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He adores words. José Eduardo Agualusa has several hats to fully live his journalist and writing passion; he is also an editor.
He published his new work, A General Theory of Oblivion, inspired from a true but unbelievable story.
In 1975, during the independence of Angola, a Portugese woman, Ludovica Fernandes Mano, immured herself alive in an apartment of Luanda. She will remain cloistered twenty eight years with her ghost dog and a corpse for only company there!
She survived thanks to the little harvests of her kitchen garden which she set up on her terrace. Here is her everyday life. « Days passed by as if they were liquid. I did not have an exercise book anymore where to write. / I wrote brief verses on walls with bits of charcoal. / I saved food, water, fire and adjectives. » To boredom, succeeded little by little disappearance to the point that she « could write a general theory of oblivion ».
He was born in Huambo, Angola in 1960.
After he had studied agronomy and forestry in Lisbon, Portugal, he was known with his pen. His books, compilations of tales and essays were translated in about ten countries.
Today, he shares his life between Angola, Brazil and Portugal. He is member of the Union of Angolan writers. He is a journalist at Publico, on radio and on television.
He is author of numerous novels, poems, reports and short stories, all with success.
He was known for his first novel in 1989, « A Conjura » (The Conspiracy) by attacking colonial history. He so opened the gate for a new generation of African authors by revitalizing Portuguese language.
In 2006, he launched Brazilian publishing house “Lingua Geral”, exclusively dedicated to the works of Portuguese language.
He also wrote three plays: Génération W, Chovem amores na Rua do Matador in association with Mia Couto and O monólogo.
Some books in English version:
The Conspiracy. 1989, Métailié («A Conjura »).
The Book of Chameleons. 2004; 2008, Métailié («O vendedor de passados»).
My Father’s Wives. 2009, Métailié («As Mulheres de Meu Pai»).
Tropical Baroque. 2011, Métaillé («Barroco Tropical»). »
A General Theory of Oblivion. 2014, Métailié («Teoria geral do esquecimento»).
