Zero

By Ignácio de Loyola Brandão and Ellen Watson

Book Overview

Against a backdrop of political corruption Jose lives an ordinary life, working a dead-end job catching mice in a dingy movie theater. Everything changes when he meets his wife Rosa thanks to the help of the Happy Heart Marriage Agency. They seem to have an understanding: Jose isn't bothered by Rosa's dishonesty, extra weight, and fantastically promiscuous past; Rosa isn't too put off by Jose's clubbed foot, periodic blackouts, or lack of direction--she just wants a house. Pragmatic, Jose sets out to get the money necessary to make that possible. And in doing so, he manages to become a robber, sniper, and political subversive wanted by the government. Deploying fast-paced, short chapters in a number of styles, Brandao deftly presents an array of engaging characters and conflicts, vividly depicting the absurdity of a repressive political regime with exceptional daring and humor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3908451493
• ISBN13: 9781564783318
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Length: 305 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Aleatory Ontology and Scathing Critique

Brandao's (in)famous book "Zero" follows the vertiginous life of Jose Goncalves, a young Brazilian man. The book's structure is complex, using panels, fragments, and diagrams to express and reflect the chaos of Jose's inner and outer world. Brandao is harrowing in his view of Brazilian government and the infiltration of American consumer culture. But the genius of the book lies in its philosophical implications - where the idea of Being is not presupposed or given as an insipid substratum to the human condition; rather, the concept of multiplicity or difference in identity - moving towards what French philosopher Deleuze would coin as the "aleatory point," the zero in infinity or vice versa - is one of the books central implications. This book transcends the genre of postmodern fiction in its ability to constantly break the rules of linear narrative while, at the same time, cultivate a deeper literary and ontological coherency. At once a scathing critique of society and a burning phenomenology of one mans' experience, Zero is a journey that goes nowhere and thus... arrives at many places.