''Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon'' () is a Brazilian

modernist novel Modernist literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented with literary form a ...

Jorge Amado Jorge Amado ( 10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, includi ...

, originally published in 1958 and later published in English in 1962. It is widely considered one of Amado's finest works. A film adaptation, ''

Gabriela Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name) Gabriela is the Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Czech language, Czech, Slovak language, Slovak, Romanian language, Romanian, Latvian language, Latvian, Polish language, Po ...

'', was released in 1983. It is Jorge Amado 3rd most bestselling book, having sold 2 million copies.Pag 142 Maria Aparecida Gonçãlves de Oliveira Rocha. Jorge Amado: A Recepção de sua obra sob os diferentes enfoques de críticos literários brasileiros e estrangeiros e do leitor comum. Tese de Mestrado. https://saberaberto.homologacao.uneb.br/handle/20.500.11896/4812

Plot summary

''Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon'' is a romantic tale set in the small Brazilian town of

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the mos ...

during the 1920s. The town is experiencing a record large cacao crop, which makes it a thriving place and gives it an economic upswing and great progress. Still there is a conservative streak among the town folk and they are still relying on old traditions, like violent political takeovers and vengeance against unfaithful women. The book tells two separate but related tales: first, the romance between Nacib Saad, a respectable bar owner of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

origin, and his new cook Gabriela, an innocent and captivating

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

from the impoverished interior. The gap between the worlds of Nacib Saad and Gabriela make their romance a challenge to the unwritten rules of Ilhéus society and will subsequently change the two of them forever. The second part to this story is about the political struggle between the seasoned cacao plantation owners, with the powerful Bastos clan in pole position, and the forces of

modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...

, in the person of Mundinho Falcão, a wealthy young man from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. It can be read simultaneously as an unusual, charming love story, a description of the political and social forces at work in 1920s Brazil, a somewhat satirical depiction of

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

aspirations to "modernity", and a celebration of the local culture and pleasures of Bahia.

Theme and settings

''Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon'' gives the reader a peek into a small town community on the brink of a grand transformation. Ilhéus is an inviting little place with a good mix of culture and quite a few originals to color everyday life. In the mid-1920s, the

Brazilian provinces The provinces of Brazil were the primary subdivisions of the country during the period of the Empire of Brazil (1822 – 1889). On February 28, 1821, the provinces were established in the Kingdom of Brazil (then part of the United Kingdom of ...

were suffering under the political, social, and economic dominance of the

cacao plantation ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. Its seedscocoa beansare used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropi ...

owners – the "colonels" (). They sit at the very top of the societal structure and control the region, having the absolute majority of the political power. In this story though, there is a new kid in town, Mundinho Falcão, a man who recently moved to

from

. He has a sole purpose: to seize the political power from these "

colonels Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in char ...

". The town patriarch, Colonel Ramiro Bastos, disapproves of the outsider's interference and vows not to surrender without a fight. The colonels run the local governing administration of both major political parties, thus control all decisionmaking and with violence if necessary hold on to their large estates that supply the means upon which everything and everyone depends. They are the

plutocratic A plutocracy () or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any established ...

rulers of what could be called a purely feudal society, aided by complicated system of allegiances built upon mutual interest, reciprocal favors and kinship.

Translations

It is the book by Jorge Amado with the most translations. It was edited in German, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Danish, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Dutch, Hungarian, English, Italian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Moldavian, Norwegian,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, Turkish and Ukrainian. In China, where Jorge Amado is the most read Brazilian author, this book and ''Dona Flor e seus dois maridos'' are considered the best books by Jorge Amado. Pag 42 Zhang Jianbo. A recepção das obras de Jorge Amado na China https://www.revistas.usp.br/clt/article/download/96704/95907/166710

Adaptations

The novel was made into the telenovela '' Gabriela, Cravo e Canela'' for

TV Tupi Rede Tupi (; in English, Tupi Network) was a Brazilian commercial terrestrial television network. Its flagship station, located in the city of São Paulo, was the first TV station to operate in the country, being inaugurated on 18 September 1 ...

in 1961. It was also adapted into the 1975 telenovela ''

'' and into the 2012 telenovela ''

''. The feature film ''

'' was directed by

Bruno Barreto Bruno Villela Barreto Borges (born 16 March 1955) is a Brazilian film director. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, Barreto has been making feature-length films ever since he was 17 years old and remains one of Brazil's most accomplished and pop ...

in 1983. The feature version starred

Sônia Braga Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in ''Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 film), Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) a ...

as Gabriela and

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

as Nacib, and featured original music by

Antonio Carlos Jobim Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

. The book has been translated into English and other languages as ''Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon''.

References

{{Authority control 1958 Brazilian novels Brazilian novels adapted into films Fiction set in 1925 Novels adapted into television shows Novels by Jorge Amado Novels set in the 1920s Novels set in Bahia Portuguese-language novels