General Theory of Forgetting

Teoria Geral do Esquecimento

☆ A General Theory of Forgetting won the 2017 Dublin International Literary Award, the 2019 Angola National Culture and Arts Award, and was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize;
Agualusa is a representative writer of contemporary Angola and the entire Portuguese-speaking world, and a recent favorite for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His book, A General Theory of Forgetting, has been translated into 25 languages ​​and is a must-read for literature lovers worldwide.
"A General Theory of Forgetting" tells the story of a woman who isolated herself for 28 years, a "Robinson Crusoe" in a modern city, and a story of the turbulent fate of a country's civil war and identity construction.
☆ Although "A General Theory of Oblivion" shows hunger, torture and killing, its tone and core are still love, and all readers can find resonance in this story.
☆ Agualusa demonstrated superb literary skills in "A General Theory of Forgetting", with a writing style that is both cruel and warm, heavy and light.
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Some people practice forgetting, some people are afraid of being forgotten,
And some people are always afraid that others will never forget them.
After the Civil War began, a woman locked herself in her home for 28 years out of fear.
The sound of gunfire, the flags, the crowds in the streets, she tried to forget all the surging monsters;
The Portuguese mercenary who escaped death said that forgetting is death and surrender;
The blood-stained secret policeman felt happy because he was forgotten...
A spider web of memory, a turbulent history,
Their destinies intersect here and will begin again in dreams.
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Although "A General Theory of Forgetting" shows hunger, torture and killing, its tone and core are still love... All readers can find resonance in this Angola story. In Agualusa's beehive, no life is isolated, and he also makes readers believe that we are closely connected to the world.
—The International Dublin Literary Prize Jury: A 28-year period of self-isolation. A Robinson Crusoe in a city. The troubled founding and identity of a nation. With exquisite prose and exceptional narrative skill, Agualusa leads us into an unfamiliar world, awakening our forgotten ideals and the black and white background behind them.
——Min Xuefei Like the Portuguese writer Pessoa and the Argentinian writer Borges, Agualusa has superb skills and his fictional world is dazzling... He is a master of multiple genres and can switch freely between detective novels, pastoral idylls and inner monologues. He pours full enthusiasm into the characters he writes, and each image is vividly embedded in the readers' hearts, calling for the readers' sympathy and understanding.
——The Star
Agualusa is undoubtedly a master storyteller... His superb narrative skills make the characters he writes evoke a mixed feeling of sadness and joy, and an immersive reading experience.
——The Washington Independent Book Review
Agualusa has become one of the most prominent voices of Portuguese-language African writers, and as one character in the novel says, "People with good stories are literally kings," Agualusa himself can be ranked among the kings of Africa.
—Financial Times

2020-04-01

上海人民出版社

Century Wenjing

282

9787208163072