Mia Couto is one of the most important Portuguese language writers currently in activity. Not only is he such an expert on the Portuguese language that he is able to make up words that have sense only in the context he uses them (usually by mixing two or three previously existing words), but also in the romantic way he transmits the feelings on a whole nation that is still recovering from a civil war that took place not long ago. His books are inspiring and captivating, and this one is no exception.In the town of Tizingara, penises are being discovered isolated from their bodies, after explosions, and dry. No blood surrounding them, no body to relate them too, just penises. It wouldn't be that big of a deal, if they weren't foreign penises in which case the UN feels the need to come in. They send an expert (Italian Massimo Risi) in to investigate the explosions and the deaths and he gets not only confused in the midst of a culture he understands nothing about (especially because there are a lot of spiritual elements) but also entangled with the inhabitants of the town he is in, of which he is not certain to understand everything or want to, in any case. The story reveals many interesting "facts" about the life in Mozambique and, as usual, is not less critical of the politics of the country.Is this the The Last Flight of the Flamingo?
I had high hopes for this book and apparently the wrong set of expectations. A postcolonial mystery about blown up UN soldiers in Mozambique with a touch of magic realism - sounds pretty straight forward. But this is one strange beast of a book without much coherence or sense. My favorite part was the peculiar proverbs and sayings spread through the novel, e.g. "It's the darkness that dresses the hippopotamus" or "You're father and son, and a beard always lies up against a head of hair." Strangeness abounds in this novel, but I don't see how this can be called "a subtle look at emergent nationhood" or a sensitive description of "everyday life in poverty-stricken Mozambique." Believe me, there is no "everyday life" in this story; here, the world is nonsensical, playful, magical and absurd. In other words, more Borges and Kafka than Achebe or Allende.
What do You think about O último Voo Do Flamingo (2002)?
BookList: The shocking first sentence is enough to tell you that this will be one strange mystery: “To put it crudely and rudely, here’s what happened: a severed penis was found right there on the trunk road just outside Tizangara.” UN soldiers in Mozambique have been inexplicably and incredulously exploding, leaving nothing behind but their blue peacekeeper helmets and their “fleshy hyphens.” Italian UN official Massimo Risi arrives to investigate this phenomenon, along with his local translator and guide. A bumbling administrator, his haughty wife, and the town’s prostitute add flavor to what is essentially the story of a country learning to work the capitalist system (“our destitution is turning a good profit”) while trying to keep foreign influence at bay. The surreal haze of folkloric superstitions and raw sensuality akin to Nuruddin Farah’s Secrets permeate the tales that the Tizangara translator and narrator collects. Couto creates a striking portrait of postcolonial Africa; unfortunately, his larger messages tend to get sullied with the inherent shock value of his crude plot device. -- MishaStone (BookList, 06-01-2005, p1760)
—Misha
