WINNER OF THE JABUTI AWARD - NOVEL CATEGORY The obsession with originality of language has always been a hallmark of Evandro Affonso Ferreira, whose writing, which began in 2000 with the acclaimed "Grogotó," has been compared to that of Guimarães Rosa. But now, at 66 and in his sixth book, the writer is more reflective. He has abandoned excessive care with form, but without sacrificing musicality, care with words, or conciseness—a trait he has been pursuing since his previous novel, "My Mother Killed Herself Without Saying Goodbye," winner of the APCA Award for best novel in 2010 and a finalist for the São Paulo Literature and Jabuti awards in 2011. In this beautiful and devastating "The Beggar Who Knew Erasmus of Rotterdam's Adages by Heart," the author once again addresses "dark" themes such as loneliness, madness, decrepitude, and death. Behind the long title lies the story of a cultured man, a profound connoisseur of the Dutch philosopher's work, who, after being abandoned by his beloved, lost his mind and became homeless. A "nihilistic-lyrical" novel, as the author himself defines it, in which he forgoes the paragraph, presenting it in one breath, skillfully utilizing the stream of consciousness. For ten years, wandering the streets of a metropolis searching for poetic coincidences that will soothe his sadness, pain, and loneliness, a tormented man experiences the painful closeness of the world as he awaits the return of his beloved—the one who left him a note saying, "IT'S OVER; GOODBYE." Her mantra, litany, or refrain, tirelessly repeated, "SHE WILL COME—I KNOW," drives him forward even when there is no clear direction. Unable to name her or even anchor her in some safe harbor in his thoughts, he pencils the letter N, the initial of his beloved's name, into every empty space in the city, and challenges the gods of oblivion by constantly recalling the moments of emotional and intellectual intimacy he shared with her. Carrying with him the Adages of Erasmus of Rotterdam, this erudite beggar knows everything about the life and work of the Dutch humanist—yes, the same one from In Praise of Folly. And he constantly tells his story to an imaginary interlocutor-writer, whom he calls "sir." Both narrator and interlocutor are under an overpass among many other beggar-characters, who, from anonymous and unusual wretches, transform into extraordinary creatures in the imagination of the beggar-poet, like the "mollusk woman" and the "butterfly boy."
Mineiro de Araxá, radicado em São Paulo desde a década de 1970, Evandro Affonso Ferreira surgiu na literatura em 2000 – apresentado por José Paulo Paes – e em 2006 participou de uma coletânea de contos em Portugal, organizada por Alcir Pécora. É autor, entre outros, de Minha mãe se matou sem dizer adeus (Prêmio APCA de Melhor Romance de 2010, finalista do Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura 2011 e do Jabuti 2011), O mendigo que sabia de cor os adágios de Erasmo de Rotterdam (Prêmio Jabuti 2013), Não tive nenhum prazer em conhecê-los (Prêmio Bravo! 2016) e Nunca houve tanto fim como agora (Prêmio APCA de melhor romance de 2017 e Prêmio Machado de Assis – Biblioteca Nacional 2018), todos pela Editora Record.
