cover image Industrial Park

Industrial Park

Patricia Galvao. University of Nebraska Press, $30 (154pp) ISBN 978-0-8032-2147-5

This powerful volume by Galvao (who wrote under the name Pagu) vividly portrays the turbulent life of workers in Brazil in the 1930s. Appearing in English for the first time, in a forceful and sensitive translation, the story follows the struggles of three female workers in Sao Paulo. Corina, a mulatto, is fired when she becomes pregnant. She turns to prostitution and eventually is jailed for killing her infant, who is born without skin. Eleonora escapes the poverty of the workers' existence by marrying Alfredo Rocha, a rich dabbler in Marxism. Otavia is a Communist organizer who also becomes involved with Alfredo. The story is told in an impressionistic style, with brief vignettes conveying character and plot. Sao Paulo, a city undergoing rapid change, becomes as much a character as the women themselves: Marxist ferment and labor organizing are pervasive; a workers' strike is brutally put down. Through it all, these strong women survive--in a world where sharing salted popcorn with a lover is ultimately more real than all the talk of the triumph of the proletariat. A well-written preface and afterword by the translators provide helpful context and introduce readers to the Brazilian argot of the period. (Dec.)