The novel spans decades, following the sisters’ parallel lives, their relationship with the land, the oppressive power of the landowner (the “seu” or “colonel”), and the legacy of slavery and systemic violence. The story intertwines with the spiritual world of their grandmother Donana, who communicates with encantados (enchanted beings, spirits of enslaved ancestors).
1. Overview | Aspect | Details | |------------|--------------| | Title | Torto Arado (Portuguese) / Crooked Plow (English) | | Author | Itamar Vieira Junior | | Original Publication Year | 2019 (Brazil) | | English Translation | 2023, translated by Johnny Lorenz | | Genre | Literary fiction, Magical realism, Social realism | | Setting | Chapada Diamantina region, Bahia, Brazil – mostly on a fictional farm called Água Negra | | Narrative Style | Multiple first-person narrators, shifting perspectives | 2. Plot Summary Torto Arado tells the story of two sisters, Bibiana and Belonísia , daughters of sharecroppers living in deep poverty on the Água Negra farm. When they are young children, they find a mysterious old knife – a “torto arado” (crooked plow) blade – hidden in their grandmother’s trunk. In a tragic accident, the blade cuts Belonísia’s tongue, leaving her unable to speak. Bibiana, feeling guilty, becomes her sister’s “voice.” livro torto arado