The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
'Zesty' - Daily Mail
'A real gem of a book' - Stylist
A wickedly funny tale of two rebellious sisters in 1940s Rio de Janeiro
Why Euridice and Antenor married, no one knows for certain.
Euridice is bright and ambitious. But this is Brazil in the 1940s, and society expects her to be a loving wife and mother. While Antenor is busy congratulating himself on his excellent catch, Euridice spends her spends her humdrum days ironing his shirts and removing the lumps of onion from his food, dreaming of the success she could have made of herself – as a writer, dressmaker or culinary whizz – in another life.
Her free-spirited sister Guida, on the other hand, is the kind of person who was ‘born knowing everything’. When she returns from her failed elopement with stories of heartbreak and loss, the lives of Euridice and her husband are thrown into confusion, with disastrous consequences.
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is a darkly comic debut, bursting with vibrant Brazilian spirit and unforgettable characters – a jubilant novel about the emancipation of women, perfect for fans of Maria Semple’s Today Will Be Different and Elizabeth Strout’s My Name Is Lucy Barton.
Martha Batalha
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.
