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The last two books I read were short but dense. If the previous reading was very masculine, this one is pure femininity oozing from the lyrics. What a beautiful book!
Olhos D'Água (Watered Eyes) is a set of 15 short stories by Conceição Evaristo. As the preface says, the title is the key phrase that links all the stories. The stories focus on black women or their children and grandchildren (and their life difficulties), especially in the Brazilian big cities. We see their personal issues and the reality of living in the midst of a cycle of poverty and violence with the eternal hope of breaking it in the next generation.
Conceição Evaristo is a born poet, and as I read her words, I just wanted to hug her tightly. Same for all the characters in the book.
It is possible to divide the stories into 4 main sections and a final ode to hope. We start with the maternal relationship through generations and the cycles of poverty and violence. These cycles permeate almost the entire book along with one desire: that in the next generation, things will be better.
In the second section, we notice stories related to the existence and love of these women. After that, the texts look at the children of these women and how they are affected by poverty and the constant violence imposed on their reality. In the final section, we observe the kid forced to turn into a man. Tiredness, anger, and irritation are mixed together and create one more condition for this man to be kept in the same premade profile. "We agreed not to die" but we keep dying and, sometimes, killing each other.
Conceição ends the book with the story of Ayoluwa as a song of hope. The light of joy and hope in breaking these cycles with the newborn.
Although Evaristo has some books already translated into English and other languages such as Spanish and French, this book is only available in Portuguese. But I found a translation of one of the short stories in this book, made for Meg Weeks where you can read it HERE.
I've always admired anyone who had the ability to turn something sad, heavy into beauty. And that is what Conceição Evaristo does in the stories contained in this book. A short, potent book where the word love and pain overflow through every crack.
About the Writer
Conceição Evaristo (1946) is an important name in contemporary Brazilian literature. Linguist, writer, and doctor in literature, she writes about the experience of the Afro-Brazilian people, mainly issues related to racial discrimination, ancestry, and violence. She creates a portrait of black women in Brazilian society.
Instagram: @conceicaoevaristooficial
Other Books: Ponciá Vicêncio (2003), Becos da Memória (Memory’s Alleys) (2006), Insubmissas lágrimas de Mulheres (Insubmissive Women’s Tears) (2011), Histórias de Leves Enganos e Parecenças (Stories of Light Mistakes and Resemblance) (2016), Canção para Ninar Menino Grande (Lullabies for Big Boys) (2018)
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