Galvez, Emperor of Acre

Galvez, Emperor of Acre , the acclaimed debut novel by Márcio Souza, has a new edition with a new cover and new graphic design.

Released in 1976, Galvez, Emperor of Acre , is the debut book by Márcio Souza, novelist, playwright and theater director, author of the novel Mad Maria , which was adapted for television in a miniseries by Rede Globo in 2003.

In Galvez , Márcio Souza portrays the Amazon in the late 19th century, a time when the demand for rubber multiplied with the advance of the Industrial Revolution, sparking the Amazon boom , which transformed Manaus into the capital of the jungle, a mecca for fortune hunters, corrupt politicians, prostitutes, visionaries, and adventurers. One of these, an Andalusian from Cádiz, an unrepentant lover, and, in his own words, a "Spaniard of the melancholic generation," would lead the conquest and consecration of the short-lived empire of Acre: Dom Luiz Galvez Rodrigues de Aria, one of the most cunning men the world has ever known. Invulnerable to the blows of fate—ambushes and malaria, floods, cannibals and arrows, ecclesiastical loves and misguided friendships—Galvez would, however, face a classic coup d'état against his tin crown.

Acclaimed by national and international critics, the book is a humorous novel of high literary quality that, at the same time, highlights the author's ability to reflect, in the account of past events, on the chaotic present of the Amazonian, Brazilian and Latin American realities.

"A dizzying, mind-boggling serial, in which the Amazon reveals itself in all its fury and danger. From the polemic between the author and his hero, a mad, unabashed laughter is born, howling with authenticity. (...) A new novel, a balm that defies all classification. (...) A vibrant and raw accusation, it denounces the wounds from which the blood of men and latex flow, mingled." - Jorge Amado

“It’s fun, fluent, satirical. It’s provocative.” - Ignacio de Loyola Brandão

"No one should fear that the flow of admirable Latin American novels is drying up. This novel by Brazilian Márcio Souza guarantees its seemingly inexhaustible vitality, for the book is at once a delightful comic delight and a collection of unlikely, half-true adventures—recounted with skill and economy." - The New Yorker

“A delight…” - The New York Times

“Márcio Souza deserves our applause.” - The New York Times Book Review