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Sto caricando le informazioni... Woman of the Ashes (2015)di Mia Couto
Nessuno Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. Mia Couto is a prominent author from Mozambique, and this is the first in a trilogy set during Portugal’s colonization of the country in the late 1800s. It alternates storytellers, one a young black teenage girl and the other a white Portugal soldier who’s been banished to Mozambique for committing treason on a ship. I really didn’t get that there was a story here, so much as two people describing their lives and how they ultimately interact. There’s some mysticism as well. There was really no plot and I didn’t come to care for the characters. I felt there could have been much more of a story here if it relied more on the girl’s story. Even her chapters were more about her family than about her. I did get a good feel for life during this time for both the native population and it’s occupiers so not a complete loss. ( ) Woman of the Ashes by Mia Couto (2015, translated 2018, Mozambique) Set in 1894 in Mozambique a Portuguese soldier, a sergeant, is posted to the village of Nkokolani to oversee his country’s conquest of the territory. The territory is also being contested by several local tribes who have been fighting each other for years. Sgt. Germano de Mello is out of his depth and enlists a 15 year old local girl (our ‘woman of the ashes’) who can speak English to assist him. The story is told from the Sergeant, by way of his letters written to his commanding officer, and by Imani in what the book editors call a “vivid folklorish prose.” The story is creatively done, often mesmerizing, and transports the reader, but I found it also difficult to follow at times (there is a lot going on, and perhaps that’s the point). The sergeant seems a comic character at times, out of his depth, relying on Imani (who he falls in love with) more than he should. Couto is one of my many favorite African authors and I have read several of his previous books, and have two short story collections still yet to read. Well-realized historical fiction set in 1894 in a country, Mozambique, whose history I did not know. My favorite character was the very sympathetic 15 year old Imani, torn between cultures. She worked for the white man, Sargeant Germano del Melo, and seemed to have a bit of a coming of age crush on him while at the same time respecting her brother fighting for the African emperor. I loved the tribal wisdom, folklore and spiritual beliefs. 4 stars. Mozambique in 1894 sounded just like my cup of tea. The premise of the book sounded great: a Portuguese sergeant comes to oversee the conquest of the Island and a young girl who has been raised in the missions is charged to be his interpreter. Imani is fifteen and literate; the only girl in the family with two brothers - one who has also been taught to read Portuguese but is borderline mentally handicapped and the other who has joined with the forces resisting the conquest. The plot sounds great; however, there is as much time spent on dreams and visions as there is action. Some of the story is conveyed through letters the sergeant writes back to Portugal; others told by Imani. As the story goes, it just gets weirder and weirder in my opinion. Skimmed to finish. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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The first in a trilogy about the last emperor of southern Mozambique by one of Africa's most important writers. Southern Mozambique, 1894. Sergeant Germano de Melo is posted to the village of Nkokolani to oversee the Portuguese conquest of territory claimed by Ngungunyane, the last of the leaders of the state of Gaza, the second-largest empire led by an African. Ngungunyane has raised an army to resist colonial rule and with his warriors is slowly approaching the border village. Desperate for help, Germano enlists Imani, a fifteen-year-old girl, to act as his interpreter. She belongs to the VaChopi tribe, one of the few who dared side with the Portuguese. But while one of her brothers fights for the Crown of Portugal, the other has chosen the African emperor. Standing astride two kingdoms, Imani is drawn to Germano, just as he is drawn to her. But she knows that in a country haunted by violence, the only way out for a woman is to go unnoticed, as if made of shadows or ashes. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)869.3Literature Spanish and Portuguese Portuguese Portuguese fictionClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
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