Product Description
A work remarkable for both its form and execution, Avalovara belongs to the tradition of contemporary writing that Gregory Rabassa calls "the inventive novel." These novels include such works as Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch and Italo Calvino's Mr. Palomar, and are "narratives where the author produces the raw materials and hands them over for the reader to give them shape or structure and sometimes meaning."

The protagonist's courtship of three women constitutes the main plot of Avalovara. He pursues the sophisticated and inaccessible Roos across Europe; falls in love with Cecília, a carnal, compassionate hermaphrodite; and achieves a tender, erotic alliance with a woman known only by an ideogram. Reinforcing the inventive nature of Lins's masterpiece, the action develops within a rigorous, puzzlelike design--visually represented by a spiral and a five-word palindrome. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Avalaovara:The Sator Square as your Comapss in this Labrynth of Literature
At first glance one would look at Osaman Lins' Avalovara and see an interesting read; a story superimposed on a conceptual map of time and space represented by the mystical Sator square set on a spiral but boy are you in for a ride, at second glance Lins would have you holding onto your bookmarks!In this novel there are eight stories which are all centered around one man: Abel and his relationship withthree women; there is the Yolyp a being twice born with an untranslatable symbol for a name; Anneliese Roos the woman with cities that dwell within her being, and Cecilia the hermaphrodite without a sense of her origin.
Amidst the connected stories and complex evocative narratives, that differ based on the personalities of their respective personas, there is the tail of the Sator square. This mystical magic square, whose secrets brought the demise of a slave and his master, serves as the main constructive element to the work. By using this geometrical structure the author has predetermined the order in which the narratives (including that of the square) would appear and how the stories should be read with each turn on the spiral as it touches each letter of the Sator square. The mysticism of said square lies not only within its geometry but in the magic phrase whose 25 individual letters comprise the grid: "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas." In so being formed the sentence and each word can be read in multiple directions.
The writer here uses an extraordinary sense of imagery that illustrates each respective narrative (which corresponds with the letters and story behind the Sator Square) as well as different techniques in writing styles that grows with the book and the experiences of the characters. The stories though confusing and bizarre in origin possess a sense of realism natural to all human beings: there are the themes of loneliness, carnal desire, unsatisfied longing, self criticism, contemplated and attempted suicide to name a few, that enrich the tale which deals with relationships in all forms. Another over arching technique that rides side by side with this sense of realism is the stark sense of imagination that becomes a part of reality, one can sum it up to reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez amplified by ten or experiencing a Frida Kahlo painting in words... This is most evident in the Chapter seven of the yolyp twice born (designated by the letter "O" of the Sator square), here the animals rise up from the rug and fuse with the bodies of the enamored in their erotic affair.
Despite its sordid context and complex framework, Osman Lins provides a novel of unlimited imagination, rich language, and "sci-fi-esque" proportions that would keep you more than entertained.

Difficult, yet Remarkable
The feeling that remains in any normal human being who stumbles through that passage is one of complete and utter disorientation.In fact, throughout the book, the reader is likely to feel lost more often than not.But, in a twisted sort of way, that is the whole point behind Lins' book.After all, what is life but a journey through which we know no end, no point, no destination?Instead of telling the story of Abel's three affairs in 330 pages of neatly packaged prose, complete with beginning, end, climax and character, Lins takes the reader on a journey that is much more real.
Avalovara will prove to be a colossal struggle for anybody that attempts to "understand" it as he or she is reading it.In short, those looking for plot will, much like Bono, never find what they're looking for.Instead, the beauty of the novel lies in the language. Lins' writing isrambling, Faulkneresque, stream of consciousness at some points, and brilliantly beautiful lyricism at others.At most points, it is a luscious combination of the two. "The smell of dust is dissipated by her presence or by the lukewarm afternoon air coming in through the window," Lins writes on page seven. "Our tongues repeat the game of advance and retreat. Our incisors touch at times and then our muscles retract." On page 223, he writes, "I suck in Abel's mouth, I speak in his mouth, inside his mouth, I say that I love him, with his tongue entangled in mine he says that he loves me, the word "love" rolls between our teeth."The repetition is incredibly simple, but incredibly poetic.
Love, human emotion, human attraction, sexuality: all are among the most common words and phrases in the English language, but all are utterly impossible to define in a sentence or two.They are among the most complex subjects ever studied by the minds of man. They are mysteries, enigmas, riddles.They are, much like the magic square and its accompanying spiral, puzzles for which we may never have the entire answer.Lins writes his book in such a way.Instead of getting lost in people, places, things and events, the readers is lost in a dizzying array of feelings, emotions and desires, the same way anybody involved in a love affair is lost.There are novels that require you to think, novels that require you to follow, novels that require you to decide.Lins' novel requires you to feel, and the answer behind the puzzle that adorns the first page of the novel lies in the way these characters feel - about each other, about the world, about their desire for one another.
Lins' book is not for everyone.There is no quest, no mission, no end.There is no Holden, no Demian, no George.There is, however, a brilliant trip through the minds, hearts and souls of the characters - minds, hearts and souls that take the readers into and through the very essence of human emotion.There is some of the most beautifully poetic prose to ever come out of Latin America.And, by the end of the novel, there is a resounding success by a tremendously gifted novelist.

Sensual, meticulous, erotic, with a complex plot
The late Brazillian author Gregory Rabassa' Avalovara is an enduringly impressive work of Latin American Literature (aptly translated into English by Gregory Rabassa), about one man and his three great loves. One seems unattainable despite his pursuit; one is a kindly hermaphrodite who enjoys the fruit of passion; and one goes only by an ideogram for her name. Sensual, meticulous, erotic, with a complex plot and tangled human machinations, Avalovara is a uniquely written, inventive, and original literary experience.

Can you imagine a fusion of Borges and Garcia Marquez?
This gorgeous novel is that chimera, that impossible novel that is both an intellectual endeavor and a magical fiction that seamlessly blends Borges and Garcia Marquez. The book is structured as a spiral, and it recounts thestory of a man and the three women he loved. The book is filled withintellectual games, as in the fiction of Borges and Cortazar, yet thewriting is as sensual and erotic as in the fiction of Amado and GarciaMarquez. I loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
This study presents a thought-provoking textual and ideological analysis of circularity in "Absolom Absolom!" by William Faulkner, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and "Avalovara" by Osman Lins. Adopting a transcultural comparative perspective on the study of the American continent, this text offers its readers an opportunity to evaluate the concept and experience of America. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1999. The length of the article is 2522 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Of Idealism and Glory.(the literary life)
Author: Osman Lins
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1999
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 19Issue: 3Page: 141

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
tr Adria Frizzi ... Read more

Product Description
a novel, Brazil, tr Adria Frizzi ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 6685 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Osman Lins' answers to this interview had been culled by his wife, Julieta Godoy Ladiera, from previews interviews and fragments of articles; he died before he could answer them himself. Presented are his biographical background from boyhood onwards and how these were reflected in his works, his process of becoming a writer, his process of writing, a discussion of some of his works and his aesthetics.

Citation Details
Title: An interview with Osman Lins.
Author: Edla Van Steen
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p155(6)

Article Type: Interview

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 1123 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: A brief, voluptuous glimpse into Osman Lins's 'Avalovara' reveals his virtuosity as a writer. The novel's title signifies a bird, whose name means 'Drinker Up of Eggs.' The text is dense and uses the structure of a palindrome and incorporates visual signifiers as well. It is a love story and more than a love story: the woman and the man represent the effort of humanity to maneuver itself amidst, into and in the face of the unknown.

Citation Details
Title: Osman Lins's 'Avalovara.'
Author: Paul West
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p208(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 1710 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Osman Lins's 'The Queen of the Prison Houses of Greece' is postutopian fiction in the sense that it neither describes a subject nor the subject's interiority. It is an arrangement of signs exploring the limits of its own rules, expressing not a singular view, but several views simultaneously. In 'The Queen of the Prison Houses of Greece,' the narrative is in the form of a journal being read by an unnamed narrator, who in the course of textual progress, disappears into the text he was reading. And thus Osman avoids the well-worn space of creation, the prison house of language.

Citation Details
Title: The prison house of language according to Osman Lins.
Author: Raul Antelo
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p217(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 3005 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Osman Lins was a Brazilian writer of world renown but whose works have not received much attention in the US and is also quite obscure in his own country. That he was the epitome of an outsider may explain why he was neglected in Brazil. His innovations and experimentations in narration, textual time and space makes his works difficult but not inaccessible. His most well-known novel is 'Avalora,' also considered as his masterpiece.

Citation Details
Title: Osman Lins: an introduction.
Author: Adria Frizzi
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p155(6)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Osman Lins, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 1377 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 4746 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The works of Osman Lins have crossed frontiers in the sense that they have reached other countries, other markets. Lins recognized the universal value of literature, and wanted a wider readership in which he could entrust a greater critical criterion. Literature's greatness lies in part in its power to cross national borders, its ability to reach other people, bringing to them new perceptions, new sensations, new pleasures. The only great barrier to be crossed is linguistic barrier. Several people play important roles in helping literature cross over: literary agents and translators.

Citation Details
Title: Osman Lins: crossing frontiers.
Author: Julieta Goloy Ladiera
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p186(186)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 4580 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Head Carried in Triumph. (fiction) (excerp)
Author: Osman Lins
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: v15Issue: n3Page: p178(8)

Article Type: Excerpt

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more