms, the family members hardly find a way to communicate with each other and the most important things remain unsaid. A third aspect which struck me was the part in the novel which gives insight in the time of the military regime. Hardly do I know anything about the country’s history, therefore those glimpses are most fascinating.
Sometimes life itself invents the best stories. Even though some of it is fictional, I found Chico Buarque’s story about his mysterious brother most intriguing and a perfect example of how complicated families and our lives can be.
My German Brother.
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Thank you for the review copy @fsgbooks :)
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This was my first read by Chico Buarque and I was taken aback by his unabashed style of writing. Chico is a famous Brazilian writer - musician who is considered a democratic hero. His work, My German Brother revolves around his own life and gives us a peek into his complicated family history.
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The protagonist is a man called Ciccio, who is the son of a famous journalist and historian, Sergio Buarque de Holanda (same name as the author's real father). They reside in Sao Paulo where their house is covered with walls of bookshelves, the priced possession of his father. One fine day, hidden inside the pages of a 1922 edition of The Golden Bough, Ciccio discovers a letter from Berlin that reveals the news of his illegitimate brother.
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The life of Ciccio is painted colourfully as he steals cars with his friends and moves from one heartbreak to another. Ciccio, post finding the letter, sets off on a journey to find his half brother. The author talks about Ciccio's own brother who was on a path of wooing all the girls with his good looks. What Ciccio missed on the looks side, he made up with his intelligence. This book is intense with references to Nazi administration, military systems and familial matters.
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It was clever of the author to add parts of his own life in this book including the brother's search as well as few references like how he let his father's name stay the same. This book is not a complete chart of his life yet majority of it does talk about Chico. The language used is not simple ; it's sophisticated, and has the power of leaving an imprint on one's mind. I'm sure I'll be picking up Spilt Milk very soon.
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The book has pictures of the letter that was written to Sergio from his estranged lover, Anne about his son. Though few parts of the story is related to Chico, the fact that how Ciccio never got married and also never became the famous musician and writer like Chico, shows that My German Brother isn't a complete revelation of his own life.
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I would rate this book 3.8/5.
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Thank you for the review copy @fsgbooks :)
~
This was my first read by Chico Buarque and I was taken aback by his unabashed style of writing. Chico is a famous Brazilian writer - musician who is considered a democratic hero. His work, My German Brother revolves around his own life and gives us a peek into his complicated family history.
~
The protagonist is a man called Ciccio, who is the son of a famous journalist and historian, Sergio Buarque de Holanda (same name as the author's real father). They reside in Sao Paulo where their house is covered with walls of bookshelves, the priced possession of his father. One fine day, hidden inside the pages of a 1922 edition of The Golden Bough, Ciccio discovers a letter from Berlin that reveals the news of his illegitimate brother.
~
The life of Ciccio is painted colourfully as he steals cars with his friends and moves from one heartbreak to another. Ciccio, post finding the letter, sets off on a journey to find his half brother. The author talks about Ciccio's own brother who was on a path of wooing all the girls with his good looks. What Ciccio missed on the looks side, he made up with his intelligence. This book is intense with references to Nazi administration, military systems and familial matters.
~
It was clever of the author to add parts of his own life in this book including the brother's search as well as few references like how he let his father's name stay the same. This book is not a complete chart of his life yet majority of it does talk about Chico. The language used is not simple ; it's sophisticated, and has the power of leaving an imprint on one's mind. I'm sure I'll be picking up Spilt Milk very soon.
~
The book has pictures of the letter that was written to Sergio from his estranged lover, Anne about his son. Though few parts of the story is related to Chico, the fact that how Ciccio never got married and also never became the famous musician and writer like Chico, shows that My German Brother isn't a complete revelation of his own life.
~
I would rate this book 3.8/5.
Um Chico Buarque de um universo paralelo nos conta da sua adolescência em São Paulo, marcada pela descoberta fortuita do segredo de que seu pai bibliófilo tivera um filho na Alemanha em 1930 e pela busca por esse irmão alemão. Mas "irmãos germanos", como ele se apressa a informar numa nota, são os filhos de mesmo pai e mesma mãe.
Então, esse irmão alemão não é "germano" - é meio-irmão. O sobrenome da família não é Hollanda, é Hollander. Chico não é músico, é professor da faculdade de Letras, e em vez de irmãs tem um irmão mais velho, que é preso pela repressão durante a ditadura. Ou seja, tudo é mas não é. Tudo é jogo de espelhos, tudo é farsa. E assim somos levados a crer que a história do meio-irmão Sérgio Ernst é inventada, até a última página, em que o autor revela que sim, esse seu meio-irmão existiu de verdade e de fato foi produtor de TV na Alemanha Oriental, como o personagem descobre.
"O Irmão Alemão" testa os limites entre realidade e ficção, inclusive dentro do próprio discurso do narrador, que muitas vezes confunde seus devaneios com a realidade.
Só achei os últimos capítulos meio apressados. Numa página estamos em 1973, na página seguinte o narrador menciona comentários feitos no seu blog.
Então, esse irmão alemão não é "germano" - é meio-irmão. O sobrenome da família não é Hollanda, é Hollander. Chico não é músico, é professor da faculdade de Letras, e em vez de irmãs tem um irmão mais velho, que é preso pela repressão durante a ditadura. Ou seja, tudo é mas não é. Tudo é jogo de espelhos, tudo é farsa. E assim somos levados a crer que a história do meio-irmão Sérgio Ernst é inventada, até a última página, em que o autor revela que sim, esse seu meio-irmão existiu de verdade e de fato foi produtor de TV na Alemanha Oriental, como o personagem descobre.
"O Irmão Alemão" testa os limites entre realidade e ficção, inclusive dentro do próprio discurso do narrador, que muitas vezes confunde seus devaneios com a realidade.
Só achei os últimos capítulos meio apressados. Numa página estamos em 1973, na página seguinte o narrador menciona comentários feitos no seu blog.