The Eternal Son

a novel
Cristovao Tezza (trans. Alison Entrekin)

‘The Eternal Son requires the dedicated reader, not because it describes the relationship between a gifted father and a handicapped son, but because it does so in painstaking, often painful, detail. Classified as a novel, for which Tezza won every major fiction award in Brazil in 2008, it is more an extended essay. (Australian-born Alison Entrekin is the prize-winning translator). Rarely does writing in the third person seem so poignantly autobiographical.’

Courier Mail

‘In his autobiographical novel, Brazilian author Tezza applies unflinching honesty and a writer's inquisitiveness to the story of his gradual acceptance of his own son ... A remarkable tale of a father finding humility.’/p>

Sun Herald

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‘Felipe grows and so, we see, does his father … The reader, once challenged and repulsed, becomes sympathetic, feels privileged. This is, in the end, a deeply moving portrait of a father truly loving the son he has.’

Sunday Express, UK

‘This excellent book, which has won every major Brazilian literary prize, describes the reactions of a young man to the birth and growth of his son, a child with Down syndrome ... The ruminatory style is never static or suffocating, and although the father can be said to learn and grow (as does his son), Tezza doesn't embarrass us or cheapen the material by signpointing a moral journey. He doesn't try to move us, either, and the book doesn't treat us to an emotional splurge as a reward for enduring the confronting subject matter: but it is highly intelligent, drily humorous, and beautifully written (and translated, by Australian-born Alison Entrain).’

Owen Richardson, The Age

‘Often confronting and uncomfortable, The Eternal Son explores lives and emotions rarely touched on. Significantly, Tezza does so without wallowing in pity or in a self-righteous sense of overcoming adversity.’

Jose Borghino, The Australian

‘Drawing on his own experiences, Brazilian Cristovao gives us an acute and sometimes brutal look into the mind of a young father whose first son is born with Down Syndrome ... It is easy to see why this book attracted a slew of awards...’

The Dominion Post Weekend

‘An unflinching and eloquent book.’

Canberra Times

‘Everyone froze — a sudden, electric, brutal, paralysing tension pierced their souls — while one of the doctors unwrapped the baby on the bed.’

In this multi-award-winning autobiographical novel, Cristovão Tezza struggles with a phantom shame when his son, Felipe, is born with Down syndrome. From the initial shock of diagnosis, to a new world of hospitals and therapy, Tezza delicately threads the story of his son’s life with his own. Felipe, who lives in an eternal present, becomes a remarkable young man, but Tezza yearns for a ‘normal’ existence that is always out of reach. He must force himself to come to terms with his own limitations — an internal war that has raged for decades. With compelling insight and honesty, Tezza takes us deep into his mind as he challenges his understanding of family, fatherhood, and love. The Eternal Son is an unforgettable masterpiece by one of Brazil’s finest novelists.

Courier Mail

Sun Herald

View all reviews

Sunday Express, UK

Owen Richardson, The Age

Jose Borghino, The Australian

The Dominion Post Weekend

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 198mm × 128mm

Extent:224pp

ISBN (13):9781922247025

RRP:£8.99

Pub date:29 Aug 2013

High-res cover:Download Image

AWARDS

2012 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - Short-listed São Paulo Art Critics’ Association Award for that year’s best work of fiction, the Portugal–Telecom Award, the São Paulo Literature Award, all for best novel or work of fiction - Winner

CATEGORIES / tags

AUTHOR

Cristovao Tezza

Cristovão Tezza, one of Brazil’s foremost contemporary novelists, was born in 1952. He has published thirteen novels, including O Filho Eterno (The Eternal Son), which won every major literary prize in Brazil in 2008 and has been translated into seven languages.

TRANSLATOR

Alison Entrekin

Australian translator Alison Entrekin has translated over forty books from the Portuguese, including the classics City of God by Paulo Lins, Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector, and My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos. In 2019, she was awarded the New South Wales Premier’s Translation Prize and PEN medallion for the body of her work. Other honours include shortlistings for the 2004 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the 2012 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the 2013 PEN America Translation Prize. She teaches literary translation privately, and occasionally writes about translation (in Portuguese) at: https://www.revistapessoa.com.