Project Description

City of GodPaulo Lins

Brazil

Having grown up and worked as an anthropologist in the favelas, Paulo Lins, born in 1958, has a unique understanding of their culture and ways. As a teacher, poet and novelist, Lins gained recognition as an exceptional storyteller. CITY OF GOD received critical acclaim for its combination of insight and intensity.

Paulo Lins© Imago Eastnews

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Mãe Luíza: Building Optimism

Over the past 30 years, the district of Mãe Luíza in Brazil’s northeastern city of Natal developed from a desolate favela into a functioning community. From the first humanitarian aid to construction of a gymnasium, this persistent process is outlined in short articles and essays in the second part of this richly illustrated volume. The documentation impressively demonstrates how transformation was achieved step by step with the help of many, laying the groundwork for ongoing progress. Less crime, better education, and a fairer society – much has been accomplished and even more is possible for the future. A story by bestselling author Paulo Lins (“City of God”) tells the stirring tale of the establishment of the Brazilian favela Mãe Luíza. Fleeing drought and deadly heat, the people there fought for a piece of land to call their own, hoping for a better life. Thanks to their optimism and solidarity, their vision gradually took shape.

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Desde que o samba é samba

Paulo Lins’ long-awaited new novel, Desde que o samba é samba (“Then There Was Samba“), depicts a colourful evolution of what was to become samba as it is known today, starring a multitude of vividly painted characters. The inhabitants of the red-light district in 1920s Rio de Janeiro are hassled by the police who despise their skin colour, their African rituals and their music. Yet through all this, they manage to present the world with a riveting new rhythm while falling in and out of love and dealing with their own everyday concerns, like the pimp Brancura who, trying to become a great musician, tries and fails to give up his reprobate life. Featuring plenty of lively dialogues, Paulo Lins’ novel is packed with action and passion.

Quotes

Desde que o samba é samba

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Cidade de Deus

Cidade de Deus (“City of God”) takes the reader to the heart of a famous favela in Rio de Janeiro. With the same keen observation that fuelled Richard Price’s Clockers, Lins explores the lives of its most intriguing and influential inhabitants, the gangsters. From the soccer fields to drug deals, from the sunny beaches to the violent fights, Lins follows the many stories of his young, brave and cruel characters. In a vivid, striking prose, Lins combines his knowledge of the favelas with an insider’s understanding. Both frightening and exhilarating, Paulo Lins’ story is alive with tension. Published in 1997, Cidade de Deus has been a bestseller for years. In May 2002 the film City of God, directed by Fernando Meirelles, was shown in Cannes with great success and obtained great reviews (Variety, Libération, Financial Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel).

Quotes

Cidade de Deus

RIGHTS

NOVELS
Desde que o samba é samba
São Paulo: Planeta 2012, 303 p.
Film rights sold to Mira Filmes
English sample translation available
Chile: Tajamar (world Spanish rights, excl. Mexico) 2016 · Finland: Aviador · France: Asphalte 2014 · Germany: Droemer Knaur 2013, pb 2015 · Mexico: Elefanta · Portugal: Caminho 2012

City of God (“Cidade de Deus”)
São Paulo: Companhia das Letras 2002, 403 p. (revised version); Planeta Brazil: 2012, 396 p.; Tusquets Brazil: 2018, 400 p.
Film directed by Fernando Meirelles, 2002
Chile: Tajamar (world Spanish rights, excl. Mexico) · Denmark: Husets 2005 · Egypt: Mahrousa Publishing 2020 · Estonia: Eesti Päevaleht 2011 · Finland: Aviador 2016 · France: Gallimard 2003, pb 2005 · Germany: blumenbar 2004, pb Heyne 2006 · Greece: Fantastikos Kosmos 2007 · Italy: Einaudi 1999, pb Mondadori 2006, Marotta & Cafiero · Korea: Jihyang Publishing Group · Macedonia: Bata · Mexico: Elefanta 2016 · The Netherlands: Ambo/Anthos 2005 · Poland: PIW 2006 (rights available) · Portugal: Caminho 2003 · Romania: Polirom 2008 · Spain: Tusquets 2003, Proa 2001 (Catalan) · Sweden: Tranan 2003 · Turkey: Kahve Yayinlari 2014 · UK: Bloomsbury 2006 · USA: Grove Atlantic 2006

SHORT NOVEL
A Construção de um Novo Sol
São Paulo: Editora Gryphus

PARTICIPATION IN ANTHOLOGIES
„Creating a New Sun/Die Entstehung einer neuen Sonne“, 72 p., in: Mãe Luíza. Optimismus wagen/ Mãe Luíza. Building Optimism, Edited by/Hrsg.: Ion de Andrade, Tomislav Dushanov, Nicole Miescher, Lars Müller
Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers GmbH, Ameropa Stiftung (English and German rights), 2021, 276 p.
Brazil: Gryphus (Portuguese rights in Brazil)