Portuguese American Journal

Book | Commission of Tears | António Lobo Antunes| Editor’s Note

António Lobo Antunes’s twenty-fifth novel, Commission of Tears (2011, Comissão das Lágrimas) is set during the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002). Angola attained official independence on November 11, 1975 and, while the stage was set for transition, a combination of ethnic tensions and international pressures rendered Angola’s hard-won victory problematic. As with many post-colonial states, Angola was left with both economic and social difficulties which translated into a power struggle between the three predominant liberation movements. The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), formed in December of 1956 as an offshoot of the Angolan Communist Party, had as its support base the Ambundu people and was largely supported by other African countries, Cuba, and the Soviet Union.

In this novel, Lobo Antunes delves into this traumatic period of Angola’s history through the fragmented memories and dreams of a broken woman. The author drew from the story of the commander of the female battalion MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) who was tortured and killed following the state coup of May 1977. It is said that while they tortured her she did not stop singing. This is the story of Cristina, admitted into a psychiatric clinic in Lisbon. In her torrent of memories, dialogues and traumatic episodes, Cristina remembers her early childhood in Africa, at the time when everything inside her head was intertwined with her father´s voice, who was a former Black priest and became one of the torturers of the “Commission of Tears.” Cristina’s white mother, a cabaret dancer imported from Lisbon to entertain Portuguese farmers in Angola, marries the Black ex-priest because she finds herself pregnant with Cristina by her the man who exploits her, the cabaret manager. The long, twisting narrative weaves together the three voices of daughter, father, and mother as they recall the terrors of their life in Angola and their own suffering. Their personal tragedies, scarred by racism and abuse, mirror those of the country that is being torn asunder around them.

About the Author

António Lobo Antunes was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1942. He began writing as a child, but at his father’s wishes, went to medical school instead of pursuing a career in writing. After completing his studies, Antunes was sent to Angola with the Portuguese Army. It was in a military hospital in Angola that Antunes first became interested in many of the subjects of his novels. Antunes lives in Lisbon, where he continues to write and practice psychiatry.

About the Translator

Elizabeth Lowe received her B.A. from Barnard College (1969), her M.A. from Queens College (1975), and her PhD from the City University of New York (1977) in Comparative Literature and Translation. She is currently on the faculty of the New York University MS in Translation and Interpreting program. In 2022 she was the FLAD Endowed Chair of Portuguese Studies at UMass Dartmouth.

 

Book Details

Title: Commission of Tears

Author: António Lobo Antunes

Translator: Elizabeth Lowe

Publisher‏: ‎ Dalkey Archive Press

Publication Date: July 30, 2024

Language‏: ‎English

Paperback‏: ‎312 pp

Available @ Amazom.com

Follow Us

facebook twitter

Advertisement

Advertisement




Archives