Against a backdrop of political corruption Jose lives an ordinary life, working a dead-end job catching mice in a dingy movie theater. Everything changes when he meets his wife Rosa thanks to the help of the Happy Heart Marriage Agency. They seem to have an understanding: Jose isn't bothered by Rosa's dishonesty, extra weight, and fantastically promiscuous past; Rosa isn't too put off by Jose's clubbed foot, periodic blackouts, or lack of direction--she just wants a house. Pragmatic, Jose sets out to get the money necessary ...
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Against a backdrop of political corruption Jose lives an ordinary life, working a dead-end job catching mice in a dingy movie theater. Everything changes when he meets his wife Rosa thanks to the help of the Happy Heart Marriage Agency. They seem to have an understanding: Jose isn't bothered by Rosa's dishonesty, extra weight, and fantastically promiscuous past; Rosa isn't too put off by Jose's clubbed foot, periodic blackouts, or lack of direction--she just wants a house. Pragmatic, Jose sets out to get the money necessary to make that possible. And in doing so, he manages to become a robber, sniper, and political subversive wanted by the government. Deploying fast-paced, short chapters in a number of styles, Brandao deftly presents an array of engaging characters and conflicts, vividly depicting the absurdity of a repressive political regime with exceptional daring and humor.
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Seller's Description:
New York. 1983. October 1983. Avon/Bard. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Slightly Worn Wrappers. 0380845334. Paperback Original. Translated from the Portuguese by Ellen Watson. 317 pages. paperback. keywords: Literature Translated Brazil Latin America. FROM THE PUBLISHER-‘I WAS NOTHING IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD'. JosE Goncalves is a man who counts for little with anyone-his lawyer father, his rosary-saying mother, and even the young whores in the crowded South American city where he lives. Like every man, he yearns for love and looks for meaning in life. What he finds (with the help of the Happy Heart Marriage Agency) is chubby, somewhat tacky Rosa, the woman 6f his dreams. and a living nightmare. For JosE is trapped in a society going mad with meaningless commercialism, media hype, and the brutality of a repressive regime. ZERO is the journey of a revolutionary, searching for freedom, set on a collision course with government Death Squads. A shockingly frank Brazilian novel filled with the grotesque and bizarre, profound revelations and comic parody, ZERO is a haunting work of outrage and terrifying truth. inventory #26413.
