The latest addition to my website is José Eduardo Agualusa‘s Os Vivos e os Outros (The Living and The Rest)
The book involves an African literary conference taking place on lha de Moçambique) , a resort island off the coast of Mozambique. The writers are all African, primarily fictitious. They discuss issues such what it means to be an African writer, their latest books and similar concerns. One is quite miserable and regrets coming. However there seems to be a problem. Phones and the Internet are down. The police try to cross the bridge to the mainland but are driven back by the bad weather. The local fishermen insist that the world has ended and there is no other side. A strange woman seemingly crosses the bridge but no-on can understand the language she speaks. A man sees his double, another his dead father. When the police finally get across the bridge they are in for a big surprise. Agualusa tells his story well, gradually building up the tension while we listen to the writers and their issues.