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João Paulo Borges Coelho Mozambique
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João Paulo Borges Coelho was born in
Porto in 1955, but is now a citizen of Mozambique. He studied history in Maputo
and received a PhD in economic and social history from the University of
Bradford. He is professor of contemporary history at the Eduardo Mondlane
University, Maputo. In 2009 he won the LEYA Novel Prize.
In
Campo de Trânsito ("Transit Camp"), J. Mungau is arrested at
dawn in an unnamed city on any given day, in any given year, and transferred to
a transit camp. There he awaits his final transferral and hopes to find out the
reason for his detention. On what does his fate depend? Is it decided
beforehand by a higher authority, or can his behaviour influence his luck? As
he waits, he carefully observes the relationships and power mechanisms
governing this small world. Eventually, a murder places the entire power
structure in doubt and Mungau realises no concepts are more subjective than
justice and liberty.
Borges Coelho creates a
singular world full of unknowns and free from explicit violence, in which he
reflects on power, its function and its victims. With subtle, poetic language,
the author manages to unsettle the reader, always in search of answers.
Cidade
dos Espelhos ("City of Mirrors") is a futuristic novella telling the story
of the three adolescents Caia, Jeremias and Laissone, who deepen the chaos of a
city already ruled by fear and destruction with a biochemical attack. When they
are separated on the run, each of them has to cope with it in his own way. Will they make it, or will they fall into the
hands of the authoritarian regime?
Novels:
As Duas Sombras do Rio,
Lisbon: Caminho 2003, 264 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2003
As Visitas do Dr Valdez,
Lisbon: Caminho 2004, Leya 2010, 224 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2004
Crónica da Rua 513.2,
Lisbon: Caminho 2006, 336 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2006
Italy: Urogallo 2011
Campo de Trânsito,
Lisbon: Caminho 2007, 212 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2007
Italy: Urogallo
Hinyambaan, Lisbon: Caminho 2008, 104 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2008
O Olho de
Hertzog, Lisbon: Leya 2010, 448 p.
Prémio Leya 2009
Maputo: Ndjira 2010
Cidade dos espelhos, Lisbon: Caminho 2011, 118 p.
Stories:
Índicos Indícios I:
Setentrião, Lisbon: Caminho 2005, 216 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2005
Italy: Diabasis
Índicos Indícios II:
Meridião, Lisbon: Caminho 2005, 180 p.
Maputo: Ndjira 2005
Italy: Diabasis
Maria Ernestina e as Quatro Senhoras, Porto: Ambar
2007
(In: Várias Histórias em
Língua Portuguesa)