2020 Longlist
Transparent City
Translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan
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 TRANSLATOR Stephen
Henighan
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Country
Angola
Original Language
Portuguese
Publisher
Biblioasis
Translator
Stephen Henighan
Translation
Translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan
Nominating Library
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Video
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Mircea Cărtărescu and Sean Cotter, winners of the 2024 Dublin Literary Award take an in-depth look at the winning title, Solenoid with Alex Clarke as part of International Literature Festival Dublin.