Moacyr Scliar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Moacyr Scliar
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| Born |
Moacyr Jaime Scliar
March 23, 1937 |
| Died | February 27, 2011 (aged 73) Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
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| Occupation | Writer, physician |
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Notable work
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Max and the Cats |
Moacyr Scliar (born March 23, 1937, died February 27, 2011) was a famous writer and doctor from Brazil. He often wrote about what it was like to be Jewish, especially being Jewish in Brazil.
Scliar is most famous outside Brazil for his 1981 novel Max and the Cats. This book tells the story of a young German man who leaves Berlin. He flees after getting into trouble with the Nazis. On his way to Brazil, his ship sinks. He ends up alone in a small boat with a jaguar that was also on the ship.
Contents
About Moacyr Scliar
Scliar was born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. His family was Jewish and had moved to Brazil from Bessarabia in 1919. He finished medical school in 1962. He focused on public health, which is about keeping communities healthy.
He first worked at a Jewish hospital in Porto Alegre. Later, he worked in public health. He helped prevent and treat tuberculosis, a serious lung disease.
Moacyr Scliar's Writing
Moacyr Scliar was a very active writer. He published over 100 books in Portuguese. He wrote many different kinds of books. These included short stories, novels, and books for young adults and children. He also wrote essays, which are short pieces of writing about a topic.
His first book, Stories of a Doctor in Training, came out in 1962. However, he later felt he published it too early. His second book, The Carnival of the Animals, was published in 1968.
What He Wrote About
Scliar once wrote about belonging to different groups. He felt part of the Jewish, medical, Gaucho, and Brazilian "tribes." His novel The Centaur in the Garden was chosen as one of the 100 Greatest Works of Modern Jewish Literature. This was by The National Yiddish Book Center.
He explained why he used a centaur in his book. A centaur is a creature that is half-human and half-horse. Scliar said the centaur showed having a "double identity." This is common for Jewish people in a country like Brazil. At home, they might speak Yiddish and follow Jewish traditions. But outside, they enjoy soccer, samba, and speak Portuguese. He said this mix can make you feel like a centaur.
Books Translated into English
Many of Scliar's stories have been translated. They are available in English and many other languages. You can find his translated books listed in the UNESCO international bibliography of translations Index Translationum: Scliar, Moacyr.
Novels in English
- The Centaur in the Garden
- The Gods of Raquel
- The One-Man Army
- The Carnival of the Animals
- The Ballad of the False Messiah
- The Strange Nation of Rafael Mendes
- The Volunteers
- The Enigmatic Eye
- Max and the Cats
- The Collected Stories of Moacyr Scliar
- The War in Bom Fim
- Kafka's Leopards
Short Stories in English Collections
- Inside My Dirty Head - The Holocaust in TROPICAL SYNAGOGUES: SHORT STORIES BY JEWISH LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS
- The Plagues in A HAMMOCK BENEATH THE MANGOES - STORIES FROM LATIN AMERICA
- Van Gogh's Ear in THE VINTAGE BOOK OF LATIN AMERICAN STORIES
- The Prophets of Benjamin Bok in WITH SIGNS AND WONDER: AN INTERNATIONAL ANTHOLOGY OF JEWISH FABULIST FICTION
- The Ballad of the False Messiah in THE OXFORD BOOK OF JEWISH STORIES
- The Cow and The Last Poor Man in THE OXFORD ANTHOLOGY OF THE BRAZILIAN SHORT STORY
Awards and Honors
Moacyr Scliar received several important awards and recognitions for his writing:
- 2003 — He was chosen as a lifetime member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. This is a very high honor for writers in Brazil.
- 2009 — His book Manual da Paixão Solitária was a finalist for the São Paulo Prize for Literature. This was in the Best Book of the Year category.
- 2010 — He was chosen to be a judge for the Final Jury of the São Paulo Prize for Literature.
See also
In Spanish: Moacyr Scliar para niños
