My Sweet Orange Tree

De: José Mauro de Vasconcelos

Narrado por: Alfred Enoch

A worldwide classic of children's literature—a moving, life-affirming childhood story, finally available in English again

Meet Zezé—Brazil’s naughtiest and most loveable boy, his talent for mischief matched only by his great kindness. When he grows up he wants to be a ‘poet with a bow-tie’, but for now he entertains himself playing pranks on the residents of his family’s poor Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood and inventing friends to play with. That is, until he meets a real friend, and his life begins to change....

My Sweet Orange Tree is a worldwide classic of children’s literature—never out of print in Brazil since it was first published in 1968; it has also been translated into an astonishing number of languages and won the hearts of millions of young admirers from Korea to Turkey, Poland to Thailand and in many other countries, too.

José Mauro de Vasconcelos (1920-84) was a Brazilian writer who worked as a sparring partner for boxers, a labourer on a banana farm and a fisherman before he started writing at the age of 22. He is most famous for his autobiographical novel My Sweet Orange Tree, which tells the story of his own childhood in Rio de Janeiro.

Translated by Alison Entrekin.

©2008 Pushkin Press (P)2022 Audible, Ltd

A must read

A wonderful, sad and thoughtful reading! Loved it! My first experience with a Brazilian author.

Brilliant work!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Beutiful work! it gets on your skin, the feelings, the thoughts, the emotions and of course the lessons.
It was a little hard to get into because of the narrator “accent” for some words, but then you get used to it and continue the story line!

<stands and applauds> BRAVO!

I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase, in the U.S., the version narrated by Alfred Enoch. I heard the other narrator and gasped, as he does not hold a candle to Alfred Enoch, not even close. I don’t understand why they do this, restricting what versions of narration we can have based on where we, the consumers, are physically located. It’s ridiculous and they really need to change whatever laws are restricting and limiting consumers in this way. I’m the type of person who will purchase the same book narrated by different people, as each narrator can bring an entirely different experience and bring new life to the book. This is what Alfred Enoch did in his stellar performance. Unfortunately, the U.K. seems to get many of the best narrators and therefore the best versions of audiobooks. It’s silly that in 2023, the Internet age, we’re still entirely restricted by the customer’s physical location, even though it’s an audiobook purchased from the internet. Foolish business strategy, not giving consumers more choices and severely restricting what narration they can purchase. Alfred Enoch’s narration was so vivid, he brought the book to life, so much so that I got lost in his narration of the book. It’s pretty rare for this to happen to me, to be so engrossed in an audiobook, that it was like being dropped into the middle of this young child’s life and witnessing it play out right before my eyes. I can see why this book became a staple in other countries throughout elementary school years, however, it’s much more than just a children’s or teen/young adult book. It has so much meat and depth to it, it was utterly brilliant. It is currently my favorite book and I suspect it will be for many years to come, as I imagine it will be quite some time before another book comes along that is anywhere near as good as this book and knocks it off of top place. It really is just that good. So glad I took a risk and bought this book I’d never heard of, written over half a century ago, about a young child in Rio de Janeiro. Sooooooo very glad, and so very glad I was lucky enough to get Alfred Enoch narrating. Please Audible, start allowing those of us in the U.S. to have the ability to listen to whatever narrator we desire. If they are available in the U.K. or other countries, please let us have the option of choosing those versions of the book too. Please do not assume that all or most Americans prefer the type of narration you are offering to us, because we don’t. After surveying many audiobook listeners, I’d go so far as to say many of us prefer the U.K. versions over what we’re being offered here in the U.S. Audible wants to sell more books, we want better narration, so please, for the love of all that is good, do whatever is necessary so we can have the wonderful narration available in other English speaking countries.

A wonderful story on the power of tenderness

This book delves into the complexity of poverty and the violence that can stem from living from moment to moment with uncertainty and scarcity. It also portrays the power of one person’s tenderness toward a child who is stuck between poverty and a keen intellect. All this is told through a kindergartner’s eyes and experiences.

Striking poverty perspective. Great narrating performance.

Brings listeners into gripping impoverished world through the lens of a 5 year old. Great narration.

Delightful and horrifying by turns.

The reader makers this an exceptional listen. A fascinating and brief glimpse into another time and a culture other than my own.

Worth your time!

Such a heart breaking yet beautifully written story. I’ve read the original book in Portuguese and this translation was very well done. The narrator does a brilliant job too. I’m impressed with the narrator’s pronunciation of the Brazilian names - he reads them perfectly as a Brazilian would, instead of adding an English accent which would end up changing the names of the characters and places.