Mitigating grief in o homem que lia as pessoas, by joão anzanello carrascoza

Abstract

This article presents a critical analysis of the work O homem que lia as pessoas (2015), written by João Anzanello Carrascoza. The adopted approach is based on memorialistic studies and perspectives associated with the fractured themes of literature for children and young people. The objective of this work is to investigate the way in which the child-character faces the loss of his father, through the writing of a book marked by nostalgia and permeated by subjectivities. In order to support the analysis, works used as theoretical support that explore the fractured themes in literature aimed at children and young people, with emphasis on the studies of Ana Margarida Ramos (2011), Teresa Colomer (2017) and Yolanda Reyes (2021). At the same time, studies on memory, conducted by Aleida Assmann (2011), Ecléa Bosi (2003), Paul Ricoeur (2007) and Henri Bergson (1999) are used with the purpose of deepening the understanding of how memory is constructed and interpreted in the narrative. The analysis of the work confirms that Carrascoza’s (2015) skilful use of metaphors, which bases his writing on memorialist reports and fits in the list of books for children with fractured themes, provides an immersion in the family’s daily life, often neglected in the midst of the daily hustle. The central metaphor of the book, which is manifested in the title, is revealed in the end as an invitation addressed to the reader to adopt a sensitive posture, understanding and valuing others, without giving in to judgments based on prejudices.