Between alleys: some considerations about history and novel from Becos da memória, by Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

Afro-Brazilian history and culture, as well as so-called black literature, have occupied special attention since at least the second half of the last century. And it is in the heat of debate and actions focused on these themes that the book Becos da memória (2020), by Conceição Evaristo, was born. In this work, Evaristo presents a mosaic of personal stories that, intertwined in a fragmented plot intensified by moving dramas and human tragedies, reveals a certain impotence of favela residents in the face of social, economic and health adversities. Thinking about these questions, we propose, in this work, to make some considerations/reflections on history and novel based on that work.