In 1937, Graciliano Ramos wrote a short story called Baleia, about a female dog about to be sacrificed (inspired by an event he witnessed as a child in the backlands of Pernambuco). After its publication and reception, the writer gathered this and other short stories of his authorship already published independently in newspapers and magazines, organizing and linking them together to form a cohesive novel. And so was born Vidas Secas, released in 1938.

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That same year, in a review of the book published in the newspaper Diário de Notícias, the chronicler Rubem Braga ended up creating the concept of a “dismantlable novel”: the 13 chapters that form the work can be read in isolation, as they have a certain autonomy, presenting particular cases of life in the backlands.

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The title page of the novel's galleys (photo) still bore the title of the originals that Graciliano had sent to the publisher: O Mundo Coberto de Pennas (the first title chosen was Baleia). In the biography O Velho Graça (1992), Dênis de Moraes recounts that the poet Augusto Frederico Schmidt suggested that the book be called Vidas Amargas, and that Daniel Pereira, brother of the editor José Olympio, proposed changing "amargas" (bitter) to "secas" (dry). Graciliano was immediately convinced, and the previous title was used to name the 12th chapter of the work.

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