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Zuzu Angel became a symbol of the struggle against military dictatorship in the last century. The designer devoted the last part of her life to searching for answers about what happened to her son Stuart, who disappeared at the age of 25 after joining the October 8th Revolutionary Movement.
“But this crystallized image of the painful mother is damaging to the image of the complex and dynamic woman she was,” says journalist Virginia Sequeira Starling, author of “Who is this woman?” (However, R $ 159.90, 560 pages), the most complete seamstress biography to date.
Just like her son, Zuzu was killed by the dictatorship. But, before the end, he made his mark in politics as well as fashion, two areas treated with equal seriousness in the book, as editor Walter Porto highlights.
The work shows how repression transformed Zozo, who went from a woman who did not take a political stance, a friend of military wives, into an artist who denounced fashion, incorporating precise statements into her clothes.
Just arrived
These are the releases highlighted by Tudo a Ler this week:
“Mirinda Gama: Black Suffragette” (However, R$89.90, 277 pages.) Retraces the path of a trade unionist and journalist from Alagoas who was erased from the history of women’s suffrage in Brazil, despite her pioneering role. Combining academic rigor with fluid narrative, Sibylle Tenorio’s book shows how Almirenda worked behind the scenes of the suffrage movement. As critic Angela Boldrini has written, the biography corrects a historical injustice by returning her to her leadership role.
“kitchen” (Translated by Leika Hashimoto, Lui Navarro and Fabio Saldanha, Estação Liberdade, R$56, 176 pages) It follows Mikage Sakurai, a young woman who finds comfort in the kitchen after the death of her grandmother. The best-selling novel by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto tells the story of a grieving process that involves a lot of food and different communication sounds. In an interview with journalist Susanna Terao, Yoshimoto rejected the “therapeutic literature” label for the work. “I don’t see much point in literature that’s just comforting and nice,” he says.
“Algorithmic Politics – Institutions and Transformations of Social Life” (translated by Andre Albert, Ubu, R$ 89.90, 320 pages), by researchers Ricardo F. Mendonça, Fernando Villgueras, and Virgilio Almeida It was first launched in the United Kingdom, out of a desire to have a broader dialogue on aspects of computing and political science. One of the strengths of the work, as correspondent Samuel Fernandez points out, is the analysis of algorithms as an institution that shapes individual and collective behavior.
And more
This book was written by political scientist Felipe Nunes, founder of Quaest “Brazil in the mirror” (Globo Livros, R$69.90, 224 pages), which analyzes the values of Brazilians based on the institute’s largest ever survey of ideas and beliefs, with nearly 10,000 participants. The work shows that after moving towards more progressive notions of well-being, trust and tolerance in the 2000s, the country has once again prioritized religion, family and tradition. As the author explains in his post on the Café da Manhha podcast, a society’s values are affected by how safe or unsafe people feel.
The best-selling book The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt, will receive a children’s edition to directly address the study objectives of the first book. “Generation Amazing,” which arrives in Brazil in March, targets an audience aged 9 to 12 years. As the Panel das Letras column explains, the work is a warning against screen addiction and a guide to enjoying life away from them.
Days after turning 83, María Valeria Rezende is preparing two new works that will be released in 2026. In January, the São Paulo-based writer based in Paraíba launched the short story collection “Recapitulação” for publisher 34. In the second half of the year, Rezende is saving the novel “Memórias Postumas de uma Anônima,” which will be published by Ação Editora Which opened recently.
Beyond books
Flop, the literary festival of parties, takes its name seriously, performing every year at a different address on the outskirts of Rio. This year, great authors such as Dion Brand, Malcolm Ferdinand, and the revered Conceição Evaristo discussed literature under the Madureira Bridge and in the middle of the city’s traffic. The choice of location, as editor Walter Porto points out, is in keeping with the bold proposal of the festival, which this year brought literature into dialogue with Bailey Charme.
Writer Fernando Moraes told the Monica Bergamo newspaper that he is close to finishing the second volume of Lula’s autobiography, scheduled for release at the beginning of 2026. The first part of the work will be released in 2021. Moraes also said that, in the coming weeks, he will start the script for a documentary about José Dercio, tentatively titled “Ze.”
Amid celebrations of Mauricio de Sousa’s 90th birthday, the cartoonist’s works have been classified as intangible cultural heritage of the city of São Paulo. This recognition is accompanied by a tribute – Mauricio will have a seat at his tribute in the Viaduto do Chá and 90 sculptures inspired by his characters will be deployed throughout the capital next year.