Looking for a good read?

I suppose you could say I love outlaw American culture.  Jamaica Kincaid

What is it about outlaws?  I’ve always been drawn to the romance of Robin Hood, Zorro, even Bonnie and Clyde. While I’m in Chicago, since I’m not attending conference sessions with John, I have time to indulge this weakness. On the recommendation of my sister, I’m reading Backlands, the story of Maria Bonita and her bandit husband Lampiao, based on a real gang who terrorized the rich and powerful in a large part of Brazil for several decades early in the 20th century.

Here’s one of my favorite passages so far, describing an incident in 1926: “NOVEMBER 25: Lampiao takes hostage American representatives from Standard Oil, demanding ransom.  When they explain they have to type the demand in triplicate, he smashes their typewriter, burns their car, and takes them hostage. NOVEMBER 26: Violent skirmish outside of Morada, with Pernambuco troops, attempting to rescue the hostages. The fight lasts all day and all night, until Lampiao, with a hundred and twenty men, puts the troops to flight. Ransom is then paid, and the hostages set free.”

The author, Victoria Shorr, manage to combine a love story with a philosophical examination of the remote geography of the barren scrublands, which supported indigenous Indians for centuries, combined with the arrival of the Portugese and the subsequent creation of large ranches which were doomed to fail, led inevitably to the society which produced Lampiao, a victim who decided to strike back.

Recommended reading, if you love outlaw culture too.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *