It’s been a life long passion since I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.
In Brazil, so far from where it was written by the brilliant Douglas Adams, that novel reached a fifteen year old girl with its expansive outer-world invention and witty writing. Above all, it showed me possibilities I didn’t know existed. I grew up under Brazilian military control where criticizing the government meant a one way ticket to jail, torture, and an unmarked grave. Douglas’s political satire was subversive and empowering. If only I could write like that…
That’s a tall order, specially for someone who read the sci fi classics in Portuguese. As great as an adaptation might be, it’s challenging to get the deeper meaning and the cultural jokes. So, I’ve been rereading all my old favorites, getting acquainted with new voices in the genre, and working on my own sci fi novel, all in English. It’s been a blast.
After living in the U.S. for twenty two years, during which my husband and I made a life for ourselves and raised two kids, I should be ready to get the treasures hidden in colloquialisms. And hopefully, I should be able to revise my novel and trim it down a little.
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