a collective dreamer
Luís Henrique Pellanda is one of the most original names in contemporary Brazilian literature. Author of more than ten books, including novels, chronicles and essays, he stands out for his ability to create narratives that surprise and delight the reader with his subtle humor, his journalistic acumen and his poetic sensitivity. In his new book, The hunter arrived late, released by Maralto Edições, Pellanda presents 62 unpublished stories that delve into the subjectivity of his characters, exploring themes such as time, memory, social changes and the relationship between man and nature.
The book follows on from In the belly of the wolf, a finalist work for the 2022 Jabuti award in the Tales and Chronicles category. In this previous work, Pellanda had already addressed the issue of humanity as an integral part of nature, even though it often tries to deny or dominate it. The title refers to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood in the Brothers Grimm version, in which the girl and her grandmother are swallowed by the wolf and later saved by the hunter. For the author, this metaphor serves to illustrate the current situation of society, which lives amidst the darkness caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the political uncertainties that surround the country.
In The hunter arrived late, Pellanda continues this reflection, but without losing the playful and inventive tone that characterizes his writing. The tales in the book are short, but dense with meaning. They mix elements of dream stories, fables, parables, creation myths and fairy tales with the nonsense, humor and false formal simplicity of authors such as Kafka, Kawabata, Karel Capek or Liudmila Petrushevskaya. The result is a work that invites the reader to go between the broad lines of each story, freely interpreting them based on their own references.
“In this work, in particular, I opted for very open stories, which invite readers to go through them as they wish”, explains the author. “I really hope that you read the book as if you were leafing through a kind of collective dream book, at once familiar and uncomfortable.”
examples of short stories
The hunter arrived late opens with the short story “The bet”, in which two boys disappear after betting on who would stay on top of a tree the longest. They grow up, marry and have children, but they remain on the tree. Over time, they shrink in size and disappear, blending into nature as if they had never existed. In “The silver and the fish”, a grandfather reflects on happiness with his grandson during a fishing trip. He hooks a lambari and is enchanted by its beauty; the fish dies, and at night they eat it. The passage leads the boy to reflect on happiness: for him, if his grandfather spoke less, they would have fished more and been happier. In one of the shortest stories in the book, “The Patriot in the Forest”, we read: “The patriot enters the forest and makes a discovery. Inside the forest, your country does not exist.”
These are just a few examples of the stories that make up The Hunter Came Late. Each of them presents an unusual or unusual situation that reveals something about the characters or the world in which they live. There are also thematic and aesthetic elements that are repeated from beginning to end, with the aim of creating an impression of unity and strangeness in readers. Pellanda claims that his writing process is intuitive and that he doesn’t follow a pre-plan. “During the writing process, we are always forced to change course, which takes us to new and unexpected places. I hope I achieved that with this book,” she says.
The Hunter Came Late is a book that celebrates the art of the short story and the imagination of the reader. It is a work that shows the versatility and originality of Luís Henrique Pellanda, one of the great names of current Brazilian literature. The book will be launched in Porto Alegre on July 28, at 7 pm, at Livraria Cultura in Shopping Bourbon Country. The author will participate in a chat with the public and autograph the copies. Admission is free and open to anyone interested.
About the author
Luís Henrique Pellanda is a writer and journalist, born in Curitiba (PR), in 1973. As a chronicler and short story writer, he has published the books The ornamental monkey (2009), We will pass in white (2011), Mermaid wing (2013), Drifting detective (2016), The headless fairy (2018), Calm, we are lost (2020) and In the belly of the wolf (2021)
The hunter arrived late
- Publishing company: Maralto Editions
- Author: Luis Henrique Pellanda
- Price: R$ 44,90
- launch event: July 29th, from 5pm
- Local: Parallel Bookstore 30
– Street: Vieira de Castro, 48 – Porto Alegre Sales:
