Book Review: The invisible life of Euridice Gusmao - M Batalha

A very pleasant book, this novel set in Rio de Janeiro in the 40s, a family saga centred around Euridice, who transforms herself time after time during her life to please the ones around her and who finally finds her true self in the end. A story which is funny, witty, but also quite tragic in the struggles to find herself.
It is also a novel about sisterhood and the unconditional love between the two sisters, despite the events of life that come between them.
A novel that appears quite superficial at first for the tone of the writing style, but alsmost magically reveals itself as a deep snapshot of Brazil in the 40s.

Overall rating:  7    Plot: 7   Writing style: 7   Cover:  7,5

Title: The invisible life of Euridice Gusmao

Author: Martha Batalha
Publisher: One World
Pages: 240
Publication year: 2017

The Plot:

Euridice is young, beautiful and ambitious, but when her rebellious sister Guida elopes, she sets her own aspirations aside and vows to settle down as a model wife and daughter. And yet as her husband's professional success grows, so does Euridice's feeling of restlessness. She embarks on a series of secret projects - from creating recipe books to becoming the most sought-after seamstress in town - but each is doomed to failure. Her tradition-loving husband is not interested in an independent wife. And then one day Guida appears at the door with her young son and a terrible story of hardship and abandonment.

The Author:
Martha Batalha worked as a journalist and publisher for many years in her home country of Brazil. She moved to New York in 2008, where she worked in the publishing industry. “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao” is her first novel. It was sold to several countries and it will soon become a major motion picture. She is currently finishing her second novel, a family saga set in Ipanema. Martha lives in Santa Monica, California, with her husband and two kids.