Vista Chinesa
a novel
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Inspired by a real event, this is the story of a woman and a city that were violated.
It is 2014. There is euphoria in Brazil, especially in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The World Cup is about to take place, and the 2016 Olympics are in sight. It is a time of hope and of frenzied construction.
Júlia is a partner with an architecture firm that is planning projects for the future Vila Olímpica. During a break from one of these meetings at the town hall, Júlia goes for a run in Alto da Boa Vista. Suddenly, someone puts a revolver to her head, takes her to a secluded spot, and rapes her. Left abandoned in the woods, she drags herself home, where her boyfriend and some family members wait for her.
Vista Chinesa brings light and shadow to a city whose stunning beauty cannot conceal the most serious human and political problems. This is a novel that turns a tragic, real chapter in the story of a woman into great literature.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Levy (The House in Smyrna) offers a powerful narrative based on her friend's sexual assault and recovery. In 2014, Júlia is out for a run when she's held at gunpoint and raped. While Júlia initially sees "forgetting as the only way to move on," the ensuing police investigation forces her to repeatedly relive the assault—the kind of gloves worn by her attacker, the type of revolver he held, the shape of his nose—making her "wonder every day if I've gone or if I'm going mad." Levy also crafts a moving account of Júlia giving birth to twins two years after the attack, along with a healing trip to Mexico, where Júlia has a sexual reawakening with her husband and the help of masks and drugs. A story line concerning Júlia's role developing a golf course for the 2016 Olympics seems intended as a metaphor for the government's destruction of Rio de Janeiro for the games, but the thread is underdeveloped. The author makes vital fiction out of a woman's attempt to process trauma.
