Douglas Lorie discusses his novel Acaju
Saturday 7/26 2pm
– 3pm
Douglas Lorie
discusses his novel Acaju
9780991150229
Brazil. For Europeans in the 1700s, a frontier in which all dreams could come true. Dreams of saving souls, of scientific discoveries, of wealth. Wealth from the sugar fields, only attainable with the enslavement of both African and native peoples. Acaju begins with a baby left at the gates of a Catholic mission. The enigmatic child, named Jasy, is dark skinned, but with blue eyes. Jasy is raised in part by a priest who educates him and in part by a Tupi foster mother who shows him the art and tradition of yerba mahtay tea. Douglas Beye Lorie's Brazil is at times mystic, at times all too real. Acaju's characters--the priest, the botanist, the orphan, the slaver, the sugar baron, the mysterious healer who appears when her people need her and then disappears into the forest again--carry this complex and satisfying story that will remind readers of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in its scope and beauty.