Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (1958)

One bright spring day in 1925, Gabriela, travelling from the poverty-stricken backwoods of Brazil, arrives in the lively seaside port of Ilhéus amid a flock of filthy migrant workers. Though wearing rags and covered in dirt, she attracts the attention of Nacib, a cafe owner who is in desperate need of a new cook. So dire is his situation that he hires the disheveled girl. The young woman quickly proves to be an excellent chef and - once well-scrubbed and decently dressed - an eye-catching beauty. Nacib quickly finds himself the owner of the most prosperous business in town - and the employer of its most sought-after woman.

Author: Jorge Amado was born in August 12, 1912 in Ilhéus, Bahia, whose society he portrays in acclaimed novels such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon. His father was a cocoa planter, and his first novel, Cacao, published when he was nineteen, is a plea for social justice for the workers on the cocoa estates south of Bahia. The theme of class struggle continued to dominate his novels in the 1930s and 40s, but with the 50s and Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958), the political emphasis gave away to a lighter, more novelistic approach. It was in this novel, published in the United States when Amado was fifty and enthusiastically received in some fourteen countries, that he first explored the rich literary vein pursued in Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. Jorge Amado died in 2001.

My thoughts: Jorge Amado has been called "one of the greatest writers...also the most entertaining”. I totally agree with that... In fact, he is my preferred writer. I laugh so much when I read his books that people around me think I'm mad. He is the only author I know who has the ability to make the most dramatic and sad situation seem funny, even anecdotal. In his books he describes a group of characters that are linked in some way to each another. He has great attention to detail for each of the characters, he even gives them nicknames. These multiple characters come to life and create a community or a town. We get carried away by their lives, their world.

           

I clearly remember the first time I heard of Jorge Amado. I was six years old and accompanied my mum to a kiosk to buy the magazine "Gabriela, Telenovela" (photo novel) based on the Brazilian soap opera aired nightly on TV, which was inspired by the Amado novel. This soap opera had phenomenal success and made Sonia Braga a sex symbol. Later, mum compiled an album with all the magazines. She gave it to me a few years ago. So, I have the book in English edition and a photo novel version as well.