Sklyar, Moasir

Moasir Jaime Sklyar was born into a family of Jewish immigrants from Bessarabia who moved to Brazil in 1919 . He studied at a school with training in Yiddish , then in a Catholic gymnasium. He graduated from the medical faculty of the Federal University of Porto Alegre ( 1962 ), in 1970 continued his medical education in Israel .

He dealt with public health issues. He taught at the Federal University of Medical Sciences in Porto Alegre, read Portuguese language and literature at Brown University and Texas University. He made his debut in literature as a book of short stories “The Stories of a Doctor in the Years of Learning” ( 1962 ).

Died of a stroke .

Author of novels, short stories, essays, books for children. The action of his works often takes place among Jewish immigrants in Brazil. Sklyar ’s novel, “The Centaur in the Garden” ( 1980 ), is included by the National Jewish Book Center of the USA among the 100 best works of modern Jewish authors.

Admittedly, the main plot of Sklyar ’s novel “ Max and Cats ” ( 1981 ) was used in the novel by Yann Martel Life Pi , who won the Booker Prize ( 2002 ).

Short stories

• Carnival of animals / O carnaval dos animais ( 1968 )
• The Ballad of the False Savior / A balada do falso Messias ( 1976 )
• Histórias da terra trêmula (1976)
• O anão no televisor ( 1979 )
• The Mysterious Eye / O olho enigmático ( 1986 )
• O amante da Madonna ( 1997 )
• Histórias para (quase) todos os gostos ( 1998 )
• Pai e filho, filho e pai ( 2002 )
• Histórias que os jornais não contam ( 2009 )

Novels

• The war in Bonfin / A guerra no Bom Fim ( 1972 )
• Alone in the Field Warrior / O exército de um homem só ( 1973 )
• Gods Rachel / Os deuses de Raquel ( 1975 )
• O ciclo das águas (1975)
• Mês de cães danados ( 1977 )
• Doutor Miragem ( 1979 )
• Volunteers / Os voluntários (1979)
• Centaur in the Garden / O centauro no jardim ( 1980 )
• Max and Cats / Max e os felinos ( 1981 )
• The strange nation of Rafael Mendes / A estranha nação de Rafael Mendes ( 1983 )
• Cenas da vida minúscula ( 1991 )
• Sonhos tropicais ( 1992 )
• A majestade do Xingu ( 1997 )
• The Woman Writing the Bible / A mulher que escreveu a Bíblia ( 1999 )
• Leopards Kafka / Os leopardos de Kafka ( 2000 )
• Na Noite do Ventre, o Diamante ( 2005 )
• Ciumento de carteirinha ( 2006 )
• Manual da Paixão Solitária ( 2008 )
• Eu vos abraço, milhões ( 2010 )

Essays

• A condição judaica ( 1987 )
• Do mágico ao social: a trajetória da saúde pública ( 1987 )
• Cenas médicas ( 1988 )
• Enígmas da Culpa ( 2007 )

Publications in Russian

• Centaur in the garden. St. Petersburg: Amphora, 2002.
• Kafka Leopards // Foreign Literature , 2014, No. 7, p. 3-71.

Sklyar’s books have been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and other languages. Several of his novels and short stories filmed. He is a member of the Brazilian Literature Academy ( 2003 ), winner of the Jabouti Prize ( 1988 , 1993 , 2009 ) and many other national awards.

• Brunn A. von. Die seltsame Nation des Moacyr Scliar: jüdisches Epos in Brasilien. Frankfurt /: TFM, T. Ferrer de Mesquita; Domus Editoria Europaea, A. Schönberger, 1990
• Szklo GS Une pensée juive au Brésil: Moacyr Scliar. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1995
• O viajante transcultural: leituras da obra de Moacyr Scliar / Ana Maria Lisboa de Mello ao Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, 2004
• Moacyr Scliar: a escrita de um homem só. Porto Alegre: Instituto Estadual do Livro, 2006

• Biography of Moasir Sklyar (port.)
• On the website of the Brazilian Literary Academy
• On the IMDB website