synopsis
O sexophuro is Betty Milan’s first novel. It is the account of a love triangle and the wife’s journey to cease being an object and become the subject of her own story. In other words, to leave the marriage and achieve fulfillment through writing, critically reviewing the past and, in so doing, reinventing her future.
The novel’s prose is poetic, made up of a series of fragments organized into four chapters: ONE (The marriage), TWO IF NOT SEVERAL (Childhood, adolescence), ENTREATY (The abortion), and DELIRIUM OR MEMORY OF THE FUTURE (The word).
In both its novelistic form and its theme, O sexophuro is a book committed to freedom.
history
The author’s first novel, it was published in 1981 by Editora Codecri, the same house that published O Pasquim, in Rio de Janeiro. Launched in the Galeria São Paulo, it was well received by critics. The text engendered the first book in audiocassette form in Brazil, recorded by the actress Nathalia Timberg. In 2006, it became the first part of Trilogia do amor.
opinion
“A succession of poetic instants, the book confirms that there are still those who write, who know how to write, who need to write.”
Otto Lara Resende, letter, February 13, 1981
“I consider O sexophuro an extremely beautiful text in which the prose is treated with the sensitivity and meticulous care of poetry.”
Leyla Perrone-Moisés, letter, March 14, 1981
“I read O sexophuro and greatly appreciate the fiction writer, just as previously I already admired the psychoanalyst.”
Ciro dos Anjos, letter, March 23, 1982
“I have received O sexophuro and properly appreciated the originality of the work.”
Carlos Drummond de Andrade, letter, April 12, 1982
“This is an extraordinarily well written book, one that holds the reader’s attention from the first to the last line. In addition to that quality, in my view fundamental in any literary text, I think this represents one more triumph, namely that of dealing with a theme of major topicality, the feminine condition.”
Walnice Nogueira Galvão, letter, September 1, 1980
areas of interest
Literature, Clinical Psychology and Psychoanalysis, because of its focus on female desire.
critical reaction
where to purchase
A Triologia do Amor – Livraria Cultura (portuguese – printed) | A Triologia do Amor – Livraria Cultura (portuguese – e-book)