António Lobo Antunes

Here’s a good piece on António Lobo Antunes, Portugal’s answer to Faulkner, or so say some. Having read his book Knowledge of Hell, I see the comparison (though I loathe it). Lobo Antunes likes the polyphonic structure and is by no means a quick read, but his novels, while dense, dive head-fucking-first into the abyss and leave little room for breath. What Do I Do When Everything’s On Fire is on my shortlist of books to read, as is Fado Aleanderino. This article has some interesting points, especially the bit about the rivalry in Portugal between his fans and Saramago’s.

A new Lobo Antunes book of short essays and stories is available now, and it looks like his entire catalog will be translated and published (there are plenty of his books available in English already), so now’s your chance to pick up on this world class writer who may very well snag the Nobel one of these days. (Hopefully they’ll hand it to Nicanor Parra next.)