23%OFF

Stock image for illustration purposes only - book cover, edition or condition may vary.
The Return
Dulce Maria Cardoso
€ 13.99
€ 10.75
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for The Return
Paperback. A powerful coming-of-age story, set against the violent backdrop of decolonisation and the return to an old homeland. Translator(s): Gurria-Quintana, Angel. Num Pages: 272 pages. BIC Classification: FYT. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 126. .
Everyone has gone away... We too should no longer be here. Luanda, 1975. The Angolan War of Independence has been raging for at least a decade, but with the collapse of the Salazar dictatorship, defeat for the Portuguese is now in sight. Thousands of settlers are fleeing back to Portugal to escape the brutality of the Angolan rebels. Rui is fifteen years old. He has lived in Luanda all his life and has never even visited the far-away homeland - although he has heard many stories. But now his family are finally accepting that they too must return, and Rui is filled with a mixture of excitement and dread at the prospect. But just as they are leaving for the airport, his father is taken away by the rebels, and the family must leave without him. Not knowing if the father is alive or dead - or if they will ever find out what has become of him, Rui, his mother and sister try to rebuild their lives in their new home. This turns out to be a five star hotel in a quiet, seaside suburb of Lisbon, where returnee families are crammed into luxurious rooms by the dozen. These palatial surroundings are a cruel contrast with the reality of returnee life. The hotel becomes a curious form of purgatory as the families wait to discover what will become of them - ever conscious of the fact that they are hardly welcome back in their homeland. Rui has his own personal struggle with his new life: growing up, dropping out of school, facing discrimination, and the ever-present worry over his mother's deteriorating health and his father's fate. And then one night Rui's father returns from the dead. Translated from the Portuguese by Angel Gurria-Quintana
Product Details
Publisher
Quercus Publishing
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2017
Condition
New
Number of Pages
272
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780857054364
SKU
V9780857054364
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
Ref
99-10
About Dulce Maria Cardoso
Dulce Maria Cardoso is a Portuguese writer, who spent her childhood in Luanda, Angola after her parents moved there when she was an infant. Her family returned to Portugal following the Angolan War of Independence in 1975. She studied law at the University of Lisbon and worked as a lawyer before becoming a full-time writer. Her first novel, Campo de Sangue, won the Grand Prize Acontece de Romance, O Meus Sentimentos won the EU Prize for Literature and O Chao dos Pardais won the Portuguese Pen Club Award. The Return is her fourth novel.
Reviews for The Return
A captivating coming-of-age novel inspired by the author's own story.
Livres Hebdo
Dulce Maria Cardoso hits the perfect note on every page ... It is this strikingly vivid realisation of the story, free from demagoguery or omission, that makes The Return such a welcome novel
Pedro Mexia
Expresso
A finely tuned narrative and a clarity of style that is absolutely remarkable
Jose Mario Silva
Ler
It is writers like Dulce Maria Cardoso who should be included in the pantheon of the greatest authors
Joao Bonifacio
Publico
The most important novelist of her generation
Jose Rico Direitinho
Publico
Livres Hebdo
Dulce Maria Cardoso hits the perfect note on every page ... It is this strikingly vivid realisation of the story, free from demagoguery or omission, that makes The Return such a welcome novel
Pedro Mexia
Expresso
A finely tuned narrative and a clarity of style that is absolutely remarkable
Jose Mario Silva
Ler
It is writers like Dulce Maria Cardoso who should be included in the pantheon of the greatest authors
Joao Bonifacio
Publico
The most important novelist of her generation
Jose Rico Direitinho
Publico