Through the Arc of the Rain Forest
| Author | Karen Tei Yamashita |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Magical Realism |
|
Publication date
|
1990 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 21910436 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3575.A44 T4 1990 |
| Followed by | Brazil-Maru |
Through the Arc of the Rain Forest is the first novel published by Japanese-American author Karen Tei Yamashita. Primarily set in Brazil, the novel is often considered a work of magical realism but transgresses many literary genres as it incorporates satire and humor to address themes of globalization, transnationalism, migration, economic imperialism, environmental exploitation, socio-economic inequity, and techno-determinism. It follows a broad cast of characters across national borders, from Japan, Brazil, and the United States. The novel was written when Yamashita in the United States after the author spent nine years living in Brazil.
Loosely following the novela Brazilian soap opera format, Through the Arc of the Rainforest offers brief episodes introducing the major characters that reveal their connections to one another and their relationship to the Matacão. Told from the first-person perspective of a self-conscious extraterrestrial ball that floats six inches from the head of Kazumasa Ishimaru, a Japanese expatriate who relocates to Brazil in search of job opportunities, the novel details the rise and devastation of an Amazonian community after the discovery of the Matacão, a resilient and seemingly magical and impenetrable black substance found on the floor of the rainforest on the farm of Brazilian farmer Mané Pena.
The presence of the Matacão leads to a variety of conflicts that result in several distinct but interconnected plot strands:
As the threads converge, the area experiences a boom of economic and corporate growth and development. As more people arrive, as more of the Matacão is transformed into commercial products, or used as a site of entrepreneurial opportunity, and Brazil becomes more globally connected the area suffers severe exploitation and deterioration. The characters of the novel then become increasingly isolated and estranged, with the only person finding temporary happiness being the American businessman, Tweep.
Eventually, the narrative reveals that the Matacão is actually a byproduct of industrial waste, and with that the Matacão dissolves and retreats. All of the products and benefits that had been made possible by Matacão vanish.
Kazumasa Ishimaru is a Japanese railroad engineer and a primary character of the novel. As a child, Ishimaru encounters a sentient alien object that attaches itself to his head. This sentient ball serves as the quasi-omniscient narrator of the novel. Ishimaru and the ball migrate to Brazil after he is displaced as a rail worker with the introduction of new technologies to maintain the national rail system. In Brazil he takes on a job with the São Paulo Municipal Subway System.
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