Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

For the months of July and August, we will be reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. Originally published in 1958 in Portuguese with an English translation published in 1962, it is a tale of romance set in the small Brazilian town of Ilhéus during the 1920s. The book tells two separate but related tales – one of romance and another of the political struggle between the cacao plantation and the forces of modernization. It is widely considered one of Amado's finest works and has been adapted into 3 different telenovelas and a Brazilian movie. It sounds like a good summer read! Anyone interested in joining in the discussion of this book?

Source: Wikipedia

I ordered the book. Now to fit it in my reading!

Pam wrote: "For the months of July and August, we will be reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. Originally published in 1958 in Portuguese with an English translation published ..."

I'm hoping to read it this July! My want-to list is in excess of 200 books, and growing every day, but I really plan to read the Amado, and I'm glad the motivation is there now to do so.

I'm looking forward to this one, and to finally reading Amado- this will be my first. I will get to this after I finish my current reads.

Annette - Great! I requested a copy through ILL I hope it doesn’t take too long. The book sounds really good to me!

Mbuye and Jen- I’m glad to see you are both interested also! This will be my first book by Amado. I’m interested to see how his writing compares to other Latin American authors.

I will join in! This is the edition I want to read:

Welcome Luís! Glad you are going to join us!

Pam wrote: "Welcome Luís! Glad you are going to join us!"

Thank you.

I had so much fun reading this book! It's so entertaining!

I’m glad to hear that Luís! I’m still waiting but thinking I might buy a copy. I need something entertaining after just finishing The Three Body Problem trilogy!

Pam wrote: "I’m glad to hear that Luís! I’m still waiting but thinking I might buy a copy. I need something entertaining after just finishing The Three Body Problem trilogy!"

That's good!

My book has arrived. I have two library books to finish and then I'll start.

The translated title fails to address that, in the original. the title has a rhyme, In Portuguese, Gabriela and Cinnamon (canela) rhyme.

Pam said in her opener message that this book was adapted to other media, as movie and telenovelas. In the movie and in the second telenovela, Gabriela was played by Sonia Braga. You may know her by the movie "Kiss of the Spider Woman", as by other roles in several movies and american TV series. Nacib was played by the famous italian actor Marcello Mastroianni in the movie. You may know her niece Alice Braga who played several roles in american media as well. As I am Legend. The Shack, Predators, Blindness, Dark Matter and The Suicide Squad (2021).

Oh fun, appreciate the trivia , Rafael

That actress looks familiar and her movie Aquarius sounds familiar. I’d be interested in seeing some of her work.

Rafael wrote: "The translated title fails to address that, in the original. the title has a rhyme, In Portuguese, Gabriela and Cinnamon (canela) rhyme.

Pam said in her opener message that this book was adapted t..."

I've seen her movie some days ago. "The Kiss of Spider Woman"

indeed. she played Aquarius too. I didn't know that this movie was known outside Brazil.

I've already finished Gabriela. It was a fun read!

Rafael wrote: "indeed. she played Aquarius too. I didn't know that this movie was known outside Brazil."

Sonia Braga was also in Sex and the City. :-)

Melanie wrote: "Rafael wrote: "indeed. she played Aquarius too. I didn't know that this movie was known outside Brazil."

Sonia Braga was also in Sex and the City. :-)"

Great! I didn't know that. I have never watched it.

Started on the José Amado today! I'm glad this book was selected, it is so much fun, at least to start with!

Mbuye wrote: "Started on the José Amado today! I'm glad this book was selected, it is so much fun, at least to start with!"

I agree with you!

My copy came in today so I will get started! I’m happy to see positive comments. I like the rhyming aspect in the Spanish title of Gabriela and Canela (cinnamon). I frequently wonder about language nuances that are lost in translation.

Pam wrote: "My copy came in today so I will get started! I’m happy to see positive comments. I like the rhyming aspect in the Spanish title of Gabriela and Canela (cinnamon). I frequently wonder about language..."

I don't think that's a Spanish title; it's more of a Portuguese title.

Luís, you are correct! It’s the same word in Spanish and Portuguese is why I got confused.

Pam wrote: "Luís, you are correct! It’s the same word in Spanish and Portuguese is why I got confused."

You're welcome. Yes, that may be a little confusing.

In Italian we have the rhyme as well: Gabriella garofano e cannella.

Daniela - Nice! Thanks for sharing. The 3 languages are so similar.

I’m also excited by the positive comments here. I’m lagging on reading at the moment while I have visitors and a lot going on. Can’t wait to start this, in early August maybe :)

I've just put this on hold from my library and will give it a try after all. I'm not much interested in politics, but since I don't know anything about that political struggle and raw cacao is my only "fun food' (sans sweetener and vanilla and nuts and all of that stuff, but I manage to make something where it tastes good) I may not mind that part of it.

Karin wrote: "I've just put this on hold from my library and will give it a try after all. I'm not much interested in politics, but since I don't know anything about that political struggle and raw cacao is my o..."

But the author tells his occurrences in such a humorous way!

Very hard to find. Especially since Goodreads has Gabriella with 2 L's but my library and the interlibrary loans has it with 1 L. But I have now found it. 😃

Jen, Karin, and Blueberry - Glad you all will be joining in! I’ve only read the first chapter but hope to read some more tonight.

I’m just starting Part 2 (page 171). I’m really enjoying it! I’d really like to see the movie, after reading the book.

I’m just starting the 4th chapter (55% mark) and still enjoying it! I’ll add some general comments this weekend. I read that the book was considered scandalous in the town at the time it was published. I’m not surprised! I thought it was interesting how the most dangerous thing in town was a married woman! Also, while people tend to think of women as being gossipy, the men in this town can certainly hold their own! I can see where this book is great material for a telenovela and a movie.

Pam wrote: "I’m just starting the 4th chapter (55% mark) and still enjoying it! I’ll add some general comments this weekend. I read that the book was considered scandalous in the town at the time it was publis..."

Yes, I think that was the first soap opera premiered in Portugal.

I finished today and thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s now one of my top 3 favorite Latin American novels. I found the political struggles (the old guard vs the new guard) and the personal relationships/entanglements to be really intriguing. I loved the character Gabriela! Such a free spirit. I hope I can find the movie and see how she is portrayed. I’m looking forward to reading some more of Amado’s works.

Pam wrote: "For the months of July and August, we will be reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. Originally published in 1958 in Portuguese with an English translation published ..."


I've just finished 'Gabriela Clove and Cinnamon', and like everyone who reads the book, found it utterly enchanting. I read it in translation, but I would have loved to read it in Portuguese, which seems to me the only language which could do justice to such a lyrical expression of love. Even the politics and violence seemed steeped in a kind of languor. And the whole is written with such a twinkle!

Mbuye wrote: "Pam wrote: "For the months of July and August, we will be reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. Originally published in 1958 in Portuguese with an English translatio..."

I am simple, it suits me well, and I don't disdain a little milk from time to time, philistine that I am!

I’m interested in the English translations of this. I picked up a copy from the library today and it was published/translated in 1962 from the Portuguese by James Taylor (not that James Taylor) and William Grossman. I was wondering if there was a more modern English translation of the work? I’m sure there is.

Chad wrote: "I’m interested in the English translations of this. I picked up a copy from the library today and it was published/translated in 1962 from the Portuguese by James Taylor (not that James Taylor) and..."

That was the version I read too, Chad. It was fluid and easy reading, and to me it was the next best thing to the original. I too looked for later translations, but this was the one most easily available. No regrets.

Chad - I couldn’t find any other English translations. I thought this one was really good!

Thanks Pam and Mbuye. Good to hear!

I guess I’m an outlier here… read about 40 pages and it’s not working for me. I’ve decided to let it go for now…

Jen - Sorry to hear that. There’s been a few this year that I didn’t finish either. Amado is one Latin American authors that I do plan to read again. Some of the others I didn’t like as well.

Pam wrote: "Jen - Sorry to hear that. There’s been a few this year that I didn’t finish either. Amado is one Latin American authors that I do plan to read again. Some of the others I didn’t like as well."

Tja... I was surprised as I was really looking forward to this one, was expecting to find it really enjoyable. Perhaps it's just outshined by the few I just finished- books by Elsa Morante and Colette namely.

I wanna say his writing felt very masculine somehow. Interestingly, I checked out reviewers who gave it 3 or less stars to see if their thoughts spoke to whatever might be an issue I was having with it, since, at only 40pg in, this is hard for me to name. I noticed a common complaint was how he shaped his women characters. I wonder if folks here see this masculine or even misogynistic quality too and are just able embrace the style better than I or do you not see these issues or qualities in the work?

At only 40pg I think I did get a playful quality, not especially deep- yet anyway- and could imagine it translating well to film, with all those characters and the pace feeling a bit fast.

In an effort to see just how many books I can be in the middle of at once without loosing my mind, I started this one today. I got about 70 pages in and I like it. I like the author so I believe that I’m in good hands with this one. I’ve heard it described as a romance novels written for men. I don’t know about that so far but I am a man and I CAN be romantic…I think.

Jen - I didn’t get that feeling from the book. Did you read far enough to meet Gabriela? There certainly wasn’t any women’s lib in 1920s Brazil and women weren’t treated that well. You will see that in other Latin American literature. (I was disturbed by a V.S. Naipaul book in which women and children were regularly beaten by the husband/father.) Women's societal roles (being subordinate to men) in Latin American countries were (and may still be) strongly impacted by the cultural patriarchal traditions. Is it possible that’s what you were feeling? I didn’t read any negative reviews.

I felt like Gabriela helped change the culture in the village. She was such a free and loving spirit! There was one scene when she did something unexpected (probably shocking initially) and it had such a positive effect on everyone. That was my favorite scene. It felt like something you would see in a RomCom movie. I feel like she had a transformative (magical?) effect on the village.

I made it to the section where Gabriela is introduced to us. I like her! At about 100 pages we don’t know much about her but It seems that she can quickly flip between needing male attention and being completely happy without it, vary fast. She’s in a tough situation, she’s migrating to a new place, on foot, in search for work but she’s fun loving, upbeat and knows exactly what she wants.

Pam wrote: "Jen - I didn’t get that feeling from the book. Did you read far enough to meet Gabriela? There certainly wasn’t any women’s lib in 1920s Brazil and women weren’t treated that well. You will see tha..."

Thanks for the response, Pam. I definitely don't mean to convey that I need stories to look like utopias without misogyny. I expect literature to reflect real life and its problems and horrors. I wondered more about how Amado's voice and his presentation of women came across to folks here who read the book.
It's interesting you compare a memorable moment to the style of romcom movies.