ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
This week, while our co-host Melissa Block is in Brazil, we thought we'd showcase a couple of Brazilian writers. Today: Tatiana Salem Levy, whose short story "Blazing Sun" was featured in the literary magazine Granta. Levy splits her time between Rio de Janeiro, where she's spent most of her life; and Lisbon, where she was born. Here she is reading from "Blazing Sun," which she calls a love letter to Rio.
TATIANA SALEM LEVY: (Speaking foreign language)
CATHERINE OSBORNE: (Reading translation) Few things are more beautiful than the instants that precede momentous things: the second before a passionate kiss, before a marathon runner crosses the finish line, before a rainstorm hits Rio de Janeiro.
LEVY: (Speaking foreign language)
OSBORNE: (Reading translation) Before the water comes crashing down, Rio teems with activity. People make a frantic dash for it. Birds disperse in a flurry. Cockroaches scurry. Monkeys leap from branch to branch, all seeking shelter, a roof of any kind.
LEVY: (Speaking foreign language)
OSBORNE: (Reading translation) The city suddenly begins to palpitate when the humidity reaches an unsustainable level; when you know that the hot, heavy, sticky weather is about to come undone in a downpour.
LEVY: (Speaking foreign language)
OSBORNE: (Reading translation) If you're lucky enough to be somewhere safe, you will soon see nature's strength unleashed supreme, reminding us of how fragile and fleeting we are.
SIEGEL: Brazilian writer Tatiana Salem Levy, reading from her short story "Blazing Sun." The translation was read by Catherine Osborne.
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