The last lap of Rio

In this remarkable novel, Nei Lopes tells the story of the changes in Rio de Janeiro in the 20th century through the eyes of a typical Rio resident.

Rio's last lap is the lament of a true-blue black Carioca who lived through the golden years of the Marvelous City and today suffers from the ills that are destroying it, such as crime, corruption, religious racism and intolerance.

Maurício de Oliveira, known as Cicinho, was the first in his family to complete high school. Coming from Irajá, in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro, he graduated in law and became a federal prosecutor. He witnessed all the changes Rio de Janeiro underwent over the years: from the transfer of the capital to the interior of the country (and the ensuing disputes) to the emergence of new political—and religious—players in the city's dynamics. As Marcelo Moutinho noted in the book's blurb, Cicinho's journey "reflects, in its individual microcosm, the trajectory of a country in permanent cataclysm [...], full of impasses, which Nei examines with verve and irony."

Nei Lopes has strived to produce fictional literature in which Black individuals and Black people in general are almost the absolute protagonists of his plots, always set in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. This book , *A última volta do Rio*, definitively consolidates the author's narrative power.

"The idea of the black president never left Maurício's mind. He knew Brazil had black men who were good at soccer, singers, dancers, nurses... But president of the Republic? How? The news then became the 'secret of the Castle' or 'the Esplanade.' Even today, although not officially a neighborhood, it's an important part of the city center. In fact, before the move, it was the center of downtown, housing the buildings where important decisions were made, where destinies were judged, where the most refined music was heard, the best foreign films were seen, the best draft beer was sipped, the most beautiful women were coveted, and the best-dressed men were envied. This was Rio, with a capital R."