O Último Voo do Flamingo (Portuguese Edition)

THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE FLAMINGO

One of the best Couto books I've read so far. The extraordinary prose, lyrical and luminous and strange, yet muscular, is enthralling; and the story itself is also utterly absorbing.

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This is a darkly comical satire on the consequences of the ending of a protracted civil war and the attempts of a ravaged country to become reacquainted with the wider world. Couto has a remarkable style and technique, a little like an African Marquez but wholly original in spirit.

One of my favourite authors. A sup One of the best Couto books I've read so far. A superb novel in every way! View all 3 comments. The central image of this novel is that of an explosion. The plot of the novel is driven by explosions. The novel opens with an explosion, and in a masterful reworking of the murder mystery genre, Mia Couto harnesses: This is what entices us to begin, and continue, reading. Mia Couto also taps into an extraordin The central image of this novel is that of an explosion.

For years following the end of the civil war, his country was ravaged by the legacy of landmines sown in the beautiful landscape of east-Africa. Innocent civilians continued to die even when the national and international politics that had instigated the war ceased to be relevant or, in other words, by the time the cold war ended and imperialism had or should have become a thing of the past.

As an example of such externally imposed order, for example, see the orders of the U. Falam muito do colonialismo. Mas isso foi coisa que eu duvido que houvesse. O que fizeram esses brancos foi ocuparem-nos. In near-tautological fashion, Andorinha stresses the concept of an external occupation that becomes a self-imposed, internal one: It is a fiction that all Africans know to be a fiction, and yet it is acted out for foreigners, theatrically, flatteringly, in order to perpetuate an hierarchy of dependency that is lucrative for some, but devastating for others: This is the second major issue tackled by Mia Couto: In this novel, an old observation is once again given voice: His suggestions are not simple.

The Last Flight of the Flamingo (O ultimo voo do flamingo) - Cineuropa

To begin with, we must examine the objective identified by the author: This is the task that Massimo Risi, an Italian, sets himself. Even Massimo Risi begins to be convinced by the advice offered to him by Chupanga: O senhor pergunta de mais. A verdade foge de muita pergunta […] Sabe o que devia fazer?

Questions are the tools of an interrogator; they place arbitrary restrictions on the expression of human reality in its entirety, by limiting the respondent to the subjects defined by the questioner. Stories, on the other hand, contribute on each occasion a little more detail to our understanding of the story-teller, adding dimensions and view points ad infinitum.

As he begins to live — to fall in love with Temporina and to listen to those with whom his life is now intertwined — Massimo Risi comes to understand the importance of all stories including his own, each of which is only one thread of subjectivity making up the fabric of the novel, as well as that of the world with all its imperfect beings, be they prostitutes Ana Deusqueira , unorthodox priests padre Muhando , witch doctors Zeca Andorinho , mentally disabled youths or pre-maturely ancient non-virgins Temporina.

To her, the explosions become a kind of psychological self-defense mechanism, set in a twisted, imaginary realm in which a vulnerable woman of her standing can conceive herself as powerful: According to her, the explosions are provoked by the jealousy of men: The last simile is the most formidable, evoking salvation and the universal love of Christ, but never removing us from the African field across which he traverses. But the novel does not end there, because there is one more explosion waiting to happen.

This last explosion is different, and can only be understood in conjunction with the second, recurring image of the novel: As we reach the final pages, we begin to sense that it is too late for salvation, because there is insufficient tenderness and love: Faltavam homens que pusessem respeito nos outros homens. Olhei para o lado e quase desfaleci: Estavamos na margem de um infinito buraco. Mas nunca chega a ser dia. Perhaps one day, Mia Couto seems to say, with our hopes and our own convictions, we can bring another dawn, and the flamingo will return.

Sep 15, Paulo rated it it was amazing Shelves: Oct 27, carpe librorum: Mar 08, Mady rated it it was ok Shelves: First time I've read something from this author from Mozambique.

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Interesting to read about another culture. I marked this as a DNF, but I did sort of finish it. I went into this expecting something similar to GGMarquez's work, and while there are magical realism elements, it didn't stand up to GGM's works and I was disappointed. You also may like to try some of these bookshops , which may or may not sell this item. Separate different tags with a comma.

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To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes. Skip to content Skip to search. Home This edition , English, Book edition: Physical Description p. Subjects Mozambique -- Fiction.

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African fiction Portuguese -- Translations into English. Summary In Mozambique after the end of the Civil War, local soldiers have been unaccountably blown up without trace. When it begins to happen to the United Nations peacekeepers, a high-level delegation visits the village of Tizangara, to initiate an investigation. Notes Translation from the Portuguese of: Translated from the Portuguese.

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