Fabiane Guimarães

Fabiane Guimarães was born in 1991 in the state of Goias, Brazil, where she grew up and started writing at a very young age. With a degree in Journalism from the University of Brasilia (UnB), where she currently lives, Fabiane is the author of a serial novel, Pequenas esposas (Little Wives), published by the virtual magazine AzMina.
She also wrote short stories for anthologies and weeklies. Lights out, here come the tears, published by Alfaguara/Companhia das Letras, is her first novel. Her second novel, Como se fosse um monstro (As If It Were A Monster), has just been delivered and will be published by Companhia das Letras.
JUST LIKE A MONSTER [COMO SE FOSSE UM MONSTRO]
In her second novel, Fabiane Guimarães explores the boundaries of motherhood, women’s choices, and social expectations.

Damiana was born in the countryside of Goiás. In the 80s, as a young woman she moved to Brasília to work as a maid for a wealthy couple. As she tries to understand their daily routine, a host of young women arrive to their house for some sort of interview behind closed doors. After months of this mysterious activity, finally the couple comes to Damiana with a proposal: even though the color of her skin is a darker than they would have preferred , they ask her to be a surrogate mother for their child.

This is the first among many decisive choices she will have to make. During her fertile years, Damina will have to understand her role in life, her connection with other people, and how far she is willing to go to achieve her goals and appease her wills.
The story of how she became one of the most productive surrogate mothers of that time, and her reflections on her relationship with motherhood, her own body, the lives she impacted with her choices, and the underground baby-making market in which she got involved, is narrated by an elder Damiana to a young journalist called Gabriela, who chased her for years, willing to listen to her story.

As an enticing novel about what it means to make decisions and how one can affect the lives of others, JUST LIKE A MONSTER is a reflection on motherhood, guilt, and the right to choose.

Publication/Status: Published by Alfaguara/Companhia das Letras (Brazil) in March 2023. [160 pages]

English sample available
LIGHTS OUT, HERE COME THE TEARS [APAGUE A LUZ SE FOR CHORAR]
Cecília doesn’t know what to do with her own life. After moving from Brasília to Rio de Janeiro, she can’t find a job or prepare for the future. João, a single father of a boy with cerebral palsy, tries to make a living in Brasilia as best as he can. He works as a vet during the day and tries odd jobs at night — the main goal is to earn enough money to afford an experimental treatment for his son. When the parents of Cecilia suddenly die, she is forced to go back to her small town, where they still lived. However, a doubt begins to torment her: the possibility of murder. At the same time, João, who is desperate for cash, starts accepting some very suspicious jobs.
While intersecting two narratives, Fabiane Guimarães portraits the countryside of Brasil and creates a shocking thriller about the many meanings of family and the boundaries we are willing to cross to protect it.

Publication/Status: Published by Alfaguara/Companhia das Letras (Brazil) in February 2021 and in digital format by Legimi (Poland) in November 2022. Film rights sold to Tambellini Filmes. [176 pages]
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