ABOUT
THE BOOK

Translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw

2020 Longlist

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.

About the Author

Mia Couto was born in Beira, Mozambique and is one of the most prominent writers in Portuguese-speaking Africa. The author of Confession of the Lioness, The Tuner of Silences, and Sleepwalking Land, among other books, Couto has been awarded several important literary prizes He lives in Maputo.

Librarian’s Comments

Translated from Portuguese by David Brookshaw, this historical novel is the first in a trilogy about colonialism in Mozambique. In 1894, 15-year-old Imani’s village of Nkokolani is stuck between two looming powers. One side is led by the emperor Ngungunyane, and to the other are the Portuguese, whose king Dom Carlos sends various emissaries, Of which the latest is Sergeant Germano de Melo. One of Imani’s brothers is a messenger for the crown of Portugal, while the other fights for Ngungunyane; when forced to choose, Imani’s family –  and most of Nkokolani – side with the Portuguese, and neutrality means death. Alternating between the voices Of Imani and Germano, Mia Couto’s Woman of the Ashes Combines vivid folkloric prose with extensive historical research to give a fascinating vision Of war-torn Mozambique at the end Of the nineteenth century. Biblioteca Pública Municipal do Porto, Portugal