Most recent novel: HUMANA FESTA (Rio: Record, 2008). The first Brazilian novel to dwell upon animal rights and veganism.

"Humana festa, the fifth work of fiction by Regina Rheda, is a true original. Its theme is totally of the present day and urgent". (Márcio Seligmann-Silva, professor of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at Unicamp).

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"Humana festa, the fifth work of fiction by Regina Rheda, is a true original. Its theme is totally of the present day and urgent: how to deal with the fact that the hegemony of humans over other animals is no longer defensible. As we read in this novel, to give up the top position in the hierarchy of species also means giving up on patriarchy. It is no coincidence that one of the epigraphs of the book is by Percy Shelley, one of the most important poets of English Romanticism: in that epoch, humanity reflected deeply and with anguish on its Promethean situation. Capitalism and the technologies of the period were announcing the possibility of human beings supplanting God. We are now living under the threat of being crushed by the technological and by nature, which are rebelling. We are obliged to rethink what is nature and biopower. As we read in the book: “it’s wrong to take advantage of animals, humans or otherwise, as if they were mere instruments, for whatever!” The protagonists of this work are vegans, that is, followers of a view of the world that turns it on its head, recognizing that we should respect all animal life capable of feeling pain, for these animals should be seen as somebodies, “persons”. This because they have self-awareness and cannot be reduced to our property. The plot entangles destinies located in Florida, Massachusetts, and a large rural property in Brazil. The story serves as an allegory for the presentation of veganism and the challenges that its “realization” will mean. For, in the end, it’s a question of post-patriarchal and post-speciesist utopia, perhaps one of the few revolutionary banners in a time considered to be post-utopian. The characters have names-roles that make explicit the allegorical: Megan (for vegan), Bob Beefeater, Afonso Bezerra Leitão [Alphonse Heifer Hogg], Marcela Gallo Sardinha [Rooster Sardine], Mortandela (a pig), Dona Orquídea [Ms. Orchid], etc. The question posed by the novel has repercussions and, let's hope, should be unsettling in a productive way: “Until when will a vegan be considered radical, and a human who exploits animals, sensible?” (Márcio Seligmann-Silva, professor of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at Unicamp).

MORE ABOUT HUMANA FESTA:
ACADEMIC ESSAY
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
CONFERENCE PRESENTATION (NY) (in Pt.)
Other interviews (in Pt.): EDITORA RECORD, JORNAL DEBATE.



More about Regina Rheda's fiction:

Her first book, Arca sem Noé - histórias do edifício Copan (São Paulo: Paulicéia, 1994; new edition forthcoming 2010 by Editora Record), won a Jabuti national book award in Brazil. One of the eight stories, "O mau vizinho" ("The Neighbor from Hell") won a Latin American fiction prize in France. This collection of stories was translated as Stories from the Copan Building by Adria Frizzi and REYoung.

"The author succeeded in creating an original work of literature by pushing the boundaries between the real and the imaginary with good-hearted, keen humor and creativity". (Jabuti award catalogue 1995).

"The Copan stories are like gems on a necklace -- every one brilliant in its own right but, when taken as a whole, forming part of a larger, deftly interconnected design." (Earl E. Fitz, professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese at Vanderbilt University).  
   

Pau-de-arara classe turística (Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1996) is a novel about Brazilian emigrés in Europe. It has been translated as First World Third Class by David Coles and Charles A. Perrone.

"Good-humored and unpretentious, Rheda's language flees from clichés and is loaded with delicious descriptions [...] draws an astute profile of middle-class London and reveals the limited horizons of a family in Calabria." (Bernardo Ajzenberg, Mais!, Folha de São Paulo).
   

Amor sem-vergonha (Rio: Record, 1997) is a collection of short stories.

"From São Paulo, Regina Rheda: a notable newcomer full of surprises." (Ivan Claudio, IstoÉ).  
   

"O santuário" ("The Sanctuary"), a story that speaks about immigrants and animal rights advocates in the USA, is published in the anthology Pátria estranha (São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002), whose authors include Moacyr Scliar, Silviano Santiago, Charles Kiefer, and ten others. "O santuário" was translated by Charles A. Perrone.

"'O santuário' treats the situation of Brazilian illegals in the US incisively, ilustrating their precarious, subaltern condition". (Stefânia Chiarelli, Idéias, Jornal do Brasil).
   

"Dona Carminda e o príncipe", a story about the tyranny of humans over humans and other animals, is published in the anthology Histórias dos tempos de escola (São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002), whose authors include Moacyr Scliar, Adriana Falcão and Charles Kiefer. It was published in English as "Miss Carminda and the Prince" (translation: Lydia Billon) in the Fall 2004 issue of the American journal Meridians.

"Regina Rheda's playful short story 'Miss Carminda and the Prince' [is] a rather fanciful retelling of the princess and her frog myth in which Miss Carminda's prince is an [amphibian] escaped from Domingos Jorge Velho Public School!". (Myriam J. A. Chancy, writer and editor).

   

The novel Livro que vende combines literary intrigue with a broadside ballad, illustrating aspects of economic and cultural globalization. It was published by Editora Altana (São Paulo: 2003).

"Livro que vende is an amusing reflection on the novel and its impossibilities, something often discussed but not always demonstrated with such vehemence and good humor". (Moacir Amâncio, Caderno 2, O Estado de São Paulo ).

   
"A frente" ("The Front"), a story about globalization and ecofeminist politics in an imaginary village in the Amazon, is published in the anthology Mais trinta mulheres que estão fazendo a nova literatura brasileira (Volume editor: Luiz Ruffato. Rio: Record, 2005), whose authors include Maria Esther Maciel, Ana Cecília Carvalho, Miriam Mambrini and Carmen Moreno.

"My students and I also read some of Rheda's more recent stories, like "A frente," and we found these marvelous as well. We were impressed by Regina's ironic humor (a staple of Brazilian literature), her vision of Brazil's place in our globalized world, and her deeply humane spirit." (Earl E. Fitz, professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese at Vanderbilt University).  
   

The collection Stories from the Copan Building, the novel First World Third Class, as well as the stories "The Enchanted Princess" (from the book Amor sem-vergonha), "The Sanctuary", and "The Front" (which was originally written in English) are published in English by the University of Texas Press in 2005 in one volume called First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix. 

"Rheda's wit, irony, political passion, and cosmopolitan sensibility are deftly conveyed in this very welcome volume, ably translated." (Daphne Patai, professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Handbook of Latin American Studies, 2007).  

"Reading Rheda's short stories and novel has been a delightful discovery for me.... Her style is full of wit, delicious and sometimes devastating irony, and captivating poetic imagery. Her book, in short, will be hard for readers to put down." (David George, Professor of Spanish at Lake Forest College, and literary critic).  

"I would like to offer a few words of praise for one of the brightest new stars of Brazilian literature, Regina Rheda. My students and I read several of Regina stories this spring and we were ecstatic about them! We all felt that Regina is a more than worthy heir to such Brazilian greats as Machado de Assis, Drummond, and Clarice Lispector. More than this, we're certain that Regina is going to become a major player for Brazil as it takes its rightful place at the heart of inter-American literature's development into an exciting new field. Let's have more of Regina Rheda, in both Portuguese and English translation!" (Earl E. Fitz, professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese at Vanderbilt University).  
The original Portuguese works are available in the Latin American collections of major university libraries (California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Tulane, Pittsburgh, Brown, Yale, Harvard) as well as at major public libraries such as New York and Boston. First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix is also available at stores.