The Jaguar's Roar: A Novel

by Micheliny Verunschk, Juliana Barbassa (Translator)

Overview

The story of an Indigenous girl’s kidnapping during a colonial expedition intertwines with a young woman’s modern-day search for identity and ancestral truths.

In 1817, explorers Spix and Martius returned from their three-year voyage in Brazil with not only an extensive account of their journey, but also with an Indigenous boy and girl, Iñe-e and Juri. Kidnapped from rival tribes as part of the colonialist trend of collecting “living specimens” on scientific expeditions, the two tragically perished shortly after arriving in Europe. This lyrically rich novel takes their perspective to illuminate their harrowing journey.

Micheliny Verunschk’s fifth novel, the first to be translated into English, powerfully challenges dominant historical narratives by centering the voices of these stolen Indigenous children. Intertwining their story with a narrative set in contemporary Brazil, we meet Josefa, a young woman grappling with her own identity when she encounters Iñe-e’s image in an exhibition. Through its poignant exploration of memory, colonialism, and belonging, this novel stands out in Brazilian literature, offering readers a profound reflection on the enduring impact of history on personal lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781324097464
Publisher:	Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publication date:	12/02/2025
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Micheliny Verunschk is the author of five books and winner of the 2022 Jabuti Prize. She lives in Recife, Brazil.

Juliana Barbassa is an award-winning journalist and author. She is a features editor at The New York Times and lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

"The lush and lyrical storytelling cocoons readers in a mystical experience, deftly weaving the resonant voices…. The children’s confinement bursts into dreamlike imagery…. This immersive tale imparts feelings of enchantment and curiosity stained by the inquietude of colonial violence. This is a luminous and poetic journey that contemplates the silenced truths of Indigenous resilience in vivid detail."— Andrienne Cruz, Booklist, starred review

"Brazilian writer Verunschk reckons with her country’s colonial history in her vital English-language debut… [a] polyphonic attempt to give voice to the voiceless."— Publishers Weekly

"The subject is essential, and the writing is ambitious and energetic. A potent concoction of research and imagination, encouraging us to reexamine how we construct our own histories."— Kirkus Reviews

"This immersive tale imparts feelings of enchantment and curiosity stained by the inquietude of colonial violence… A luminous and poetic journey that contemplates the silenced truths of Indigenous resilience in vivid detail."— Andrienne Cruz Booklist

"The Jaguar’s Roar progresses in short episodes that are often sharply illuminating, like lightning strikes."— Alden Mudge BookPage

"[The Jaguar’s Roar] is a necessarily disturbing novel about the ongoing erasure and dispossession of Brazil’s Indigenous people"— Allison Meakem Foreign Policy

"The Jaguar’s Roar is a spellbinding poetic novel"— Platform

"A novel that expands the boundaries of literature, drawing on memory, anthropology and the best of what fiction has to offer."— Itamar Vieira Junior, author of Prayer and Crooked Plow

"Magical words with the power to create worlds. A very good read."— Ailton Krenak, author of Ancestral Future

"A remarkable project. Juliana Barbassa's translation is profoundly thoughtful, brilliantly bold, and brimming with hope and fellow feeling."— Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey

"A profound and brief gem of a book. A glimpse into our inner ghosts, common flaws, and their echoes in our present."— Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, author of That Hair

"Both a spellbinding recounting and a necessary accounting, giving voice across centuries to an iconic figure silenced by history and colonialism and never fully heard from before. Utilizing every tool fiction has to offer, Verunschk, in Barbassa's lively translation, crafts an innovative, unforgettable novel."— John Keene, author of Counternarratives

"An ambitious, lyrical excavation of Brazil's colonial history, full of energy and anger. I can still hear it roar, in Barbassa's powerful translation."— Bruna Dantas Lobato, author of Blue Light Hours

From the Publisher