english translations
(translated from Portuguese by Stephen Henighan)
Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret
(translated from Portuguese by Stephen Henighan)
Good Morning Comrades
(Translated from portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann)
Our beautiful darkness
(translated from portuguese by Sandra Tamele)
The Sun and the Rhinoceros
transparent city
“Ondjaki is experimentally bold, and his prose shifts through a kaleidoscope of registers, from the poetic to the political, the erotic to the absurd.” ― Times Literary Supplement
"A moving mural of lives in the underclass of his home city, Luanda. [...] One of Angola’s most prominent authors, Ondjaki is attracting growing acclaim overseas." ― The Guardian
“Ondjaki’s prose pulses with life... shine[s] with an unexpected clarity.” ― World Literature Today
“A blend of stylized surrealism and harrowing realism.” ― LitHub
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NOMINATED FOR THE 2019 BEST
TRANSLATED BOOK AWARD A VANITY FAIR HOT TYPE BOOK FOR APRIL 2018
A VULTURE MUST-READ TRANSLATED BOOK FROM THE PAST 5 YEARS
A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2018
A LIT HUB FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WORLD LITERATURE TODAY NOTABLE TRANSLATION OF 2018
Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret
"Ondjaki delivers playful magical realism with delightful defiance."―The Barnes & Noble Review "As with Ondjaki's other novels―including Bom dis camaradas (2001; Good Morning Comrades) and Os Transparentes (2012)―this is a strangely deceptive read. Although the narrative often feels rather whimsical, Angola's long history of colonialism and conflict, its various foreign allies and enemies, and the extraordinary suffering of its population, are menacingly present ... a brave and highly political work."―Times Literary Supplement
"Angolan author Ondjaki has found an appropriate balance between knowing and not-knowing, sweetness and cruelty with his young narrator ... In language laced with Cuban Spanish and Russian-accented English, the story is informed by its political context but still manages to evoke that magical form of thinking that children in particular possess."―The Globe & Mail
"Remarkable ... at once a coming-of-age novel, rousing adventure, and lyrical experiment ... It is no surprise that this energetic and endearing novel is the work of a writer of such stunning accomplishment as Ondjaki, at his best when he is writing the frenetic wonderment of children, even as they contend with the deadly realities of war and political power. The result is ebullient, cinematic, and downright magical."―Words Without Borders
"A profound novel, perhaps a definitive one of collapsing Soviet power and influence in 1980s Africa ... it's not surprising that it has won literary prizes both as adult fiction and as best young adult novel ... a very mature work, well aware of a darker world around it, but careful in what shadows it throws on these pages."―M.A. Orthofer, The Complete Review
"A devilishly simple-yet-sturdy tale of childhood and revolution ... Ondjaki’s writing, full of humanity, vivacity, and character, is a whimsical breath of fresh air ... His is a voice the entire world should have the pleasure to experience."―Numéro Cinq
"Much of why I read international literature is that it's an opportunity to learn about different parts of the world, the politics and cultures of places I've never been. Often, things turn dark and tumultuous (the waking nightmares of so many Latin American authors, from so many disparate, ravaged countries, come to mind). This itself is what makes Ondjaki's Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret so appealing―and surprising. This tale of an African country under Soviet rule is the opposite of so many politically driven novels, a story made noteworthy by its sense of humor and playfulness. Told as a coming-of-age story and a childhood adventure (think The Goonies, but in Angola, maybe), Granma Nineteen is serious literature, in tune with the world it's molded by, but―unlike so, so many books―honestly fun. It's joyous and whimsical and wonderfully effortless, aspects that seem unfortunately rare these days, but definitely welcome."―Justin Souther, Malaprop's (Asheville, NC)
Good Morning Comrades
Luanda, Angola, 1990. Ndalu is a normal twelve-year old boy in an extraordinary time and place. Like his friends, he enjoys laughing at his teachers, avoiding homework and telling tall tales. But Ndalu's teachers are Cuban, his homework assignments include writing essays on the role of the workers and peasants, and the tall tales he and his friends tell are about a criminal gang called Empty Crate which specializes in attacking schools. Ndalu is mystified by the family servant, Comrade Antonio, who thinks that Angola worked better when it was a colony of Portugal, and by his Aunt Dada, who lives in Portugal and doesn't know what a ration card is. In a charming voice that is completely original, Good Morning Comrades tells the story of a group of friends who create a perfect childhood in a revolutionary socialist country fighting a bitter war. But the world is changing around these children, and like all childhood's Ndalu's cannot last. An internationally acclaimed novel, already published in half a dozen countries, Good Morning Comrades is an unforgettable work of fiction by one of Africa's most exciting young writers.
our beautiful darkness
A blackout leads two teens to discover the intimacy and vulnerability that can only be shared in darkness in Our Beautiful Darkness, a fully illustrated YA novella from celebrated Angolan author Ondjaki and illustrator António Jorge Gonçalves.
The light goes out suddenly. And in this absence of light, a pair of teenagers bare their souls. Into the warm silence of the night, they share a conversation filled with their stories and dreams… and maybe even a first kiss.
Set against the backdrop of the civil war that ravaged Angola in the 1990s, this book weaves the country's history with a teenage boy's family stories. But when a power outage shrouds the neighborhood in darkness, everyday realities fade away… As the boy and a girl sit talking in the backyard, memory gives way to imagination and vulnerability, and the space between them becomes charged with emotional electricity.
Their resulting conversation is both a meditation on the storytelling impulse and a gripping narrative of first love that, through its particulars, ascends to the universal.
__António Jorge Gonçalves is a Portuguese creator of graphic novels and picture books. A long-time political cartoonist for the Portuguese newspaper Público, he has also published in Courrier International and Le Monde. He created a live digital drawing technique with which he has performed onstage with musicians, actors, and dancers worldwide. He received Portugal's National Illustration Prize for Our Beautiful Darkness.
__Lyn Miller-Lachmann translates children's books from Portuguese to English, including award-winning picture book The World in a Second and YA graphic novel Pardalita. She is the author of Torch, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for YA Literature, and co-author (with Zetta Elliott) of the middle grade verse novel Moonwalking.
★
"Capturing a fleeting moment of blossoming love, this graphic novel is a simple, poetic distillation of youth and hope amidst war... Ondjaki's language is simple, with not a word feeling wasted, and it is all the more evocative for it. His poetry feeds into the lilting, dreamlike quality of his fiction... There is a whimsy to his writing that Lyn Miller-Lachmann's translation from the Portuguese has kept intact... António Jorge Gonçalves' energetic illustrations streak their way across each page or double spread in an abstract, expressive way. As with the prose, the art is minimalist in style yet bold in execution. Constructed entirely in white against a black background, the artwork serves as a perfect visual embodiment of the story's core theme of finding light in the dark.... A singular, heartfelt offering that captures a quiet moment in time and celebrates its beauty."
―BookBrowse A Five Books Best New Book for Teens of 2024!
★
“Miller-Lachmann does a remarkable job of making this rich piece accessible to an English-language readership. Ondjaki’s poetic prose draws an achingly potent picture of two young people reaching for each other during a sudden moment of possibility, while the white text on the black pages and Gonçalves’ rough, white-on-black illustrations help create an immersive experience. As the best art does, this collaboration makes a very specific story—two young people, one night—feel universal. A brilliantly elemental exploration of the light that darkness can bring.”
―Kirkus Reviews
★
“Arresting… The author’s spare storytelling focuses intensely on feelings and specific sensory experiences such as touch and limited sight. The reader is provided only enough visual information to ground them in the moment: a canopy of stars above a darkened skyline, the starlit silhouette of an owl in a tree, a vague interpretation of the eyes of the person the protagonist longs to kiss. Ondjaki’s prose is imbued with a touching sense of existential whimsy… This artful romanticism carries the characters through the darkness… in which they experience laughter, a light show, and at last, an end to their yearning.”
―Publishers Weekly
★
“An existential exploration of the heart... While the boy and girl discuss their pain and the cruelty of war, they rejoice in the little things the darkness has brought them: closeness, silence, time with nothing else to do and a determination to make this night together as beautiful as possible. With such a stunning representation of not only pain and conflict, but also the joy that is still able to make its way through, Our Beautiful Darknessis sure to leave readers considering, appreciating, and reflecting on the world around them.”
―BookPage
★
“This lyrical book follows two teens who are sitting and talking—about the sublime and the everyday—amid a blackout in Luanda during the the Angolan civil war. The stunning white-on-black art enhances the story’s intimate atmosphere. This work is both profound and accessible; it highlights the power of human attention and connection, of simply sitting and being together.”
―Laura Simeon, Kirkus Reviews Young Readers’ Editor, The Fully Booked Podcast
★
“The white on black illustrations and poetic dialogue combine to form a beautiful story of young love, of light in the darkness. A graphic novella that is at once intimate and profound.”
―Five Books
★
"An incredibly immersive experience. The titular darkness is caused by a power outage, which creates a singular, protective space for two young people to reveal themselves to each other. It’s a rich and sensory text... The intensity of these two teens’ attraction to each other is palpable. Gonçalves’s white-on-black illustrations offer up glimpses of the characters, amplifying the intimacy of their experience within the enveloping darkness."
―Vicky Smith, Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
The Sun and the Rhinoceros
An enchanting fable for young readers about the importance of kindness and empathy, movingly penned by the award-winning writer Ondjaki and vividly illustrated by Catalina Vásquez. A great rhinoceros, plagued with sorrow, learns a lesson from the sun about the secret to happiness. With the sun’s help, the rhinoceros finds that everything is life changes depending on how you look at it, and learns to feel comfortable with all of his emotions. Ondjaki is a poet and writer born in Angola. His work has been translated into nine languages and has won major literary prizes in Angola, Brazil, Portugal and France. Catalina Vásquez is an artist, illustrator, filmmaker and designer.
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