| Title | : | Luuanda |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0435902229 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780435902223 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Unknown Binding |
| Number of Pages | : | 118 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1963 |
Luuanda Reviews
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The book consists of three stories: the first, Vavó Xíxi e seu neto Zeca Santos, tells the story of an unemployed boy who, together with his grandmother, reaches a condition of misery such that there is nothing to eat at home, the not be roots of plants that grandma picked up from the trash. The second short story, Estória do Ladrão e do Papagaio, talks about how was arrested a duck thief and started the story from his prison. He also talks about how Garrido, the parrot thief Jacob, was arrested, telling the whole story that motivated the man to commit this crime. The last story, Estória da Galinha e do Ovo, talks about the fight between two neighbours to possess an egg, placed in the yard of one of them, but for the chicken owned by the other.
The oral / written relationship in Luandino's text is an essential aspect of the work and necessary to understand the author's intentions. Maria Aparecida Santilli (1980) comments that, in the text, the Kimbundu (Angolan dialect) is opposed to Portuguese in the sense of the preference of use among speakers. However, these two languages socialise, used together. Speakers use Portuguese but use Quimbundo for syntactic and lexical constructions, showing that they still have their African personality and culture alive, which, despite the cultural imposition of the coloniser, insists on being present, even if incorporated into the other. Santilli also says that it is ironic to realise that there are no traces of Portuguese in Kimbundu. Still, the opposite should use informal situations as if the first were a superior language. Quimbundo, on the other hand, would represent everyday speech, which must preserve just because it is part of the local popular tradition.
Luuanda was also written shortly after Luandino read João Guimarães Rosa's Sagarana. Guimarães Rosa taught him that "it was necessary to take literary advantage of the characters' spoken instrument" and that "a writer has the freedom to create a language that is not the one that his characters use." These facts mean that the characters, to be seen as natural beings, need to speak as real beings do, and the writer, to use the informal language, needs to know the formal. As said in the linguistic environment, the author must be multilingual in his speech.
Source:
https://becodaspalavras.com/2016/12/2... -
A nice surprise after a hard start. Certainly, the book is a classic of Angolan literature, but it picks up slowly. Before I was halfway through it, I thought I might give up the read at any moment. One reason is the language – the author, writing from a prison of the dreaded PIDE –Salazar’s regime’s frightening security police– is creating the literary language of a future new nation. The Portuguese used is, then, very African. In the first half of the book I had to look up constantly the glossary at the final pages. Only bit by bit I started getting used to that vocabulary. The language is African not just for the peculiar vocabulary but also for the morphology and some syntax. The least of all are syncopated words (‘brigado for “obrigado”, ‘cabou for “acabou”…). Other features of that creolized Portuguese include the use of the pronoun “você” with verbs used in the second person, the elision of connective words such as “que”, “de”… and, above all, the use of whole sentences in the Quimbundo language.
Another reason why the read is not easy is the crude poverty described in the three short stories that make up this read. The anti-heroes depicted along the book are always very humble people. The first story is a detailed portrait of an old woman and her grandson facing severe hunger. The second story is told from a prison, though you feel it “outside”, since you hear from the protagonists an account of the reasons that led them to jail. And the third story was, in my opinion, the best. That one is when the book has really picked up. It describes, in over 30 pages, a discussion for the possession of an egg. The hen belongs to an old lady, but it has laid the egg in the barrack’s yard of a neighbor. How can the author keep your interest in an egg for so long? Well, I will not spoil your read – that’s something you’ll have to find out for yourself. -
Se há autor que sinto erradamente ignorado, esse autor será Luandino Vieira. O mesmo Luandino Vieira vencedor do Grande Prémio de Novelística da Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores, em 1965. A mesma atribuição de galardão que levará à "destruição das instalações da SPE pela Legião Portuguesa e à extinção da associação por ordem do Presidente do Conselho de Ministros António Oliveira Salazar."
Nunca a sua escrita é fácil, especialmente porque, e aqui falo por mim, para ler Luandino não dispenso o dicionário de quimbundo, por exemplo. Mas também porque as suas escolhas são pouco óbvias ou doces para nós leitores europeus e portugueses. O colonialismo, a xenofobia, a luta das classes (e mil e um coloridos daí derivados) são temas dos quais, tenho a sensação, fugimos por uma relação conturbada, e muito atual, com o nosso passado. Mas é suposto que algumas coisas não nos façam sentir bem. É suposto a literatura ser difícil e fazer pensar e sentir o outro e outras realidades.
Luandino Vieira é muito puro neste sentido, descreve a sua realidade - ele que é angolano de coração - e traça retratos muito fiéis daquelas que são as relações entre o homem dominado e o homem dominante, relações que superam as questões étnicas e se estendem a todas as esferas da cultura e da sociedade, dentro e fora de portas.
Sou fã, sou admiradora da sua escrita, escrita despida de vaidade, mas complexa na forma de contar. Sou fã destes saltos que faço entre um livro e um dicionário para compreender significados ocultos nas palavras misteriosas de personagens tão acessíveis que nos parece conviver com elas mesmo depois de fechar o livro.
Em "Luuanda, Estórias" destaco sobretudo Vavó Xíxi E Seu Neto Zeca Santos e Estória da Galinha E Do Ovo. A primeira pela sinceridade do retrato, pela poesia das palavras e pela beleza da mensagem. A última pelo colorido da narrativa, impecável a fazer passar uma mensagem que, como o autor nos faz saber só de nós depende: "Se é bonita se é feia, vocês é que sabem. Eu só juro não falei mentira e estes casos passaram nesta nossa terra de Luanda".
Da mesma forma, quer se goste quer não, apenas há a respeitar Luandino Vieira, como escritor, como tradutor e como defensor da liberdade e da independência para quem me faltam mais palavras. -
Luuanda tem uma história atribulada. O livro foi contrabandeado para fora da prisão pela esposa de Luandino que o inscreveu no Prémio de Novelística. A obra ganhou o concurso, mas em tempos de PIDE a prisão do júri e a dissolução da instituição premiadora não permitiu que o autor recebesse o prémio.
É composto de três contos:
Vavó Xíxi e o seu neto Zeca Santos
Este primeiro conto traz a história de Zeca Santos, um rapaz desempregado que vive com sua avó, a Nga Xíxi. As personagens vivem numa situação de miséria, mesmo assim, Zeca ainda ambiciona encontrar a felicidade ao lado de sua amada Delfina.
Estória do ladrão e do papagaio
Três amigos: Lomelino dos Reis, Garrido Fernandes e João Miguel. O ponto de partida é a prisão de Lomelino, que foi apreendido com patos roubados.
Estória da galinha e do ovo
Nga Bina e Nga Zefa, duas vizinhas em conflito por causa da posse de um ovo posto no quintal de uma sendo a galinha de outra. As protagonistas e um conjunto de mulheres tentam encontrar alguém com poder de decidir a situação.
Não é uma leitura fácil, tornando-se por vezes penosa porque Luandino desvia-se do português e inclui o quimbundo e a oralidade na escrita o que quebra a fluidez da leitura. -
This is one of the hardest book I've read so far this year. Although quite small, only 3 short stories, but long. The author was imprisoned at the time of writing and he had the luxury of time and interrogate the sociopolitical situation in Luanda at that time.
All the stories are a reflection of the abject poverty, the decay and rot which the residents found themselves trudging through on a daily basis in order to survive. There were humorous bits which lifted the desolation in the stories but poverty was palpable.
Youth unemployment was rife evident in the first story where a young man, who once found and paid from a piece job, immediately went and bought new clothes to impress a girl while there was nothing to eat at home. The second story is told, in very lengthy terms, by a man who was jailed for petty theft. In this story a vivid picture is painted of the minutiae things a people with nothing to look forward to do. A very descriptive depiction of the circumstances which led to the narrator's arrest. The third story is very metaphorical. A whole story on a thing. A thing so vulnerable but yet held so much strength.
The author vacillated amongst 3 languages. There is a glossary, which I discovered only at the end of my reading, a reflection of even if I wasn't familiar with the other 2 languages, their essence were not lost to me.
A very good introduction to stories out of Luanda in the 40's and 50's but they could've been set today, for nothing much has changed. -
Para quem não for fluente na língua, nem sempre é fácil seguir a leitura do livro, tantas são as palavras e expressões em kimbundu. Mas, uma vez entrado no espírito específico de cada um dos contos, torna-se bastante agradável.
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Another short story collection, this one has 3 stories. My favorites stories were:
- Grandma Xixi & her Grandson Zeca Santos (first story) &
- The tale of the hen and the egg. (third/final story)
Both of which I would like to briefly discuss in detail.
First Story: I liked how it opens up with the lack of rain, something so vital to human life- water. The lack of this is representative of the lack of basic needs in the story. Throughout the story, poverty is ingrained and permeates their town and culture. When rain finally falls, there is an excess of it, it (the rain) subsides and rains again though with less force this time. As you can see, there is a cycle going on, which is, once again, representative of what is going on. The grandson is bad with handling money. Though he is aware that there is a limited amount of money, he actively chooses to spend the money on clothes, shoes and other non-necessary items. Over excessive items, that is- not one he needs, but wants. His grandma scolds him about it, yet he does not listen. Instead, it turns into this big argument. This cycle is a level of monstrosity of self and others which the grandson, Zeca Santos, possesses. There is a parallel with the rain and the handling of limited money and both those cycles. There are also mentions of beast & mentions of it in the context of the stomach which was a metaphor for hunger. A synonyms for the word beast is monster/monstrosity. This is all connected which makes the narrative rather interesting to read. The thing is the monstrosity is not confined to the characters and their stories alone (which I loved that Vieira incorporated because it shows the system as a whole, and how they are a part of this system just as much as the ones who are leading it) it is also shown in the larger society and how the ones who are struggling for their basic rights as humans are actual victims. The lack of humanization acted out in colonialism further adds to the idea of monstrosities done. The word "terrorist" as opposed to being used in the normal context is used by the Portuguese towards the Angolans as a way of describing the fight for freedom and nationalism. Overall, a solid short story. I enjoyed it.
Third/Final Story: This was rather a unique one that was a little bit harder to crack. I loved how it started off with rain as well. I love a good parallel. The struggle over who the rightful owner of the egg is while neglecting the hen that laid it was symbolic of overlooking origins of an action or inaction and easily blaming the next person or a neighbor. This is so often the cycle of poverty as portrayed in the short story. Zefa, a character in the story is rivaling against Bina, another character & a mother of two whom is also pregnant. Again, it shows the level of desperation and the need for survival to the point of fighting against a pregnant woman shows a level of carefree and nonchalant attitude towards anyone else but your survival. This, of course, may seem wrong in the eyes of normal or wealthy people, but to them- the underclass, it is about surviving and nothing more.
Such a powerful story. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, but it surprised me and gave me thing to analyze and ponder over. -
3 contos que revelam as peculiaridades da linguagem e do viver nos bairros pobres de Luanda. A luta pela sobrevivência e contra a grande inimiga comum aos pobres do mundo inteiro: a fome. Luandino leu Guimarães Rosa e sua escrita tem muita da linguagem cantada, rítmica de Grandes Sertões, além de expressões típicas. É preciso encontrar a cadência adequada à leitura. O livro tem sua importância histórica como registro do legado colonial. Lerei outro do autor.
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Um interessante livro com três contos. Um português angolano do musseque...curiosíssimo. O ambiente vivido no musseque nos anos 60, deveras interessante. O próprio português (além de palavras de dialectos locais) é original...
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Um conjunto de contos que nos transporta para Luanda, com as suas gentes e costumes a despertarem emoções universais. Vale a pena!
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Releitura sentida e intensa dos três contos que compõem e que enriqueceram o entendimento do colonialismo português na cidade de Luanda que não aparecia no postal ilustrado.
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Three short stories about life in the slums of Luanda, Angola during the 1960s. This was a time when the native Angolans were fighting for independence against colonial Portugal.
The two major themes are poverty and the racism of the system. All three stories revolve in one way or another around food, a major indicator of poverty. I’ve written in other reviews that if people dream about food that’s a sign of poverty.
In the first story a young man lives with his grandmother. His mother is dead and his father is in prison for being a freedom fighter, or what the colonial power calls a 'terrorist.' Literally they have no food and the boy goes out daily trying to find a job. He can’t get a decent job because he is not assimilado. He has to pass a test on how well he knows the Portuguese language rather than the pidgin mixture of Portuguese and the Kimbundu Bantu language that the Africans speak. He meets up with a friend who shares food with him. Then he meets with a girlfriend with whom he has a hopeless relationship because he has no job and no future. The only work he can get is as a monangamba – a day laborer which is tough for him because he’s short and skinny.
The second story revolves around a man arrested for stealing a sack of ducks. He is Cape Verdean and lighter-skinned than most of the prisoners, so he talks with his cellmates about how he can use that to his advantage. A second major character is a young man called ‘the cripple’ because he has a club foot. Kids throw stones at him and even a parrot has learned to make fun of him. He is hopelessly in love with a young woman who tells him “…she would get married but only to a white man, she wasn’t going to go and set the race back by marrying some mulatto, that’s for sure.”
The third story is a farce about a neighborhood dispute about the women. A hen laid an egg in a neighbor’s yard. She had enticed it there by feeding it. So whose egg was it? They even drag a local shopkeeper who is white into the dispute. At first they treat him respectfully but when he says it’s his egg because the feed was bought on credit and not yet paid for (!) the women turn on him and chase him off calling him a white shit, a damn thief and a greedy white bastard.
Although the author is white, he grew up in the African slums, the musseque shantytowns. Houses had mud walls and metal roofs. Cooking was done with wood or charcoal on a ring of stones on the dirt floor. He even wrote in the pidgin language but when the book was translated into Portuguese (and into English) he used many Kimbundu words. So there is a 100-word glossary in the back of the book. You’ll have to look up about a dozen words that are repeatedly used. Most of the other words you can ignore if you wish because you can understand them in context as names of foods, birds and trees.
The stories give you a good feel for what life was like for these impoverished residents subject to the racism and police state atmosphere of the country at that time. The author spent eleven years in prison for his activities on behalf of the revolution. He wrote a half-dozen novels and collections of short stories.
Top photo of Luanda shantytown by Allan Cain on researchgate.net
Independence day, 1975 from theguardian.com
Modern Luanda from youtube.com
The author from elfikurten.com
(Edited 9/23/21) -
Fantastic tales "da nossa banda"
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Para se abarcar a verdadeira dimensão deste livro, teremos de recuar seis décadas, a um tempo em que José Luandino Vieira, em virtude da sua militância contra o regime de Salazar, cumpria catorze anos de pena nas cadeias da PIDE, os últimos dos quais no Campo da Morte do Tarrafal. É justamente aí que recebe, ainda que muito tardiamente, a notícia da atribuição a “Luuanda” do Prémio de Novelística da Sociedade Portuguesa de Escritores, à data presidida por Jacinto Prado Coelho. Esta “gaffe” política teve como consequência a proibição pela censura de qualquer referência ao prémio sem identificação do seu autor como “terrorista”, mas também o assalto e destruição da sede da SPE e a sua extinção por despacho datado de 21 de maio de 1965, o próprio dia em que os prémios foram revelados. Daí, em grande medida, o valor histórico e documental de um livro cujos méritos se estendem, igualmente, à sua originalidade e qualidade literária.
Dividido em três contos – “Vavó Xíxi e seu neto Zeca Santos”, “Estória do ladrão e do papagaio” e “Estória da galinha e do ovo” -, o livro propõe uma viagem pelos caóticos musseques, bairros periféricos de pau-a-pique que crescem em torno do núcleo urbano da capital angolana e se afiguram como uma ameaça à segurança e bem estar do branco. É aí que encontramos, entre “assimilados” e “mais velhos”, as figuras incontornáveis de Vavó Xíxi e Zeca Santos, mas também de Lomelino dos Reis, Xico Futa, Inácia Domingas, o Kam’tuta, o auxiliar Zuzé, nga Zefa, nga Bina e demais personagens, uns e outros cativos da miséria, filhos do desenrascanço, peões de brega num jogo colonial levado ao extremo. Numa linha recuada, o opressor dirige e controla, impõe-se pela força e pelo medo, a polícia sempre presente, as cadeias sempre cheias, a raiva que nasce nos punhos e nos dentes de cada um cada vez maior.
Seguindo linhas narrativas clássicas, cada conto é uma ode à diversidade cultural e linguística de um país onde, segundo alguns autores, se falam 37 línguas e mais de meia centena de dialectos. Apostado num registo que pudesse reproduzir, de forma fiel, o linguajar corrente do angolano negro, o autor rompe com a norma portuguesa na literatura da antiga colónia e deixa-nos, a par com a “língua de prestígio”, deliciosos vocábulos como “monandengue”, “fanguista”, “quitata” ou “larar” e ainda um conjunto de expressões em quimbundo que conferem genuinidade e verdade aos textos. O resultado é deliciosamente surpreendente, o humor fino de Luandino Vieira a tirar partido do ser angolano no corpo e na alma, ao mesmo tempo que, de forma subtil, denuncia o racismo, a injustiça e as desigualdades que grassam em Angola e a transformam num barril de pólvora prestes a explodir. -
Al final no era una novela -como creí cuando lo adquirí- sino tres cuentos.
Lo primero con lo que me topé es el portugués de Angola en el que el libro está escrito (que incluye vocablos en una lengua nativa y una construcción gramatical muy extraña para quien suele leer portugués de Portugal). No obstante, si bien es una dificultad, no podría ser de otra forma. Finalmente, se pasa en un barrio popular de Luanda y sería rídiculo que hablaran como una tía de Cascais...
Son cuentos cotidianos. Mi favorito fue el último, construído sobre un "miserable" -para nosotros- huevo y logra pasar bien, sin forzar, por un montón de realidades. -
Com um forte cariz anti-colonialista, o autor faz na estrutura dos três contos uma mistura entre a "escola" ocidental e a tradição oral africana. Apesar do seu interesse por isso mesmo, e dos enredos dos contos em si, a forma narrativa evitou que apreciasse mais a leitura, na medida em que a tornou morosa, e por muitas vezes me apanhei a desejar que o autor simplesmente avançasse com o enredo.
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https://www.goodreads.com/# -
3.5/4
Ad una seconda rilettura posso dire che, nonostante le storie (soprattutto la seconda) non mi piacciano, le descrizioni sono magnifiche.
