Suitabook

Until the day arrives

Ana Maria Machado

Reading: Consider reading alongside conversation about whose viewpoint is being followed and whose experiences receive direct detail. Pause after the capture and voyage sections, then discuss how the book frames freedom and resistance.
Themes: Freedom and resistance: Manu learns about quilombos and wants to help Didi and Rosa escape; the siblings are described as putting anti-slavery values into action. The narrative supports resistance to enslavement and presents freedom as a goal, while its historical framing may invite scrutiny of how modern values are applied to the period.
Historical representation: The novel includes Portuguese orphans, captured Africans, Brazil and explanatory interludes about history and the slave trade. Historical information is woven into the story, though the narrative also uses dramatic personal experiences to present the period.
Gender and identity: Manu presents herself as a boy so she can accompany Bento aboard ship and remain with him. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
Worth knowing: Pay particular attention to the treatment of capture, confinement, forced transport and separation from family. The portrayal is described as grim and realistic, and some passages are characterised as sentimental or patronising.