4,0
Crítica | O Sol na Cabeça, de Geovani Martins
http://www.planocritico.com/critica-o-sol-na-cabeca-de-geovani-martins/ ( )

A compilation of short stories, Geovani Martins is being heralded as the new voice of Brazilian literature. To his credit, Martins has provided authentic reflections of Rio de Janeiro's Caricocas Hills favela, where soccer, drugs, guns, poverty, sex, and corruption seem to dominate life. The short story format may be well suited for his voice, as the stories did not drag or become tedious. However, for the same reason, it was hard to become engaged because each story had different people. Moreover, many felt shallow or inconsequential and most had ambiguous endings, with not enough plot or character development to get readers thinking about the final outcomes. I expect that Martins will further develop his style, perhaps focusing on common themes in his stories or more complex plots if he moves onto novels. ( )

3.5 stars. ( Goodreads needs half stars cuz this is definitely not a 3 star but also not a 4 star read) ( )

I love short stories, and really enjoyed some of the stories in this collection. I especially liked “The Tag”.

Great, John, so why only a three star rating??? Well, I’m glad you asked! It’s really my fault, in a way. I love short stories, and learning about other cultures, so reading this made sense. There is nothing wrong with the stories, they are interesting. That said, I won’t read any more collections by this author. I understand not being able to relate to certain terminology in stories translated into English. I even understand difficulties understanding drug culture terminology. BUT, combine two unfamiliar cultures and it almost gives me a headache trying to figure out what’s going on in some of these tales.

Please understand, I’m attempting to be as fair as possible here. What I could follow was excellent, but I’m an avid reader and was frustrated throughout. I’ve never gone a day, in my rather advanced years, without at least one book in progress. So, I’m not familiar enough with difficulty following a story. ( )

Die Copacabana, der berühmte Strand Rio de Janeiros, steht für pure Lebensfreude und grenzenlose Freiheit. In den oberhalb gelegenen Armenvierteln, den Favelas herrscht dagegen Gewalt, Drogenmissbrauch und Hunger. Der Autor, Jg. 1991, selbst in einer Favela aufgewachsen, beschreibt in seinen 13 Erzählungen den Alltag männlicher Heranwachsender. Zwischen der Faszination für Pornografie, Waffen und Drogen, schwanken die Jugendlichen in der Angst, verhaftet zu werden und ihr Leben zu verpfuschen. Allein vor der Großmutter oder dem alleinerziehenden Vater hat der Einzelne noch Respekt. Ansonsten werden bereits acht Jährige als Drogenkurier eingesetzt und Pumpguns oder Revolver gehören zur allgemeinen Ausstattung. Gangs machen Jagd auf ältere Leute oder verfolgen besser Gestellte. Wachdienste und die Polizei verüben alltägliche Razzien, wobei es den Jugendlichen kaum gelingt den zerstörerischen Kreislauf zu überwinden. Der junge brasilianische Autor ist in Brasilien mit seinen realistischen, ungeschönten Storys sehr erfolgreich. Für ausgebaute Bestände als authentischer Beitrag empfohlen. ( )