Name: Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Rating: 4.333333333333333 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9780307276643

Jorge Amado

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands

Edwin Lang

A fun, fun read. The story is exactly the title. Brazilian Dona Flora is swept off her feet and willingly loses her maidenhead to a scoundrel whom she loves and who loves her in return. Apparently. In spite of his womanizing and gambling. But he's a rowdyman and delight of the town. Unsurprisingly he dies, early in the book, probably from alcohol poisoning. Dona Flor is devastated (he had been a great lover, when he was around) and after a long period of mourning marries a pharmacist. He's the opposite of Vadinho. One of the aspects of her remarriage is that her first husband had awakened in her a sexual appetite that widowhood hadn't quenched and being remarried protected her from the raging impulse that plagued her every moment. Her remarriage is satisfactory and Dona Flor reaches a social status that is stratospheric thanks to the prestige her new husband commands in the town. She can tolerate the dissatisfaction of her sex life (once on Wednesday's and if she's lucky, twice on Saturday) because it's offset by the good life she now enjoys. Then, miraculously, Vadinho reappears. Always naked, always ready to perform. It's a long book, wonderfully translated and, well fleshed out with tons of characters. It has a happy ending. Edwin

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands

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