The country that did not exist: time and narration in O Brasil é bom, by André Sant’Anna

Abstract

Literature expresses ideologies and temporalities, fictional works could pose different societies from the ones we live in. In this essay, I analyze how André Sant’Anna in his book O Brasil é bom (2014) criticizes the political circumstances while making a different projection of his country. In that discussion, temporality is the element that gives the book historical and political depth. I do this analysis in four steps: I first introduce the author according to his social place of enunciation. Then I explain the aesthetic proposal of the book. In third place, I discuss the historicity of the work, in dialogue with Reinhart Koselleck, based on the temporal relationship between experience and expectation. Finally, I analyze the ideological orientations of Sant’Anna to show how his aesthetic proposal unfolds into political intensions.