Translations of Brazilian Literature

Shortlisted for the INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

"Johnny Lorenz’s admirably fluid translation enhances the many strengths that Vieira demonstrates as a writer. Lorenz, a Brazilian-American professor of English at Montclair State University in New Jersey who has also translated some of Clarice Lispector’s work, is especially adept at rendering dialogue in a way that sounds absolutely natural. This is a novel that requires a translator able to capture the unusual cadences and economy of Brazilian peasant speech—one proverb in the Northeast states that 'for the truly wise, half a word suffices,' and another advises that it is 'better to remain silent than misspeak'—and Lorenz is equal to the challenge of making it read as gracefully in English as in Portuguese."

-- Larry Rohter, New York Review of Books

Finalist for Best Translated Book Award (2013)

a final and magnificent apotheosis of Lispectorisms. I could quote every line and still not do the book justice.

-- Rachel Kushner, Bookforum

One of the Best Books of 2019 -- Vanity Fair

The Besieged City’s challenging prose certainly contributed to its long-delayed appearance in English. Yet underneath Lispector’s inventive, modernist style is a poignant and radical depiction of a young woman navigating a patriarchal society.

-- Mike Broida, The Paris Review

Winner of São Paulo Prize in Literature

Winner of Sundial Literary Translation Award (2024)