With inventive language, The Colonel and the Werewolf is a masterpiece of Brazilian magical realism and shows that regionalism has not been exhausted.
The Colonel and the Werewolf tells the story of the rise and fall of Ponciano de Azeredo Furtado, heir to the lands and title of his grandfather, a colonel in the National Guard. In this masterpiece populated by animals and fantastical beings, José Cândido de Carvalho presents a narrator-protagonist with rural roots, whose sanity is tested upon encountering city life.
Without resorting to elitist erudition, the author creates an original regionalist novel, based on a work of linguistic invention that weaves tales from popular culture, including fables steeped in magical realism. He thus obtains a plot that fluctuates between the ways of life in rural Brazil and the Latin American imagination, both fertile ground for the mysteries of enchantment and extraordinary events. As Rachel de Queiroz pointed out, "in Zé Cândido's lexicon, not a single word appears that isn't possible; if it didn't exist until now, it was missing."
Published in 1964, The Colonel and the Werewolf is considered one of the most important works of Brazilian literature. It was also published in Portugal, France, Argentina, and Germany, and received the Jabuti, Coelho Neto (Brazilian Academy of Letters), and Luísa Cláudio de Sousa (PEN Club of Brazil) awards. In cinema, it inspired two films of the same name: the 1978 film, written and directed by Alcino Diniz, which represented Brazil at the Cannes Film Festival, and the 2005 film, directed by Maurício Farias, with scripts by Jorge Furtado and Guel Arraes, starring Diogo Vilela, Selton Mello, and Andrea Beltrão.
Editora José Olympio celebrates the great contribution of José Cândido de Carvalho to Brazilian literature with this edition, on the 110th anniversary of the author's birth.
“José Cândido gave new life to Brazilian regionalism.” — Rachel de Queiroz
“I have no hesitation in placing The Colonel and the Werewolf among the best novels of Brazilian literature of all time.” — Erico Verissimo
“The most pleasant surprise in the Brazilian prose sector that we have heard of since the decisive encounter with the work of Guimarães Rosa.” — Leo Gilson Ribeiro
“It is one of the highest points that Brazilian literature has reached.” — Marques Rebelo
“Reaches the line of the masterpiece.” — Josué Montello
