Synopses & Reviews
"Disarmingly tender and feverishly sad, Gardel's love story is a delirium of a novel that reminds its readers of an uncomfortable truth: that even a life of regret can be a beautiful one." — Patrick Nathan, author of Some Hell
A letter has beckoned to Raimundo since he received it over fifty years ago from his youthful passion, handsome Cícero. But having grown up in an impoverished area of Brazil where the demands of manual labor thwarted his becoming literate, Raimundo has long been unable to read. As young men, he and Cícero fell in love, only to have Raimundo's father brutally beat his son when he discovered their affair. Even after Raimundo succeeds in making a life for himself in the big city, he continues to be haunted by this secret missive full of longing from the distant past. Now at age seventy-one, he at last acquires a true education and the ability to access the letter. Exploring Brazil's little-known hinterland as well its urban haunts, this is a sweeping novel of repression, violence, and shame, along with their flip side: survival, endurance, and the ultimate triumph of an unforgettable figure on society's margins. The Words That Remain explores the universal power of the written word and language, and how they affect all our relationships.
Review
"In this novel, writing means life. There isn't a single word in it that isn't poetry." — Folha de São Paulo
Review
"Incredible debut work...Packs a literal and figurative punch...Through swirling reflections, the novel moves like a steady whirlwind, conveying inner turmoil and external inaction, punctuated by powerful sometimes devastating change." — Asymptote
Review
"Auspicious debut...This wistful novel introduces a worthy new voice." — Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Stênio Gardel was born in 1980 in the rural northeast of Brazil. The Words That Remain is his first novel.
Bruna Dantas Lobato is a Brazilian writer and literary translator who lives in New York and St. Louis.