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A Novel
by Micheliny Verunschk
The story of an Indigenous girl's kidnapping during a colonial expedition intertwines with a young woman's modern-day search for identity and ancestral truths.
In 1817, explorers Spix and Martius returned from their three-year voyage in Brazil with not only an extensive account of their journey, but also with an Indigenous boy and girl, Iñe-e and Juri. Kidnapped from rival tribes as part of the colonialist trend of collecting "living specimens" on scientific expeditions, the two tragically perished shortly after arriving in Europe. This lyrically rich novel takes their perspective to illuminate their harrowing journey.
Micheliny Verunschk's fifth novel, the first to be translated into English, powerfully challenges dominant historical narratives by centering the voices of these stolen Indigenous children. Intertwining their story with a narrative set in contemporary Brazil, we meet Josefa, a young woman grappling with her own identity when she encounters Iñe-e's image in an exhibition. Through its poignant exploration of memory, colonialism, and belonging, this novel stands out in Brazilian literature, offering readers a profound reflection on the enduring impact of history on personal lives.
"The lush and lyrical storytelling cocoons readers in a mystical experience, deftly weaving the resonant voices…The children's confinement bursts into dreamlike imagery…This immersive tale imparts feelings of enchantment and curiosity stained by the inquietude of colonial violence. This is a luminous and poetic journey that contemplates the silenced truths of Indigenous resilience in vivid detail." —Booklist (starred review)
"Brazilian writer Verunschk reckons with her country's colonial history in her vital English-language debut…[a] polyphonic attempt to give voice to the voiceless." —Publishers Weekly
"The subject is essential, and the writing is ambitious and energetic. A potent concoction of research and imagination, encouraging us to reexamine how we construct our own histories." —Kirkus Reviews
"This immersive tale imparts feelings of enchantment and curiosity stained by the inquietude of colonial violence… A luminous and poetic journey that contemplates the silenced truths of Indigenous resilience in vivid detail." ―Booklist
"Magical words with the power to create worlds. A very good read." ―Ailton Krenak, author of Ancestral Future
"A novel that expands the boundaries of literary art by bringing memory, anthropological arguments and the best that fiction can offer us." ―Itamar Vieira Junior, author of Prayer and Crooked Plow
This information about The Jaguar's Roar was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Micheliny Verunschk is the author of five books and winner of the 2022 Jabuti Prize. She lives in Recife, Brazil.
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