Hugo Gonçalves Portugal

© Gonçalo F. Santos

Hugo Gonçalves, born in Portugal in 1976, currently writes daily columns for the national newspaper "i" and collaborates with Time Out and GQ, among others. As a journalist, he has lived in New York, Madrid and Lisbon and is now living in Rio de Janeiro. Gonçalves is considered a revelation in contemporary Portuguese literature.

The protagonist of O coração dos homens (“The Heart of Men”) and his friends grow up under a dictatorial regime, which allows women only as prostitutes and no emotional relationships. Tired of control and lack of freedom, they decide to seek exile in the neighbouring country. But integration is not as easy as it seems… Written in dry, rough language, the story’s narrative agility stands in stark contrast to the rare dialogues.

What is this book about? Without a doubt, it’s about the horror of a totalitarian state, the nightmares of the absence of freedom and of harmonious and normal relations between the sexes. In reality, O Coração dos homens mirrors the problems and failings that exist in our own lives, every day. With his sharp writing, paced with the rhythm of blows in a mortal combat, it is a serious warning which cannot and must not be ignored.

PÚBLICO

A born observer who has the flashing intelligence to see everything through the distorted lenses of the contemporary imagination, completely infected as it is by the omnipresence of image. An ambiguous talent who is tearing up the intimate and boundlessly repressed tradition of Portuguese literature.

ELLE

A brutally good novel.

OS MEUS LIVROS

Fado, Samba e Beijos com Língua (“Fado, Samba and French Kisses”) is a collection of highly entertaining short stories and chronicles that flow together like a novel. Whether he looks at his childhood, the endearing tics of a nation, great love or just plain sex, Hugo Gonçalves has a refreshing, authentic way of sharing his profounder and his shallower wisdoms through the eyes of a true Portuguese.

Don’t miss it!

João Tordo

Represented for Oficina do Livro

Rights sold:

Novels:

O maior espectáculo do mundo

Lisbon: Oficina do Livro 2004, 215 p.

O coração dos homens

Lisbon: Oficina do Livro 2006, 229 p.

English translation available

Italy: Cavallo di Ferro 2007

Chronicles:

Fado, Samba e Beijos com Língua

Lisbon: Clube do Autor 2011, 206 p.