Crooked Plow
Brazil

Crooked Plow

by Itamar Vieira Junior

Colonialism Literary Fiction Family Saga 2018

Summary

Set in the rural hinterlands of Bahia, Brazil, Crooked Plow follows Bibiana and Belonísia, two sisters growing up in a community of Black agricultural workers descended from enslaved people. Their lives change dramatically when, as children, they discover an old knife hidden beneath their grandmother’s bed. A sudden accident leaves one sister unable to speak, creating a bond between them that shapes their identities and futures.

As the sisters grow older, their paths diverge. Bibiana leaves home and becomes increasingly aware of the social and political forces that keep her community trapped in poverty, while Belonísia remains closely connected to the land and the traditions of her ancestors. Through their experiences, the novel reveals the exploitation of rural workers who cultivate land they do not own, despite generations of labour and their deep ancestral ties to it.

Blending social realism with magical elements and Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions, Vieira Junior explores the enduring consequences of slavery, racial inequality, and land dispossession. The land itself becomes a source of both suffering and belonging, connecting the community to its history while providing the foundation for resistance. Through the sisters’ intertwined lives, the novel examines how people preserve their dignity, culture, and collective memory in the face of persistent injustice.

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Country
Brazil
South America
About the author
Itamar Vieira Junior
Itamar Vieira Junior

Itamar Vieira Junior (born in 1979) is a Brazilian novelist and geographer, widely recognised for his writing about rural communities, racial inequality, and the historical legacies of slavery in Brazil. He was born in Salvador, in the northeastern state of Bahia, a region whose cultural traditions, social inequalities, and landscapes strongly influence his fiction. He holds a doctorate in Ethnic and African Studies, reflecting his academic interest in the histories and experiences of marginalised communities. Before achieving international recognition as a novelist, Vieira Junior worked as a geographer, including in Brazil’s National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). His professional experience brought him into contact with rural communities and questions of land ownership, agrarian inequality, and the rights of traditional populations. These experiences inform his literary exploration of the relationship between land, ancestry, and social justice. Vieira Junior’s writing combines social realism, lyrical prose, and elements of magical realism to give visibility to people whose experiences have often been overlooked in official histories. Through stories rooted in Brazil’s rural northeast, he examines how historical violence continues to shape contemporary life—and how cultural memory, spirituality, and collective resistance can help communities reclaim their voices.

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Details
Published
2018
Author
Itamar Vieira Junior