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Jabujicaba is an eco-thriller set in Brazil, written under the pen name of Rosa da Silva. It is the story of Carmen Macedo, a black journalist born in Brazil (adopted and brought up in England) who rediscovers her roots on an investigation into an eco-disaster in the Amazon rainforest.
Contents
Jabujicaba was published in 2014 in English and is part of a grass-roots environmental movement that uses art and literature to reconnect us with our natural world. It is the flagship project of Voices for Nature Ltd, a not-for-profit company based in England. Voices for Nature was set up to support and promote artistic projects in all media that relate to the conservation of flora and fauna in and from Brazil’s rainforests.
The book is currently under development as a film and has been translated into Brazilian Portuguese. All royalties from Jabujicaba support conservation projects in Brazil’s rainforests.
The Plot
Jabujicaba is set in Brazil in the not-to-distant future. The country is on the verge of bankruptcy and the populist and ‘green’ president is forced to auction off the Amazon rainforest to meet the country’s debt obligations and to prevent a military coup.
The ‘heroine’ is a young black woman, Carmen Macedo. She is a journalist from London who was born in Brazil, having been adopted and moved to England after her mother's tragic suicide. When Carmen is sent by her paper to investigate an environmental disaster in the Amazon, her investigation turns into a mission to save the country of her birth. She finds herself having to confront her childhood traumas and rediscover the Brazilian ‘self’ she had lost.
In her mission, Carmen joins forces with an unlikely crew of people whom she suspects belong to the secretive Forest Liberation Front. She is increasingly attracted to their leader, a mysterious adventurer whom she knows as Braga. Together they journey through the apocalyptic cities of Brazil into the deepest Amazon forest, where they are captured by ‘savage’ Indians whose culture has been destroyed by the eco-disaster. Carmen also meets two of her dead mother’s former lovers. Together they try to make sense of her mother’s suicide as they discover it is connected to a legendary tree called Jabujicaba.
Characters
Main Theme
Jabujicaba is allegorical. Human society, not just Brazil, is on a path to destruction. It is not just the Amazon forest that is being destroyed, but our own future. The Jabujicaba Tree represents life and continuity, societal and personal happiness. For these to exist, we need to challenge our economic and legal paradigms of ownership. We need a system change, for which all of us must socially and politically engage before it is too late. In Jabujicaba the people of the world literally take to the streets to put right the mistakes of the past and ensure that better future for themselves and generations to come.
Inspiration
The author of Jabujicaba has a diverse professional background, which includes working in Brazil and for a green politician. Over her many years of experience with policy makers, scientists, businessmen, financial institutions and campaigning organisations, she became fed up with the negativity of messages, the endless news of extinctions and habitat destruction, the fragmentation of scientific debates and the division of stakeholders into adversarial camps. She felt the time had come for environmental re-engagement from the heart, for new role models to inspire the young to action with positive thinking – all of which can happen through literature and art.
Many other stakeholders are playing an important role in supporting the promotion of Jabujicaba and in exploring and reaching out with its ethical, economic and political arguments.
Publication
Jabujicaba was first published as a free download for a month, to design and build the campaign. It was downloaded over 700 times globally. In April 2014, it was published as an e-book with Amazon Kindle, initially topping the best-seller lists in two categories and hovering around the top twenty for the months that followed.
Jabujicaba was published as a paperback in May, with a campaign surrounding the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. It is sold and distributed by Blackwell’s, one of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious booksellers.
Reception
Jabujicaba has had excellent critical reviews from readers; on account of its wide stakeholder support and reviews, the Royal Society of Literature has accepted Jabujicaba for entry to its Ondaatje Prize, which is normally also reserved for only traditionally published books.