Camões Prize (Prémio Camões)
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (2003) Winner
Rubem Fonseca
ルベン・フォンセカ
Rubem Fonseca
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1925-05-11 （Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais）
- Died
- 2020-04-15 （Rio de Janeiro） age 94
- Nationality
- Brazilian
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Residence History
- Juiz de Fora (birthplace) → Rio de Janeiro (long-term residence)
Career
- Occupations
- writer, novelist, short story writer, police commissioner
- Active Years
- 1952-2020
- Influenced By
- Thomas Pynchon
- Influenced
- Patrícia Melo, Luiz Ruffato
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Camões Prize | — | — | Camões Prize / Instituto Camões | 受賞 |
| 2012 | Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award | — | — | Manuel Rojas Award Committee (Chile) | 受賞 |
Camões Prize
2003
Organization:
Camões Prize / Instituto Camões
Result:
受賞
Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award
2012
Organization:
Manuel Rojas Award Committee (Chile)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (2003) Winner
Prêmio Machado de Assis
1 appearances
-
Edition 72 (2015) Winner
Works
Major Works
High Art
1983 Novel / Crime fictionA novel depicting urban violence and blurred moral boundaries; notable for raw, explicit portrayals and featuring the lawyer-detective Mandrake in Fonseca's milieu.
urban lifeviolencemoral ambiguitycrime
Translations
- High Art (English translation by Ellen Watson, 1986)
Agosto
1990 Novel / Political suspenseA suspense novel intertwining historical events with crime, where political background and personal fates collide.
politicshistoryviolencepower
Translations
- Crimes of August (English translation of Agosto, 2014)
O Caso Morel
1973 Novel / CrimeA complex crime story set in the city, exploring characters' darkness and desires; an early notable work.
crimedesireurban darkness
Bufo & Spallanzani
1986 Novella / FictionAn offbeat work featuring varied narration and eccentric characters; part of Fonseca's exploration of form and tone.
human enigmaviolencemoral relativity
Translations
- Bufo & Spallanzani (English translation by Clifford E. Landers, 1990)
Bibliography
- O Caso Morel (1973)
- Os Prisioneiros (1963)
- A Grande Arte (1983)
- Bufo & Spallanzani (1986)
- Agosto (1990)
- Vast Emotions and Imperfect Thoughts (1988)
- O Cobrador (1979)
- 64 Contos de Rubem Fonseca (2004)
Translations of Works
- A Grande Arte → High Art (English translation by Ellen Watson, 1986)
- Bufo & Spallanzani → Bufo & Spallanzani (English translation by Clifford E. Landers, 1990)
- Vastas Emoções e Imperfect Thoughts → Vast Emotions and Imperfect Thoughts (English translation, 1998)
- Agosto → Crimes of August (English translation, 2014)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- raw, direct depictionnoir urban fictionconcise sentences with sustained tension
- Recurring Motifs
- violencesex and desireurban lonelinessambiguity of law and orderanti-heroes
Legacy
One of the major figures in contemporary Brazilian literature. Highly regarded in the Portuguese-speaking world, his explicit urban portrayals and ethical interrogations influenced a generation of writers; recipient of major prizes including the Camões Prize.
Quotes
-
A writer should have the courage to show what most people are afraid to say.
Source: Interview/essay (source unspecified)
Trivia
- He began his career as a low-level police officer and later became a police commissioner.
- Known for guarding his privacy and often refusing interviews.
- Major works include A Grande Arte and Agosto.