It's Jorge Amado, how bad can it be? A strong book, though it's certainly not up to the brilliance of "Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon." ( )

It's a shame that while other Latin American writers have achieved popularity in recent years, Amado remains in relative obscurity. I first encountered his work in my university library where I borrowed and fell in love with "Captains of the Sand." It was extremely good luck (serendipity?) that lead me to my copy of "Showdown" in a used bookstore a few weeks later.

I wish I could adequately describe the sheer sensory *pleasure* it was to read this book for the first time. Reading "Showdown" is like entering an overcrowded bar on a Friday night--rowdy, noisy, with the constant threat of a drunken brawl ready to erupt any second. It tells the story of a town built by hands of bandits and outcasts, a Brazilian equivalent of the Wild West. Cititzens include escaped slaves, prostitues and even a Turk who traveled half-way around the world to build a convenience store in the middle of his Promised Land.

Amado's characters make you laugh out loud in one chapter and break your heart in the next. They face great trials and scandals together and it's amazing how in their world of "immorality" and "lawlessness," they emerge more selfless and noble than they ever imagined themselves to be.

If my house ever catches on fire (knock on wood) and I need to choose only one book to save from my library, it'll be this one. Not bad for a 70 peso book, no? ( )