How and why did Euclides da Cunha’s Os sertões become the number one best-seller in Brazil at the dawn of the 20th century? How did this book shake Brazil at that time, altering values and viewpoints about the country itself? To answer these questions, the article analyzes reviews by José Veríssimo, Araripe Júnior, and Sílvio Romero, responsible for turning an anonymous engineer into the most celebrated author in the nation’s capital. Who were these critics? What did they have to say? What values were affirmed through this acclamation of Os sertões? What view of Brazil was defended? Using these acclamatory reviews as a central reference point, the article seeks to uncover the social significance of the new ideas found in Cunha’s book and call attention to the fertile and promising aspects found in this writer’s interpretation of the Canudos tragedy.
Euclides da Cunha; Os sertões; rebellion in Canudos