Tristes Tropiques

About “Tristes Tropiques”

Tristes Tropiques is a non-fiction work by Claude Lévi-Strauss that was a bestseller when first published in France in 1955. The book details his fieldwork among Amazonian tribes, including the Caduveo, Bororo, Nambikwara, and Tupi-Kawahib, where he observed "a human society reduced to its most basic expression." It is a foundational text in structural anthropology and reflects on Lévi-Strauss's experiences as a Jewish exile, a professor in Brazil, and a renowned academic. The book also includes reflections on other cultures and is described as a literary work, a travelogue, and a memoir. The translation by John and Doreen Weightman presents the complete text of the 1968 revised French edition, along with original photographs and illustrations.