Luiz Ruffato (Brazil)

In his celebrated debut novel, “Eles eram muitos cavalos”, the chaos and fast pace of life in São Paulo are expressed in the fragmented style of the prose.

Luiz Ruffato’s prime source of inspiration is his working-class and immigrant background. His mother, who has Italian roots, is a washerwoman and his father, who is of Portuguese descent, is a popcorn-seller. He himself turned to literature at a young age, but first completed his training as a salesman. After that, he worked as a mechanic by day and studied journalism in the evenings.

Luiz Ruffato made his debut in 1998 with the short stories collection Histórias de remorsos e rancores (Stories of remorse and rancour) and followed it up in 2000 with the collection os sobreviventes (the survivors). His first novel, Eles eram muitos cavalos (There were many horses, 2001), a panorama of the two different worlds that make up the metropolis of São Paulo, won him the praise of critics, who hailed him as the innovator of Brazilian literature. His book reflects, on the one hand, a city of wealth with luxury cars and sumptuous houses, that is home, on the other hand, to a poor mass of people who struggle to get by each day. The novel is a series of stories, personal notes, statements and reflections in 69 episodes or chapters, all set in a single day. It also contains newspaper articles, menus, advertising brochures and small ads, juxtaposing various levels of style. The special importance attached to imagery lends the book a cinematic atmosphere that rapidly creates an authentic impression. The work, which has also been published in Italy, France and Portugal, won Ruffato the prestigious Prêmio Machado de Assis, awarded by the Brazilian National Library and the Prêmio Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte.

The author, who was born in 1961 in Cataguases in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, lives and works in São Paulo.

An event held by the international literature festival berlin as part of the project "Copa da Cultura – Brazil and Germany 2006" in co-operation with the House of World Cultures and the Ministério da Cultura do Brasil.