Intimate Enemies is the latest novel by Joyce Cavalcante. This absorbing tale describes life in the small northern Brazilian town of Sobral during the frequent droughts and political upheavals that swept this area from 1954 to 1974. The story revolves around Duda, a despotic ranch owner who shares his home and bed with four women. The first is Rita, a sensual young mulatta, with whom he slept before he married Evangelina, his legal wife. His other lovers are two beautiful household girls he seduces as the story unfolds. By these four women he has 12 children, but considers only the offspring of Evangelina to be his true heirs. The conflict arising from this polygamist life style and the rivalries among the women enlivens this story set against the political struggles of Evangelina’s family. A clan of militant politicians to find themselves involved in the historical events that began with the suicide of a Brazilian president and end with a harsh dictatorship two decades later. The small town of Sobral cannot scape being affected by these events. These upheavals are digested in the stoic manner of northern Brazilians, who unlike those in power have only two ambitions: to defeat the droughts and to survive as God provides. Duda’s story illustrates the increasing decadence and corruption of Brazilian society during that period. But the book also demonstrates how it was possible for a determined man to survive and even build a fortune during these tempestuous times.
JOYCE CAVALCANTE is a Journalist and author of six novels plus several short stories and articles that today appear in eight anthologies. Born in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil, a pristine, equatorial city of sun, sea and enthusiasm, she has focused her writer's eye on the resigned lives of women bred for generations to pray, marry and die. She has woven these elements into all her books, while living in Rio de Janeiro, where she learned about life in the big city, as well as in New York City, Washington D.C., and Sao Paulo, where she currently lives and works. Joyce is also the president of REBRA (Rede de Escritoras Brasileiras), a Brazilian Women Writers’ Network.
