Superb Sentences: Rubem Braga

A series of beautiful phrases, sentences, and excerpts from Brazilian literature leading up to Brazil’s National Day of the Book on October 29.

From Rubem Braga’s short story “O verão e as mulheres” (“The summer and women”) published in a book by the same name in 1990: “Talvez tenha acabado o verão. Há um grande vento frio cavalgando as ondas, mas o céu está limpo e o sol é muito claro. Duas aves dançam sobre as espumas assanhadas. As cigarras não cantam mais. Talvez tenha acabado o verão.”

Maybe summer has ended. There’s a big cold wind riding the waves,
but the sky is clear and the sun is very bright.
Two birds dance on the jittery foam. The cicadas no longer sing.
Maybe summer has ended.