Alexandra Brito’s Memoirs — Anny Luiza Gomes Melo Santos’s (UFS) and Fabiana Manuela Batista Vasconcelos’s (UFS) review by “Fragmentos de memórias”, by Alexandra Brito
Abstract: “Fragmentos de memória” by Alexandra Brito, published in 2021, is an autobiography focused on the author’s childhood, exploring striking memories with sensitivity and simplicity. Although it offers a multifaceted view of Brito’s life, the work is criticized by informative gaps and excessive use of reticence, which can make it difficult to understand and engage the reader. The nonlinear structure of the book highlights important moments of the author’s life, potentially serving as a didactic resource.
Keywords: Memory, autobiography, and childhood.
Fragmentos de memória, as the title explains, is an autobiographical memory written by Alexandra Brito, published by Ediser Edise, in 2021, in the city of Aracaju-SE. With an emotional presentation, written by Magna Santana, broadcaster and “sister of soul” of the author, the publication aims to describe Alexandra Brito’s life in her childhood, exploring her deepest and most striking memories. With sensitivity, empathy, lightness and simplicity, the work has an initial value that reflects the richness of Alexandra Brito’s personal history. The preface is signed by Emotional Intelligence Specialist, Gilmara Gonçalves. She points out that the author “presented us with a pure and happy child” (p.12), able to make us imagine her with a smile on her face, conveying all the innocence and joy of a past that became unforgettable.
Alexandra Brito is from the mountain town of Itabaiana. She studied at several educational institutions, including Educandário Nossa Senhora da Purificação, Colégios Tobias Barreto, Atheneu and Unificado. Graduated in Journalism from the former Faculdade Tiradentes (currently Universidade Tiradentes), she was also a professor at that institution. Throughout her career as a journalist, she worked in several newsrooms, including Tv Sergipe, Tv Aperipê, Jornal da Cidade, Correio de Sergipe and Sindicato dos Petroleiros (Sindipetro). Brito also participated in the creation of the “Alô Comércio” sound service, alongside Magna Santana and other professional colleagues. In addition, she worked in the press and communications office of Âncora Comunicação, providing services to institutions such as the Aracaju Health Department and the Aracaju City Council.
This experience, evidently, is not described in the book, which only deals with the author’s childhood. The work is structured into 24 brief chapters, spread over 57 pages. So little space for each text and coherence to the title (Fragments). The brief units describe public places (“House on Rua da Glória” and “The Market”), habits (“Afternoon of Lots of Play”, “Banho na Prainha”), imagery (“Papa-figo”), events (“Saving the sister”) and people close to her (“Dona Punina” and “Eliezer and Netinha”) from her experience, most likely, in Aracaju. The book is illustrated with two photographs of the author’s first homes and a drawing that expresses the “Enganchada” incident in the bank”:
On an afternoon like any other, the little girl was playing and decided to turn the bench upside down and climb into it, which had become, in her imagination, a car. She stuck her short legs between the bottom of the seat and a wooden slat that held the four feet together. […] At the height of despair, the little girl got herself together and managed to get out alone, just like that, the same way she had boxed herself in. When the mother saw it, through tears, she was torn between relief and the desire to spank the little girl for the art she did… But that was just one of the many that, not only the three-year-old girl did… another was getting into a pot made of clay, to take a bath… hahaha
Ilustration by Álvaro (Brito, 2021, p.30)
Although “Fragments of Memories” presents a multifaceted approach to the author’s childhood, some gaps and absences of important information can be considered the work’s devaluations. In some chapters, the author uses many ellipsis, suggesting that there are gaps in the text or leaving some important questions open. Despite probably using them as figures of speech, their use is excessive and can cause a certain amount of boredom.
The work is rich in data about public places and institutions, but the lack of more precise information about the location and time of some of them, in addition to the complement of other events, such as the fate of the straw mattress factory or about some friends of the author, can leave the reader with doubts or prevent the construction of meaning in the stories presented. We do not know, for example, objectively, the city where the narrated events take place. These absences of important details can affect the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work, in addition to preventing a deeper connection with the author’s memories and experiences.
On the other hand, the objectivity of the work allows the reader to enjoy a panoramic and multifaceted view of the author’s life, without having to stick to a linear and chronological narrative. Furthermore, Alexandra Brito’s writing is clear and concise, facilitating the reader’s understanding and highlighting the importance of the moments described. By describing various aspects of the author’s life, the work encourages the reader to reflect on their own life story.
Based on the information presented in the text, it is possible to conclude that the author achieved the objective highlighted in the presentation of “Fragments of Memory”. The book is an autobiographical memoir that explores important events and people from the author’s childhood. It is built on a sensitive, empathetic, light and simple text. The book can even serve as a teaching tool, expanding the reading capabilities of a child and youth audience.
Alexandra Brito’s Memoirs — Anny Luiza Gomes Melo Santos’s (UFS) and Fabiana Manuela Batista Vasconcelos’s (UFS) review by “Fragmentos de memórias”, by Alexandra Brito
Abstract: “Fragmentos de memória” by Alexandra Brito, published in 2021, is an autobiography focused on the author’s childhood, exploring striking memories with sensitivity and simplicity. Although it offers a multifaceted view of Brito’s life, the work is criticized by informative gaps and excessive use of reticence, which can make it difficult to understand and engage the reader. The nonlinear structure of the book highlights important moments of the author’s life, potentially serving as a didactic resource.
Keywords: Memory, autobiography, and childhood.
Fragmentos de memória, as the title explains, is an autobiographical memory written by Alexandra Brito, published by Ediser Edise, in 2021, in the city of Aracaju-SE. With an emotional presentation, written by Magna Santana, broadcaster and “sister of soul” of the author, the publication aims to describe Alexandra Brito’s life in her childhood, exploring her deepest and most striking memories. With sensitivity, empathy, lightness and simplicity, the work has an initial value that reflects the richness of Alexandra Brito’s personal history. The preface is signed by Emotional Intelligence Specialist, Gilmara Gonçalves. She points out that the author “presented us with a pure and happy child” (p.12), able to make us imagine her with a smile on her face, conveying all the innocence and joy of a past that became unforgettable.
Alexandra Brito is from the mountain town of Itabaiana. She studied at several educational institutions, including Educandário Nossa Senhora da Purificação, Colégios Tobias Barreto, Atheneu and Unificado. Graduated in Journalism from the former Faculdade Tiradentes (currently Universidade Tiradentes), she was also a professor at that institution. Throughout her career as a journalist, she worked in several newsrooms, including Tv Sergipe, Tv Aperipê, Jornal da Cidade, Correio de Sergipe and Sindicato dos Petroleiros (Sindipetro). Brito also participated in the creation of the “Alô Comércio” sound service, alongside Magna Santana and other professional colleagues. In addition, she worked in the press and communications office of Âncora Comunicação, providing services to institutions such as the Aracaju Health Department and the Aracaju City Council.
This experience, evidently, is not described in the book, which only deals with the author’s childhood. The work is structured into 24 brief chapters, spread over 57 pages. So little space for each text and coherence to the title (Fragments). The brief units describe public places (“House on Rua da Glória” and “The Market”), habits (“Afternoon of Lots of Play”, “Banho na Prainha”), imagery (“Papa-figo”), events (“Saving the sister”) and people close to her (“Dona Punina” and “Eliezer and Netinha”) from her experience, most likely, in Aracaju. The book is illustrated with two photographs of the author’s first homes and a drawing that expresses the “Enganchada” incident in the bank”:
On an afternoon like any other, the little girl was playing and decided to turn the bench upside down and climb into it, which had become, in her imagination, a car. She stuck her short legs between the bottom of the seat and a wooden slat that held the four feet together. […] At the height of despair, the little girl got herself together and managed to get out alone, just like that, the same way she had boxed herself in. When the mother saw it, through tears, she was torn between relief and the desire to spank the little girl for the art she did… But that was just one of the many that, not only the three-year-old girl did… another was getting into a pot made of clay, to take a bath… hahaha
Ilustration by Álvaro (Brito, 2021, p.30)
Although “Fragments of Memories” presents a multifaceted approach to the author’s childhood, some gaps and absences of important information can be considered the work’s devaluations. In some chapters, the author uses many ellipsis, suggesting that there are gaps in the text or leaving some important questions open. Despite probably using them as figures of speech, their use is excessive and can cause a certain amount of boredom.
The work is rich in data about public places and institutions, but the lack of more precise information about the location and time of some of them, in addition to the complement of other events, such as the fate of the straw mattress factory or about some friends of the author, can leave the reader with doubts or prevent the construction of meaning in the stories presented. We do not know, for example, objectively, the city where the narrated events take place. These absences of important details can affect the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work, in addition to preventing a deeper connection with the author’s memories and experiences.
On the other hand, the objectivity of the work allows the reader to enjoy a panoramic and multifaceted view of the author’s life, without having to stick to a linear and chronological narrative. Furthermore, Alexandra Brito’s writing is clear and concise, facilitating the reader’s understanding and highlighting the importance of the moments described. By describing various aspects of the author’s life, the work encourages the reader to reflect on their own life story.
Based on the information presented in the text, it is possible to conclude that the author achieved the objective highlighted in the presentation of “Fragments of Memory”. The book is an autobiographical memoir that explores important events and people from the author’s childhood. It is built on a sensitive, empathetic, light and simple text. The book can even serve as a teaching tool, expanding the reading capabilities of a child and youth audience.
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Anny Luiza Gomes Melo Santos is a degree in Pedagogy from the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), PIBID Scholarship (2020–2022) and Scholarship in the Pedagogical Residence Program (UFS). ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2030476623280894; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0847-2132; E-mail: annyluizagomes@gmail.com.
Fabiana Manuela Batista Vasconcelos is a degree in Pedagogy from the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), PIBID Scholarship (2020–2022) and Scholarship in the Pedagogical Residence Program (UFS). ID Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0827453052415596; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0301-9137; fabianavasconcelos2019@outlook.com.
