Monday, July 27, 2015

A Brazilian Kick

THE DOUBLE DEATH OF QUINCAS WATER-BRAY by Jorge Amado

A pithy (seventy-one pages) comedic story recounting the tale of Joaquim Soares da Cunha who abandons his respectable life to become Quincas Water-Bray, a “champion drunk” and leader of various bums, prostitutes, and other dubious people his prissy family view as lowlife. When he dies (with a content smile on his face) his family outfits him in respectable garb and prepares for his funeral. However, his drunken friends decide to swipe the body—after putting the deceased's more comfortable clothes back on—and gives him one last jaunt about town. A laugh out loud read especially toward the end when Quincas somehow gets into a bar fight and the best passages finds his loopy friends viewing him as very much alive conversing, drinking, and laughing with them.

Note: The original 1959 Brazilian title is THE TWO DEATHS OF QUINCAS WATERYELL.

2 comments:

Oscar Case said...

I like funny novels, so I'll probably get this one.

David Cranmer said...

Funny is subjective but I thought is was a good one.