''Menino de engenho'' (Plantation boy) is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian writer

José Lins do Rego José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

. It was first published in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

Synopsis

Carlos Melo, or Carlinhos, narrates in first person, in a nostalgic manner, the childhood spent in the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Santa Rosa. When his father was sent to a mental house after killing his mother, Carlinhos moved from

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

to Santa Rosa, in the plantation that belonged to his grandfather, Coronel José Paulino. Carlinhos' childhood was divided between "good" and "evil": in the company of his aunt his behavior was more gentle (the "good"); living with his cousins, he was extroverted and libertine (the "evil"). Living in the plantation, Carlinhos became familiar with the social inequalities between the plantation masters and their employees; in addition, he almost joined the Cangaço (he even asked the bandit Antônio Silvino to let him follow the group). There Carlinhos also came to know love, first with his cousin Lili, who died as a child and later with another cousin, Maria Clara, who lived in Recife and spent a few days visiting the plantation. Maria Clara was a little older than Carlinhos and told him about all the fun and new things that happened in the city. But the romance didn't last long, as the cousin went back to Recife. Soon after, Carlinhos lost his "second mother": his aunt Maria got married and the boy was left to the care of his cold and strict aunt Sinhazinha. However, aunt Sinhazinha's austerity made Carlinhos even more libertine: the boy, only twelve years old, caught gonorrhea. His relatives then decided to "set him straight" by sending him to school.

References

1932 novels Brazilian novels Novels set in Brazil {{Brazil-lit-stub