I’ve decided for the rest of the year (and into 2024) to reread novels that I first wrote reviews for when I started the blog in 2011 and other books I read in my 20s and 30s. I want to rediscover why I read and start a new foundation for my reading life.

To connect with others who shared my interest in reading, I joined the online reading community and started reading their posts on Goodreads, Instagram, and YouTube. However, I realized I could not keep up and I what like to read was outside most of the online reading community. I felt I had lost my reading identity.

I had sensed that something had gone wrong in my reading life and it was time to change.  So, I wanted to reread several books that I started reviewing on my blog like Home Is the Sailor by Jorge Amado.  I wrote in my initial review this novel made my top five list. Would I feel the same after this reread?

Home Is the Sailor is the story of Captain Vasco Moscoso de Aragao who comes to retire in the Brazilian beach town of Periperi. Vasco Moscoso de Aragao captivates people with tales of his adventures, romances, and leadership when he arrives in town.

The town’s storyteller, Chico Pacheco, doubts the sailor’s captaincy and sets out to debunk his stories. While Pacheco lays his case against the sea captain, the story provides an opportunity to show if Vasco Moscoso de Aragao is truly a man of the sea. Amado takes the story into how the sailor leads a ship one last time.The reader discovers Vasco Moscoso de Aragao’s love for a passenger and the crew’s doubts about his leadership on the ship.

I will admit that upon this reread Home Is the Sailor is not one of my top five novels anymore. Amado’s story highlights the significance of storytelling and the importance of individuals sharing their own stories in their own way. Also, I must mention that the novel was published in 1964 here in America, and some aspects of the story do not age well. Especially for the female characters in the story. There will be readers who will view the female characters as objects and appendages to the protagonist.  That’s a fair assessment.

However, I will write that upon rereading the novel seeing I still found it enjoyable. Amado had a bigger story to tell about the protagonist’s need to feel important. By that account, Home Is the Sailor is a novel worth reading and a good book club choice.