Oscarina

A classic by Marques Rebelo that portrays everyday life in the suburbs of Rio.

Oscarina depicts a distant yet vibrant city. With well-developed characters, a somewhat dramatic style, and the incorporation of street talk into the writing, the author reveals what is unique to a certain Rio de Janeiro, but also something common to the human soul, with its desires and contradictions.

Jorge drops out of school, much to his father's dismay, and ends up pursuing a military career. He leaves his fiancée, Zita, for Oscarina, a charming woman who introduces him to new habits, and thus he launches himself into a bohemian life. Clarete, from the short story "Happiness," dreams of being an actress but ends up marrying her boss. The protagonist of "Onofre, the Terrible, or the Thirst for Justice" is a mosquito swatter who, dissatisfied with his paltry salary and his boss's lack of work, considers revenge—which also reveals his awareness of the value of his own work.

Originally published in 1931, Oscarina , Marques Rebelo's literary debut, brings together sixteen short stories depicting the daily lives of housewives, workers, and everyday types in Rio's suburbs. The author remains relevant today, presenting Rio de Janeiro beyond the postcards.

"'Marques Rebelo is modern without being modernist,'" defined playwright and novelist Josué Montello [...]. By bringing Oscarina back to bookstores, this beautiful edition by José Olympio reiterates the academic's words. As if that weren't enough, it reminds us that literature is also the place for the screwed, the invisible, the mistreated, the defeated. A passionate fan of América Futebol Clube—'my team always loses,' he used to say—Rebelo was always on their side."—from the foreword by Marcelo Moutinho

He acted like a fool, taking a dislike to studying for no reason, because he was actually quite lucky: he studied little and passed every exam. Barely, but he passed, and that was what counted. He was, however, envious of his fellow employees who didn't study, who didn't get thinner because they didn't know geometry theorems or irregular English verbs, which Benzabat, the bandit, crammed thirteen pages with, and they had—lucky ones!—the whole night to party. And the parties at the Gymnastics Club, the Orfeon, the Euterpe Club!… That, yes, was life! That was what he longed for.