ondjakitransparent
2020 Nominated

Transparent City

Translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan
artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

In a crumbling apartment block in the Angolan city of Luanda, families work, laugh, scheme, and get by. In the middle of it all is the melancholic Odonato, nostalgic for the country of his youth and searching for his lost son. As his hope drains away and as the city outside his doors changes beyond all recognition, Odonato’s flesh becomes transparent and his body increasingly weightless.

A captivating blend of magical realism, scathing political satire, tender comedy, and literary experimentation, Transparent City offers a gripping and joyful portrait of urban Africa quite unlike any before yet published in English.

 

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Ondjaki

Ondjaki is the pen name for writer Ndalu de Almeida. He was born in Luanda, Angola and is the award-winning author of five novels, four short-story collections, numerous books of poems and stories for children. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Guardian named him one of its Top Five African Writers.

Ondjaki is the pen name for writer Ndalu de Almeida. He was born in Luanda, Angola and is the award-winning author of five novels, four short-story collections, numerous books of poems and stories for children. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Guardian named him one of its Top Five African Writers.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Stephen
Henighan

Stephen Henighan is a novelist, academic, and translator. He is the author of over a dozen previous books, including the short story collection A Grave in the Air and the novel The Path of the Jaguar. He has been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, the Canada Prize in the Humanities, a McNally Robinson Fiction Prize, a National Magazine Award, and a Western Magazine Award. Henighan is General Editor of the Biblioasis International Translation Series, and teaches Spanish-American literature in the School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Guelph.

Stephen Henighan is a novelist, academic, and translator. He is the author of over a dozen previous books, including the short story collection A Grave in the Air and the novel The Path of the Jaguar. He has been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, the Canada Prize in the Humanities, a McNally Robinson Fiction Prize, a National Magazine Award, and a Western Magazine Award. Henighan is General Editor of the Biblioasis International Translation Series, and teaches Spanish-American literature in the School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Guelph.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Angola
Original Language
Portuguese
Author
Publisher
Biblioasis
Translator
Stephen Henighan
Translation
Translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan

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