front cover of Elephants Never Forget
Elephants Never Forget
Abel Coelho
Tagus Press, 2017
Twenty-five years after Mozambique's revolution for independence, Abel Coelho returns to his country from his home in Lisbon to revisit the places where he spent his childhood. The war was over, the one-party regime had ceded to a multi-party system, and the country was at peace. The result was this novel, which offers a little known side of post-colonial Mozambique and the civil war between the Frelimo regime and the Renamo resistance. The regime, international interests, Mozambican citizens, and resistance fighters are the protagonists in this historical drama about a contested country. The novel tells the stories of the people who were subject to the worst violence and humiliation in Mozambique's re-education camps. It is a tale of survival by men and women who fought for a better country. The main character is Rosa Temba, who owns a vegetable stand in the Maputo market and who is arrested by the secret police. She is sent to the horrors of a re-education camp, where she and her fellow inmates are determined to survive against all odds. Elephants Never Forget celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.
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front cover of The Only Happy Ending for a Love Story Is an Accident
The Only Happy Ending for a Love Story Is an Accident
J. P. Cuenca
Tagus Press, 2013
Set in Tokyo, in a not-too-distant future, this novel tells the story of Shunsuke, a salaryman, and his complicated relationship with his mad poet father, Mr. Okuda, whose hobby is spying on his son. When Shunsuke falls in love with Iulana, a maelstrom of jealousy is set in motion that culminates in abduction and death. In poetic and imaginative language, Cuenca subtly interweaves reality and fiction, creating a dreamlike world whose palpable characters, including a silicone doll, leave a lasting impression. Written like a crime novel, full of odd events and reminiscent of Haruki Murakami's work, this disturbing, kaleidoscopic story of voyeurism and perversion draws the reader in from the very first page.
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