I’m a Swedish journalist and writer, working as a correspondent in Latin America for Dagens Nyheter – Sweden’s and Scandinavia’s largest newspaper. I have lived in Rio de Janeiro since 2002 and have written several books about Brazil. My first book, Fantasy Island – Brave New Heart of Brazil, documents how it was possible to build the most highly planned capital in the world. Nowhere is the story of modern Brazil as clear to us as in Brasília. My follow-up, Jogo Bonito: Pelé, Neymar and Brazil’s Beautiful Game, was published by Random House and takes the reader on a journey through the Wild West of Brazilian football. Jogo Bonito – meaning ‘the beautiful game’ – is a history, a travelogue and a gonzo-style report on how Brazil has used football to create a national identity. The Guardian wrote that Jogo Bonito is Distinguished by its entertaining originality and The Times wrote that this book is a joy, dancing around erratically between the best and the worst of Brazil.
I have won the Swedish television award for ‘Best Investigative Program’ and was nominated for the Swedish Grand Journalism Award for the documentary A Royal Nazi Secret, about the father of Queen Silvia of Sweden. The documentary was also awarded a gold medal in the History & Society category at the New York Festival’s International Television & Film Awards.
My latest book Where the Sin Never Sets – about the seven deadly sins in the Lusophone world – got published in Sweden, August 2020 and became an immediate success. After two weeks, the first edition sold out and after another two weeks, the second edition sold out too. It’s now in its sixth printing and has received excellent reviews. Swedish Book Review wrote that Where the Sin Never Sets “provides insight into parts of the world readers may know little to nothing about”. The review also says that “like all good travel narratives it quickly becomes a page turner” and that the “narrative and style, and aptitude for telling it as he sees it, make this a gripping read”. You can read the whole review here.
In September 2021 the book got published in Portugal by Penguin Livros under the title: Viagem pelos Sete Pecados da Colonização Portuguesa. Here you can read the review in Jornal da Notícias.
Contact: brandao.jonsson@gmail.com
