Child of the Dark: The Diary Of Carolina Maria De Jesus

Had to read this for a Masters World History survey (I’m history faculty). The entire book could have been left to the first chapter- it’s redundant and anticlimactic, and most of all depressing... Yes, I know it’s supposed to be, but it seems heavily edited and as such, intentionally depressing as a way to make a point/overemphasize. I don’t mean this from a place of pretension, just practicality, but I would imagine people who don’t know the history of Brazil and it’s politics (especially the Kubitschek or Vargas eras) won’t fully grasp some of the significance of the political undertones of the text- it’s simply something that isn’t taugh much in history courses in the US, so it’s easy to overlook or miss if you haven’t been exposed to it before or just aren’t familiar with the leaders and the national consequences of their policies (which most average students/readers aren’t). This is used often as required text in World History or Latin America History courses a broad look at poverty in Brazil as a tangential, brief examination of the leadership in the first half of the century, but A LOT of further teaching and discussion is needed for the text’s meaning to reach most student or general consumer audiences... for the average consumer, just watch “City of God”

Caroline Maria de Jusus was born a[...] in poverty and went to only the second grade. She lived most of her adult life in poverty and her children were labeled [...]. She wanted to write and did. She became a writer of international reputation. Her book has been read by people around the world and in the United States. Her work stands with that of Victor Frankl in "MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING," and "BLACK ELK SPEAKS" an American Sioux, and with Frederick Douglass' NARRATIVE LIFE.CHILD OF THE DARK, is a must read for anyone who wants to understand and to challenge the values and standards of a civilization (ours) that degrades human life for fun and profit.

I was looking for a history of Brazil, and this book gave a real insight into the favelas.and how the very poor lived. It clarified many issues for me about the country and the people. It also gives a picture of a person of great character and how her struggle and daily battle for existance elevated her and destroyied her. I highly recommend it for any who seek to understand the human condition at the most stressed level. A classic. Should be required reading.

Learn what the reality is from the actual people who live it. This is a must for anyone who wants to know more or even a little bit about Brazil politics period.

I had to read this book for a History of Brazil class as an assigned reading. I had no idea what to expect as I was unfamiliar with the country all together. This book details the life of the people who live in the favelas through the eyes of a mother of three. This is a must read. It is a very humbling book, and it tears and pulls at your heart all the way to the end. I'm also keeping this and not selling it back when the class is over.

First off I am disappointed with Amazon for allowing this book to be available to the public. I didnt realize a diary written between 1955 and 1960 was 100 years ago... I guess my parents arent really in their 50s if they were born in that time frame. Why does the book covers (front and back) both say 50th anniversary, but the title on Amazon's describtion says 100th? A buy wanted the book but when I told her about the miss-print she no longed wanted the book.... THANKS!

It has been years since I read this but it was required for a college humanities class and I still remember the story so I know it is a wonderful book full of personal insights by the author and very educational for the reader. I bought this copy to give to one of my daughters.

Fantastic book which was given to me by my uncle in Portuguese 40 y ago . I gave it to my son , so hopefully he will learn the lessons about being thankful for everything you have in life .

I heard about this book after listening to an interesting radio documentary about the author and her life. A fascinating account of favela life recorded in diary style by Carolina, a favela dweller in Sao Paulo in the late 50s. Her words put you right there, experiencing the poverty, squalor, hunger and danger. Carolina broke free from favela life after the successful publication of her diary, which became a best seller and a cult title. I have visited a Rio favela in my travels and can equate to the story. Highly recommended for the adventure traveller and curious reader.

Child of the Dark is the first and, at the moment, only one of its kind. It is diary written by Carolina Maria de Jesus, a Brazilian peasant who lived most of her life in one of the slums of São Paulo. It starts abruptly with no introduction or beginning point. It just jumps straight into Carolina’s everyday life. This has both positive and negative outcomes. On the plus side it shows that the diary has been kept as pure as possible. There has been very little editing of what Carolina wrote; from what I have read I believe that the editor did not change any of the writing but only removed bits that were repetitive. On the downside it means that it takes you a really long time to catch up to what is happening. Carolina is talking about events and people and you’re quite far into the book before you really feel like you know what is going on.Because the book was written in very simple language (Carolina never finished school) it can be quite difficult to read. There’s no beautiful prose or elegant descriptions. It’s blunt, modest and realistic. If you begin reading the book knowing this it is a lot easier to get into. While it was difficult reading a whole book written like this it wasn’t what I found hardest about the book. I found the story became very repetitive. I appreciate life in a slum isn’t going to very varied but I found that by a lot of what was said, by the end, had been said before. This is no fault of the writers but more of the editors – I felt a lot of it could have been cut down. I also think that Carolina is extremely negative and judgemental of the people who live in the slum with her and views herself as apart from them, as better than them. This does, at times, make it difficult to like her as she can come across as being slightly arrogant.Despite the negatives this was an interesting read, even if it was a bit of a struggle to finish. It really shines a light onto what it is like to live in a favela: how there is never enough food, parents have to leave their toddlers to care for themselves while they go to ‘work’ (in Carolina’s case this means finding paper on the streets to sell to recyclers), and the general hardship these people face to even survive. That this book was written and published is amazing and I feel I really learnt a lot from reading it.

Not best edition but amazing book, a must to read! Amazing woman!

An easy read. Having been to the favelas in Rio, it gave me a real insider's view. Worth a read!

great