A review by dudasroldao
The Brothers by Milton Hatoum, John Gledson

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book shows the development and growth of a family of imigrants in Manaus. The contexts in which the story is built are The Second World War and it's impacts on the brazilian society, The Cold War and the brazilian dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. One of the reasons that make the book pace slow is the lexical choice, since a considerably large amount of the words used are no longer common in most of the brazilian regions, so they act as the "stone in the middle of the way", as written by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, that pulls our attention again to the text and it's words. The conflict between the brothers and their choices in life are the main subjects of the book. Even though hard to read and to commit to until the end, it's a very culturally rich book, showing the impact of the context in the life of a citizen.