Portuguese / Brazil
Clarice
Mello, Roger
(text)
Cavalcante, Felipe
(illus.)
São Paulo: Global, 2018. – 110 p.
ISBN 978-85-260-2402-1
Brazil | History 1960s-1980s | Dictatorship | Censorship
Reading age: 14+
White Ravens issue: 2019
“Clarice” examines the time of military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985) through a girl’s eyes. Clarice lives with her aunt after her parents have disappeared without a trace. Whether they were arrested or fled remains unclear. Persecution is real and always present in this country, where books and films are censored and life is marked by fear and caution, playing hide-and-seek with those in power who are called E.L.E.S. (T.H.E.Y.). The story consists exclusively of Clarice’s immediate experiences and perceptions. Because the child doesn’t understand many things, but only suspects, and because the secretive, fearful atmosphere that surrounds her leaves many things unspoken and unexplained, the 25 short chapters of impressions, experiences, and thoughts collectively form a picture riddled with gaps. The illustrations do not explain anything either but further emphasize the mysteriousness of this powerful book for inquisitive, attentive, and well-read youths.