The Blurb
“Centenarian Eullio Assumpção has reached the end of his long life. From his modest bed in a Rio public hospital, as his mind falters, he grandly recounts his past to the whitewashed ceiling, the passing nurses and his visiting daughter. His eccentric stories are seemingly nothing more than the ramblings of a dying man, yet as he overlaps each confused memory, they begin to coalesce into a brilliant and bitter eulogy for himself and for Brazil.
Charting his own fall from aristocracy, Eulalio’s feverish monologue sprawls across the last century, from his empire-building ancestors to his drug-dealing great-great grandson. He remembers his senator father, who squandered the family fortune on women and cocaine, and recalls his imperious mother whom he always disappointed; but as he drifts through each shifting episode, he never stops searching for Matilde, the girl with the cinnamon skin, who danced her way into his heart and then broke it when she disappeared.”
Overall review and recommendation
Spilt Milk is the type of book I think I won’t like, and then I get engrossed in it. Long paragraphs, no dialogue tags, second-person viewpoint, no discernible plot. It felt like an ordeal.
But it was so much fun to get inside the head of this centenarian protagonist. His thoughts entangled and detangled themselves chapter after chapter, taking you on a curious journey.
I felt like I was chatting with an elderly man about their life journey. When I finished reading the book, I was left with a unique perspective of 100 years of Brazilian history and culture.
Eulálio is delusional, and not only due to old age. Many of his ideas are appalling, especially those related to race. He is a man of many flaws. And yet I couldn’t help but empathise with his search for his long-lost love, Matilde.
I recommend Spilt Milk to anyone interested in being mesmerised by the beauty of Chico Buarque’s narrative and writing style. You won’t regret following a story with such brilliant insights into Brazilian aristocracy.
About the authors
Chico Buarque is an icon of Brazilian culture. Better known as a singer/songwriter, he is also celebrated for his role in the efforts against the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
In addition, he was the first musician to win the prestigious Camões Prize (2019) for his lifetime contribution to the Portuguese-language literary world.
He has published ten fiction books, and his family is filled with scholars, artists, and politicians – which probably helped him envision Spilt Milk’s characters.
Spilt Milk was published in Brazil in 2009 and translated into several languages. It won both Brazil’s top literary prizes (Jabuti and Portugal Telecom), and it was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award 2014.
Favourite bits
- Eulálio is a remarkable character – so flawed, so difficult to forget. I would love to hear more of his story.
- I won’t give details to avoid spoiling it, but the scene set during the protagonist’s 100th birthday party manages to be both hysterical and disgusting. Extremely well-written.
- It was great to be reminded of the strong French influence on Brazilian culture in the first half of the 20th Century. It’s impressive how things have changed since.
- I love that a couple of facts are left unexplained. Leaving a few doors open to imagination made me wonder and speculate, making the book even more memorable.
What could have been better
Nothing at all. It’s one of the best books I’ve read. To mention a little something, I confess I got lost with so many Eulálios in the same story, adding to the mayhem caused by the protagonist’s confused mind. But it’s common in Brazil for the same name to be carried throughout generations. And it made sense to the narrative as if the different Eulálios were increasingly worst copies of the copy of the same person, changed by the historical context.
Lessons learned
I’ve heard that one should avoid books written from a second-person viewpoint because they are supposed to be confusing. Apparently, only genius authors can handle it well. Chico Buarque certainly did it brilliantly, and I am glad I ignored the advice and kept reading it.
What I missed
Again, nothing really. It was a joy reading it; I wouldn’t mind if it were longer.
Be aware of
Like another Brazilian novel, Phenotypes, Spilt Milk was written employing the technique called stream of consciousness. You won’t find dialogue tags or paragraphs in each chapter. It’s also written from the point of view of a 100-year-old person, so the thoughts come and go in waves. There are also repetition and re-elaborations of the same facts. Still, it’s easy to read this book if you get into the usual mindset of an elderly person reminiscing about their past.
Memorable quotes
“With time, I have learned that jealousy is an emotion to announce with an open heart at the very moment of its origin. Because at birth, it is a truly courteous sentiment and should be offered to a lady like a rose. Otherwise, the next moment it closes up like cabbage and inside it all evil ferments. Jealousy is, then, the most introvert kind of envy and, seething with rage, blames others for its ugliness.”
“And if you really must know how he makes his money, I assure you I haven’t the slightest idea. I’m very grateful to the boy, but to make millions without any education, he must be a film actor or worse, you can write that there.”
“If, with age, we tend to repeat episodes from the past, word for word, it’s not weariness of the soul; it’s diligence. It’s for ourselves that we old folks always repeat the same stories, as if making copies of them in case they go astray.”
