Fiction
The Sound of the Jaguar's Roar
by Micheliny Verunschk
In this lyrical novel, Micheliny Verunschk exposes the story of two native children of the Amazon forest in XIX Brazil, kidnapped and brought to Europe by two German explorers. In 1817, Spix and Martius disembarked in Brazil with the mission of registering their impressions about the country. Three years and ten thousand kilometers later, the explorers went back to Munich bringing with them not only a detailed travel report, but also two native kids, who will die shortly after reaching the European soil.In her fifth novel, Micheliny Verunschk builds a powerful narration putting aside the hegemonic historiography of the time and bringing light on the main characters of this story, two children – here called Iñe-e and Juri – torn away from their native land. The plot is intertwined with contemporary Brazil, where we meet Josefa, a young girl that sees a picture of the two kids during an exhibition and understands her lack of knowledge on the matter.This is a book without comparison in Brazil’s contemporary literature, a novel facing delicate themes such as memory, colonialism, identity and belonging.
