March 31st
7pm
“Incredible debut work . . . Packs a literal and figurative punch . . . Through swirling reflections, the novel moves like a steady whirlwind, conveying inner turmoil and external inaction, punctuated by powerful sometimes devastating change.” — Asymptote
"Disarmingly tender and feverishly sad, Gardel's love story is a delirium of a novel that reminds its readers of an uncomfortable truth: that even a life of regret can be a beautiful one."--Patrick Nathan, author of Some Hell
Join Brazillian author Stênio Gardel and, Bruna Dantas Lobato, the translator of his highly anticipated debut novel, The Words That Remain.
A letter has beckoned to Raimundo since he received it over fifty years ago from his youthful passion, handsome C cero. But having grown up in an impoverished area of Brazil where the demands of manual labor thwarted his becoming literate, Raimundo has long been unable to read. As young men, he and C cero fell in love, only to have Raimundo's father brutally beat his son when he discovered their affair. Even after Raimundo succeeds in making a life for himself in the big city, he continues to be haunted by this secret missive full of longing from the distant past. Now at age seventy-one, he at last acquires a true education and the ability to access the letter. Exploring Brazil's little-known hinterland as well its urban haunts, this is a sweeping novel of repression, violence, and shame, along with their flip side: survival, endurance, and the ultimate triumph of an unforgettable figure on society's margins. The Words That Remain explores the universal power of the written word and language, and how they affect all our relationships.
We recommend that guests wear masks on the night.
Stênio Gardel was born in 1980 in the rural northeast of Brazil. The Words That Remain is his first novel.
Bruna Dantas Lobato is a Brazilian writer and literary translator who lives in New York and St. Louis.
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