Overview

In Rio de Janeiro, the selling points for cocaine are located in the city's six hundred or so shantytowns or favelas that are controlled by well-organized and heavily armed drug gangs. The struggle for control of the massive profits from the drug trade has resulted in what are increasingly violent and deadly confrontations between rival drug gangs and a corrupt and brutal police force that have transformed parts of the city into a war-zone. This book tells the story of Lucia, a poor Brazilian woman who was intimately involved with drug gang life in Rio throughout the 1990s. Through a series of conversations with the author, Lucia tells us, in her own words, what it is like to endure conditions of poverty, violence, and injustice that are simply unimaginable. And, in doing so, she sheds light on why women like her become involved with drugs and gangs.

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9781592133390

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Reviews

Gay's Lucia offers a riveting portrait of the way these contending forces [gangs, drugs, the church] have shaped the life of one favela resident. Latin American Research Review The mass of the book is a fascinating exchange between the author and his subject as he tries to learn from her and tell her story. . Gay has achieved an extraordinary result by providing profound insights into a particular type of life usually overlooked in academic writing. As a result he provides a very personal and real account of how the violence and poverty facing Rio de Janeiro affect the lives of the often voiceless people who have to live with its most brutal results. Gay has, indeed, achieved a different sort of social science. Qualitative Sociology These transcripts reveal much about the structure and complexities of life in one of Rio de Janeiro's favelas or shantytowns. The testimonies of Lucia provide a unique glimpse into the social organization and institutions that provide the context within which inhabitants of these surroundings negotiate survival. Contemporary Sociology [was] likely to become [a] classic. Foreword Magazine If you can no longer recall the stomach-churning depictions of Rio de Janeiro favelas from the 2002 film City of God, this true account of one mujer's life in the Brazilian underworld-trying to survive local gangs and merciless rule of her drug-lord boyfriend-will bring it all back. Latina In Lucia, the author weaves the life of Lucia into that of other actors in her poor community, between the time that he first met and researched her favela (1989) and more recently ( about three years ago ), when he again began tracing the intersections of her life with others. Gay does a splendid job of laying out and expanding several actors' lives as they intersect with that of Lucia. In the process of reading this interesting sociologically-directed narrative, Gay taught me about Brazilian gangs, crime, prison, school, work, education, economy, and religion. Within the sociological enterprise, these 'social institutions,' as they are labelled, are usually dealt with by heavy-handed definitions and static concepts. In contrast, Gay makes them live by explaining these social institutions within the context of people's lives. Martha Huggins Gay's condemnation of political and economic forces linked to the state is vociferous...The silences in Gay's book...are weighty and meaningful ones for those who would read between the lines. Lucia is a brave experiment. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthology The book largely consists of transcripts of recorded interviews Gay conducted with Lucia between 1999 and 2001. Gay has selected and structured the transcripts of Lucia's narrated autobiography in such a way that one is quickly caught by the dreadful though vivid story and likely to gain the necessary insight to understand what Lucia's reflections entail...To conclude, this is a fascinating book that should be read by everyone who wants to learn more about life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies [An] often heart-rending look into the life of one woman caught up in drug dealing, violence, police corruption and urban crime in Rio de Janeiro... Gay's book combines a compelling first-person narrative with a balanced and accessibly written contextual analysis of the causes and effects of inequalities, urban violence and drug trafficking... [T]he book's greatest strength [is] it offers a window into the particularities of one woman's life, a life like many others all too often dismissed or ignored. - Luso-Brazilian Review, Winter 2008 The chapters are well-constructed, with telling interviews followed by two to four pages of sociological analysis of the dialogues' themes that place Lucia's experiences in larger context... This book offers a rich portrait...not by presenting a theoretical treatise from an abstract perspective, but by providing a poignant portrait of how these inequalities are experienced by Lucia 'on the ground.' - Social Forces, Dec 2008

Gay's Lucia offers a riveting portrait of the way these contending forces [gangs, drugs, the church] have shaped the life of one favela resident. Latin American Research Review The mass of the book is a fascinating exchange between the author and his subject as he tries to learn from her and tell her story. . Gay has achieved an extraordinary result by providing profound insights into a particular type of life usually overlooked in academic writing. As a result he provides a very personal and real account of how the violence and poverty facing Rio de Janeiro affect the lives of the often voiceless people who have to live with its most brutal results. Gay has, indeed, achieved a different sort of social science. Qualitative Sociology These transcripts reveal much about the structure and complexities of life in one of Rio de Janeiro's favelas or shantytowns. The testimonies of Lucia provide a unique glimpse into the social organization and institutions that provide the context within which inhabitants of these surroundings negotiate survival. Contemporary Sociology [was] likely to become [a] classic. Foreword Magazine If you can no longer recall the stomach-churning depictions of Rio de Janeiro favelas from the 2002 film City of God, this true account of one mujer's life in the Brazilian underworld-trying to survive local gangs and merciless rule of her drug-lord boyfriend-will bring it all back. Latina In Lucia, the author weaves the life of Lucia into that of other actors in her poor community, between the time that he first met and researched her favela (1989) and more recently ( about three years ago ), when he again began tracing the intersections of her life with others. Gay does a splendid job of laying out and expanding several actors' lives as they intersect with that of Lucia. In the process of reading this interesting sociologically-directed narrative, Gay taught me about Brazilian gangs, crime, prison, school, work, education, economy, and religion. Within the sociological enterprise, these 'social institutions,' as they are labelled, are usually dealt with by heavy-handed definitions and static concepts. In contrast, Gay makes them live by explaining these social institutions within the context of people's lives. Martha Huggins Gay's condemnation of political and economic forces linked to the state is vociferous...The silences in Gay's book...are weighty and meaningful ones for those who would read between the lines. Lucia is a brave experiment. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthology The book largely consists of transcripts of recorded interviews Gay conducted with Lucia between 1999 and 2001. Gay has selected and structured the transcripts of Lucia's narrated autobiography in such a way that one is quickly caught by the dreadful though vivid story and likely to gain the necessary insight to understand what Lucia's reflections entail...To conclude, this is a fascinating book that should be read by everyone who wants to learn more about life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies [An] often heart-rending look into the life of one woman caught up in drug dealing, violence, police corruption and urban crime in Rio de Janeiro... Gay's book combines a compelling first-person narrative with a balanced and accessibly written contextual analysis of the causes and effects of inequalities, urban violence and drug trafficking... [T]he book's greatest strength [is] it offers a window into the particularities of one woman's life, a life like many others all too often dismissed or ignored. - Luso-Brazilian Review, Winter 2008 The chapters are well-constructed, with telling interviews followed by two to four pages of sociological analysis of the dialogues' themes that place Lucia's experiences in larger context... This book offers a rich portrait...not by presenting a theoretical treatise from an abstract perspective, but by providing a poignant portrait of how these inequalities are experienced by Lucia 'on the ground.' - Social Forces, Dec 2008

Author Information

Robert Gay is Chair of the Department of Sociology at Connecticut College. He is the author of Popular Organization and Democracy in Rio De Janeiro: A Tale of Two Favelas (Temple).

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