Ditched Dreams is a dazzling novel about workers in a mysterious mine where they must remain for two years without leaving. To escape that suffocating environment, the miners tell tales of frustrated love affairs, revenge, dreams, and witchcraft which are written down and retold by a worker nicknamed Foureyes. The novel is spiced with scatological and picaresque scenes, witchcraft spells and mythological beings, along with science-fiction inventions such as a Pleasurematic. Readers have recognized scenes alluding to classical literary works, biblical passages, adventure novels, old movie serials, and contemporary films. Ditched Dreams is a cavalcade in which down-to-earth Brazilian humor provokes non-stop Rabelaisian laughter as the whip of social criticism. The narrative, essentially oral, includes samples of the vast linguistic mosaic found in Brazilian Portuguese, dexterously adapted into a literary dialect that evokes vernacular English from everywhere and nowhere in particular.
- Cover
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Contents
- To the Reader
- I. How Foureyes and the Deep Ditch Gang met up with Zeferino Mendes, better known as Scrappy, the fire-breathing Rascal
- II. The Matter of Chunky’s Taste for Critters: an Account of the passionate Nanny-Goat
- III. In which Scrappy relates to Foureyes the History of his Life, and his Father’s too
- IV. Zeferino’s Father’s Account of his old Friendship and of his Love for the Damsel Isaltina
- V. In which Vitoriano relates the History of the terrible Fever and the Damsel Isaltina’s dedicated Care, and the Account of their blossoming Love
- VI. The Damsel Isaltina, Zeferino’s future Mother, recounts the History of her unfortunate Adventures; wherein that Lady is the Victim of Card Debts and heartless Promises
- VII. How Vitoriano paid Licurgo back in his own Coin
- VIII. Giving an Account of Zeferino’s Decision: the verbal Agreement and the arduous Work on the Colonel’s Land; and of the strange Invitation made by Barba, a well-mannered Fellow with a hifalutin way of Talking
- IX. In which Scrappy protests the Lack of Women in Deep Ditch and the Saltpeter put in the Food by Management
- X. Moral Reflections by Father Angelo; wherein that Preacher enumerates the Sins of Man: Greed, Lust, Sodomy, Onanism, Bestiality and so on and so forth; particularly the Lord’s Punishment and the Arrival of the fierce Beast
- XI. Containing the History of Bugeye, the calamitous Wizard
- XII. What passed between Old Man Pa and Cezira, the Fallen Woman he loved
- XIII. The History of Cezira, containing a description of the Curse of Whantin, the dishonored Father
- XIV. In which Cezira, for her Sins of Lust and Revenge on Old Man Pa, is transformed into a Beast and gives Birth to Bugeye, the calamitous Wizard
- XV. A surprising Instance of Backlash
- XVI. What happened when the Saltpeter was left out of the Food. A notable Dissertation by Foureyes on the Needs of Man
- XVII. Containing many surprising Adventures, which include the sucking Mule and the Death of Chunky, knifed after an unfortunate Dialogue between that Man and Satan
- XVIII. The History of Mule; wherein there is a Description of that ignorant Hick’s Mother’s Way of Life and her Love for the Devil
- XIX. The Escape of Rosalia with the Devil
- XX. Giving an Account of the Fate of Rosalia and Leonardo, and of the strange and hidden Life of Mule, Son of the Devil
- XXI. In which, Mule, Son of the Devil, finding himself all alone in the World, is taken in by his stingy Grandfather
- XXII. The Matter of the Engineer’s Measures to douse the Men’s Fire. The Installation of the Pleasurematic
- XXIII. A Description of the User’s Manual and the complex Maneuvers of the Pleasurematic
- XXIV. Giving an Account of Meatbeat’s terrible Hunger and the Solution of the Problem by Scrimp (who would sell his own Mother, if he could profit)
- XXV. A Description of how a Cuckold turned the Tables
- XXVI. A Dissertation on Meatbeat’s Passion, how that Man, through Ingenuity, made use of the Pleasurematic for free. An Account of her Revenge and Reflections on trusting Women
- XXVII. In which Big Mole falls inside a deep Crevice, with its Driver et al, and the Matter of Management’s Request for Volunteers to salvage It
- XXVIII. The History of Slick the Newcomer, wherein he marries a Lezzy
- XXIX. An unlucky Accident: the Death of Slick, a Description of how a Man becomes a Mail-Order Package
- XXX. An Account of Scrappy and Smokestack’s Return and the Introduction of a new Fellow, Teju, the Witch Doctor and his friend Anhê, who relates the History of the Camunhã
- XXXI. In which Teju and Bugeye are Bosom Buddies and the Indian recounts the Origins of the Camunhã
- XXXII. The Arrival of two new Workers, the Negro Tatu and Virgin
- XXXIII. The History of Virgin, known as Joe, in which that unfortunate Virgin meets Ana Anhu
- XXXIV. A very curious Adventure, in which Joe is left by his Brothers at the County Fair
- XXXV. What happened when the Honchos, disgruntled with the Workers’ Output, once again put Saltpeter in the Food; and a Disagreement in Opinion
- XXXVI. An Account of very curious Dreams containing hawk-pecking Hummingbirds, a manswallowing Whale, little Pigs and their Trotters, a Water Guard, Indians dressed in white, a pecked Bird, and a Giant transformed into a Dwarf
- XXXVII A strange Dissertation, by Father Angelo down in the tunnel, wherein that Preacher warns against Evil, and Man’s Pride; and recounts his Dream about the mounted Harlot and the Seven Plagues
- XXXVIII. Giving an Account of what happened with Bugeye’s Black Magic wherein the Giant is finally transformed into a Dwarf, the Top becomes the Bottom, the Hawk is pecked by Hummingbirds, the Earth becomes Water, and Water becomes Earth
- XXXIX. What happened to Foureyes, Scrappy, Bugeye, Mole, Virgin, and Mule down below; the History of Houndawg, the Guard at Hell’s Gate
- XL. A Dialogue between Faustino, a Rancher of many Possessions, and the Devil: an unfortunate secret Agreement
- XLI. In which Mule replaces Houndawg at Hell’s Gate in order to be closer to his Ma and Pa
- XLII. Containing many surprising Adventures in the Kingdom of Peri-Peri, the land of smelly Creatures and where Stinky carries out his Plan
- XLIII. A Description of Leggy-Women and our Hero’s Pleasure inside very experienced Nookies
- XLIV. The History of Rosaflor, a pure and innocent Maiden, condemned to an undeserving and dark Fate
- XLV. The History of Leonor, a very hot Dish; wherein that Lady recounts making the most of Life through Love and her Nooky, too
- XLVI. A Description of several Magic Spells and of Duzeia, who was both an Old Woman and a Young Girl
- XLVII. Being the last and giving an Account of the fine Fate of Scrappy, Mole, Foureyes, and Bugeye – now a Vulture – in which the four Heroes climb up out of the Tunnel and see the Light of Day
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