- Sea of Death

by Jorge Amado

Paperback, 1984

Status

Available

Call number

869.3

Collection

Publication

Avon Books (1984), 273 pages

Description

Written in 1936 when Amado was twenty-four years old, Sea of Death tells the dockside tales of Bahia. Sailors and their wives, steeped in the rich mythology surrounding the goddess Iemanjá, are at the heart of this novel, a lyrical and tragic portrayal of the workers' daily struggle for survival. Sea of Death narrates the story of Guma and Lívia, lovers whose triumphs and tribulations mirror the dark imperatives of the world around them.

User reviews

LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
"There's something on the docks that's even worse than the misery of factories, the misery of plantations; It's the certainty that the end will be death at sea unexpectedly some night, suddenly some night."

This is the story of the people of the dockside of Bahia, and their acceptance that if they
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live by the sea, they will die by the sea. It focuses on the love story between Guma, brave, heroic, and almost mythical, and the beautiful Livia. Between them, it was love at first sight, but Livia was not "of the sea," and could not accept that at any time the man she loved could be taken by the sea.

I've read several books by Amado and have liked them all. He writes of poor people, but people enthusiastic for life. His characters are real, but also mythic. Recommended.

3 1/2 stars
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Subjects

Language

Original language

Portuguese

Original publication date

1936

Physical description

273 p.

ISBN

038088559X / 9780380885596
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