The Discovery of America by the Turks

Published here for the first time in English in a brilliant translation by the peerless Gregory Rabassa, 'The Discovery of America by the Turks' is a whimsical Brazilian take on The Taming of the Shrew that will remind readers why Jorge Amado is to Portuguese-American literature what Jorge Luis Borges is to Spanish-American literature.   It follows the adventures of two Arab immigrants-'Turks,' as Brazilians call them-who arrive in the rough Brazilian frontier in 1903 and become involved in a merchant's farcical attempt to marry off his shrew of a daughter.        )