Brazil Book

I just finished reading "Brazil" by Updike. I don't like how I feel about it. in all honesty, I can't sit here and say it wasn't well written. I think that the story's pace, plot development and overall structure (while obviously being a transposed Tristan & Isolde) was well done. Additionally, Updike does a decent job of making his elite, upper class characters sound remarkably similar to what many individuals in other western countries sounded like at the time, and perhaps even now. Namely, that open racism wasn't the way for a society to move towards modernity, yet maintaining a safe distance between the lower class, presumably darker people and upper class individuals was of the uttermost importance in maintaining proper social decorum. Perhaps what bothered me most was how in the west of the country, slavery was a way still maintained and revered because of it's ability to ensure a steady source of labor from a group of people most physiologically suited to do it (the common argument for the beginnings of the slave trade in the first place). Now I know that slavery did exist in Brazil long after it's official abolishment in the 1880's, yet it still doesn't make me feel anymore comfortable about it being around as late (presumably) as the 1970's. I understand that this is fiction, but the idea that slavery could continue to exist in a country as complicated and hypocritical as Brazil (our own country not withstanding) still makes me uncomfortable. I suppose that this is the sign of a good work because of it's ability to draw you in. It just introduced me to a sensation that I wasn't use to. To his credit, I do appreciate his ability to associate slavery with savagery. It would have been utterly unrealistic for him to create a father figure who, despite being distant, was openly accepting of her relationship with Tristao. This realism, while quite uncomfortable for me, is appreciated because it's reflective of reality in that country and many others where young couples dating patterns go against the grain.

Now to the actual story of these two lovers. While I make no qualms about my life as someone who's dated interracially his entire life, it still presents me with a bit of discomfort that Isabel wants him to make her his slave when they do it. When at first I read this, I thought to myself "oh goody, there's some BDSM in this one" and genuinely meant it. As the story went along, it seemed that her desire for him to do this was her desire to placate her guilt at being an upper class, privileged, white young lady. As noble as the intention of trying to put oneself on par with those who had a several century head start on being oppressed, I found it a little crude that she was trying to do this in the above mentioned way. Her personal submission to his sexual prowess, while obviously enticing for someone like me, is a little disappointing in a literary sense. Her love for him was clear, but her desire to be this abused slave just to make him happy seemed over the top. I haven't read anything else by Updike, outside of an excerpt from "Rabbit is Rich", but it seems as if he's attempting to assuage any white guilt that he may have experienced living through the Civil Rights Era through having his main female character submit herself physically, emotionally, etc. to her strapping black beau. My major problem with this philosophy is that It seems like a half assed way for black folks to get back at the establishment. It's like he's saying to us, "Hey, white man, yeah, you guys still run everything, but at least the black boys of the favelas will seduce your women with their fabled sexual prowess." I'm obviously cynical, but i cannot help get this vibe from this story. What saves this alleghory from completely being off-putting is that the main character, although timidly, doesn't completely buy into this image of brutality in exchange for a pass on judgment from the lower class.

I waffle with these perceived images because, although it bothers me that black men are only seen as ways to get back at "the man" for so many years of oppression by fucking their women, i cannot helped being aroused at the prospect of reading about a young, nubile white lady submitting herself and enjoying her submission to a strapping black beau! As you can see, it makes me laugh and be frustrated with myself simultaneously.

Anyways, overall this is a good book. It will make you uncomfortable, it may turn you on and/or off, but I believe it will make you feel something. If that's the kind of story that you're looking for, then you have it right here.