A Varanda do Frangipani

Posted on 22 October 2018 by Mia Couto

O romance narrado pelo carpinteiro Ermelindo Mucanga, que morreu s v speras da Independ ncia, quando trabalhava nas obras de restauro da Fortaleza de S Nicolau, onde funciona um asilo para velhos Ele um xipoco , um fantasma que vive numa cova sob a rvore de frangipani na varanda da fortaleza colonial As autoridades do pa s querem transformar Mucanga em her i nacional, mas ele pretende, ao contr rio, morrer definitivamente Para tanto, precisa remorrer Ent o, seguindo conselho de seu pangolim uma esp cie de tamandu africano , encarna no inspetor de pol cia Izidine Na ta, que est a caminho da Fortaleza para investigar a morte do diretor Mais de vinte anos depois da independ ncia de Mo ambique, quando a guerra civil j arrefeceu, a Fortaleza um lugar em que convergem heran as, mem rias e contradi es de um pa s novo e ao mesmo tempo profundamente ligado s tradi es e aos mitos ancestrais Da sua varanda se pode enxergar o horizonte O romance de Mia Couto esbo a, assim, uma sa da ut pica para um pa s em reconstru o Read A Varanda do Frangipani – kino-fada.fr A good dose of magic realism African style, set in post colonial Mozambique A police inspector is sent to investigate a murder at a remote fort used as a hospital refuge Whilst he is there he is also inhabited by the shade ghost of a worker buried under the frangipani tree in the fort unknown to him The residents of the fort are a group of older people waiting for death, their nurse, an elderly witch wise woman and the wife of the deceased who ran the fort They...And now for something completely differenta magical mystery tour with one of Mozambique s leading novelists, Mia Couto It is daft, but I shall attempt to outline briefly the plot of this phantasmagorical tale that makes the most ardent proponents of magical realism seem like champions of formal nineteenth century European literary naturalism in comparison.Most simplistically, one can view this novel as a whodunit A European educated African police detective, Izdine Naita, arrives from And now for something completely differenta magical mystery tour with ...AFRICAN BOOKS MARATHON BOOK 1TITLE Under the Frangipani Portuguese Title A Veranda do Frangipani AUTHOR Mia CoutoCOUNTRY MozambiqueThis was my first novel from Mozambique or from a Sub Saharan African country in general It was actually a 150 pages novella filled with magical realism or to beprecise animist realism, an African sub category of magical realism.From WikipediaAnimism is the worldview that non human entities such as animals, plants, and inanimate objects poss...This I You know what I just didn t quite get it I don t know if it was the translation, or the magic realism which I do honestly have a hot cold relationship with But I didn t really get the point, or half the book.We start with our protagonist who is buried under a Frangipani tree But he is about to get honoured by the state as a hero against the colonialists, so decides he has to leave this old fort he died at while building, in order to get some sense of self back Luckily there This I You know what I just didn t quite get it I don t know if it was the translation, or the magic realism which I do honestly have a hot cold relationship with But I didn t really get the point, or half the book.We start with our protagonist who is buried under a Frangipani tree Bu...A story about the pain and lost identity of a nation, about its dreams, superstitions and hopes, all narrated in a surreal note.Why is it that you go for ages without a magic realist detective story and then two come along within a month But Under the Frangipani is very different from Burning Angel Couto plays with the detective story genre in this book, stretching it and distorting it For starters the inspector has people queuing up to admit to murdering the oppressive Excellency Vatsome, but then many of the confessions include magic such as a woman who turns to water at night and a man who will die if he cries Why is it that you go for ages without a magic realist detective story and then two come along within a month But Under the Frangipani is very different from Burning Angel Couto plays with the detective story genre in this book, stretching it and distorting it For starters the inspector has people queuing up to admit to murdering the oppressive Excellency Vatsome, but then many of the confessions include magic such as a woman who turns to water at night and a man who will die if he cries so can they be believed Then there is who or what is murdered As one of the elderly suspects says,the crime that s been committed here isn t the one you re trying to solve.There is Vatsome s death of course But there is also the death of the Ermelindo Mucanga, the dead narrator who takes up residence in a corner of the inspector s mind As the detective uncovers something of the truth about Vatsome s murder, so Mucanga...Magical realism murder mystery storytelling that straddles the worlds between the living the dead, traditions vs modern s, colonization against freedom, war facing off against peace It was different even a bit challenging to understand, at least for me I do think there s real depth there, but I m not completely sure that I even made it far below the surface A better knowledge of traditional myths tales, as well as the history of the area might have helped some of Magical realism murder mystery storytelling that straddles the worlds between the living the dead, traditions vs modern s, colonization against freedom, war facing off against peace It was different even a bit challenging to understand...It s short but I still found it a challenge to get through Probably read it too disjointedly and it would have flown a bit better I did enjoy Couto s lyrical language but I feel like there was a lot of symbolism that I missed and thus it ended up being a rather shallow read for me.Finally, a book that is truly different from previous experiences, a book that is unusual without being impossible to read, a new friend to begin a new year.Mia Couto s Under the Frangipani is a thin book But condensed in its littlethan 150 pages is an impressive narrative of a revolution betrayed as centered on the investigation of the death of Excellency Vatsome, Mozambique revolutionary war veteran turned sanatorium director and secret arms dealer.Lurking everywhere in Under the Frangipani are the shadows of the Mozambique war of national liberation against Portuguese repression and its traumatic realities.A genuine revolution is supposed Mia Couto s Under the Frangipani is a thin book But condensed in its littlethan 150 pages is an impressive narrative of a revolution betrayed as centered on the investigation of the death of Excellency Vatsome, Mozambique revolutionary war veteran turned sanatorium director and secret arms dealer.Lurking everywhere in Under the Frangipani are the shadows of the Mozambique war of national liberation against Portuguese repression and its traumatic realities.A genuine revolution is supposed to be waged for the people It seeks to institute radical social changes to empower the greater majority of peasants and workers But what if it fails to pursue its original aims after completing the seizure of power from the oppressors The question of what happens to guerrilla leaders who lose their ideological bearings ...

Portuguese
22 October 2018

Mia Couto