"BRAZIL RED tells the story of two orphaned children, Just and Colombe, who are dragged off on the French colonizing expedition--they are meant to learn the native languages and act as interpreters. Everything in this novel is outsized: the setting, a jungle still populated by cannibals; the characters, including Villegagnon, the expedition's eccentric leader, who might be a model for Cyrano or d'Artagnan; and the events, a dress rehearsal for the Wars of Religion ten years in the future. Packed with portraits, landscapes, and action, "Brazil Red is a novel about coming of age and discovering love. On a deeper level, the story follows the destinies and decisions of Just and Colombe, presenting two conflicting views of man and nature. On one hand, a conquering European civilization, offering liberation but delivering death. On the other, the Indian world, with its sensuality, its harmony, its sense of the sacred, its continual call to happiness.

让-克利斯托夫·吕芬 于一九五二年出生于法国布尔热市。自一九七七年起，成为人道主义组织“无国界医生”的先锋。现为人道主义组织“反饥饿行动”的主席。在第三世界的不寻常经历，不仅为他的文学创作提供了大量素材，而且为他的文学创作指出了方向。他说，长期在国外生活之后，他有了一种“通过写小说，能够生活在‘真理’当中的感觉”。自一九八六年出版《人道的陷阱》之后，吕芬又推出了《拯救伊斯法罕》（1988）和《人道主义冒险》（1994）。一九九七年出版的《阿比西尼亚人》使他一举进入当今法国最畅销作家的行列。一九九九年，他以《失败的事业》获得法国传媒文学奖。此外，他还写过政治题材的小说《帝国与新野人》和《自由主义的专制》。二零零一年龚古尔奖的获得，使让-克利斯托夫·吕芬的文学知名度超越了国界。