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The Blind Fisherman
The Blind Fisherman is a compilation of Mia Couto's early short stories - as first presented to the English-speaking world in his two collections Voices Made Night (1990) and Every Man is a Race (1994). Originally written in Portuguese, it was in these collections that Mia Couto first announced himself as a writer of international importance, constructing stories that blended the unique history of Mozambique with a magic realism that was both inspired by and transcendent of the legacy of Portuguese colonialism and the subsequent civil war.
248 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2012
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About the author
Mia Couto
111 books1,394 followersJournalist and a biologist, his works in Portuguese have been published in more than 22 countries and have been widely translated. Couto was born António Emílio Leite Couto.
He won the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 2013 Camões Prize for Literature, one of the most prestigious international awards honoring the work of Portuguese language writers (created in 1989 by Portugal and Brazil).
An international jury at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair called his first novel, Terra Sonâmbula (Sleepwalking Land), "one of the best 12 African books of the 20th century."
In April 2007, he became the first African author to win the prestigious Latin Union Award of Romanic Languages, which has been awarded annually in Italy since 1990.
Stylistically, his writing is heavily influenced by magical realism, a style popular in modern Latin American literature, and his use of language is inventive and reminiscent of Guimarães Rosa.
Português)
Filho de portugueses que emigraram para Moçambique nos meados do século XX, Mia nasceu e foi escolarizado na Beira. Com catorze anos de idade, teve alguns poemas publicados no jornal Notícias da Beira e três anos depois, em 1971, mudou-se para a cidade capital de Lourenço Marques (agora Maputo).
Iniciou os estudos universitários em medicina, mas abandonou esta área no princípio do terceiro ano, passando a exercer a profissão de jornalista depois do 25 de Abril de 1974. Trabalhou na Tribuna até à destruição das suas instalações em Setembro de 1975, por colonos que se opunham à independência. Foi nomeado diretor da Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM) e formou ligações de correspondentes entre as províncias moçambicanas durante o tempo da guerra de libertação. A seguir trabalhou como diretor da revista Tempo até 1981 e continuou a carreira no jornal Notícias até 1985.
Em 1983 publicou o seu primeiro livro de poesia, Raiz de Orvalho, que inclui poemas contra a propaganda marxista militante. Dois anos depois demitiu-se da posição de diretor para continuar os estudos universitários na área de biologia.
Além de ser considerado um dos escritores mais importantes de Moçambique, é o escritor moçambicano mais traduzido. Em muitas das suas obras, Mia Couto tenta recriar a língua portuguesa com uma influência moçambicana, utilizando o léxico de várias regiões do país e produzindo um novo modelo de narrativa africana. Terra Sonâmbula, o seu primeiro romance, publicado em 1992, ganhou o Prémio Nacional de Ficção da Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos em 1995 e foi considerado um dos doze melhores livros africanos do século XX por um júri criado pela Feira do Livro do Zimbabué.
Na sua carreira, foi também acumulando distinções, como os prémios Vergílio Ferreira (1999, pelo conjunto da obra), Mário António/Fundação Gulbenkian (2001), União Latina de Literaturas Românicas (2007) ou Eduardo Lourenço (2012). Ganhou em 2013 o Prémio Camões, o mais importante prémio para autores de língua portuguesa.
He won the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 2013 Camões Prize for Literature, one of the most prestigious international awards honoring the work of Portuguese language writers (created in 1989 by Portugal and Brazil).
An international jury at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair called his first novel, Terra Sonâmbula (Sleepwalking Land), "one of the best 12 African books of the 20th century."
In April 2007, he became the first African author to win the prestigious Latin Union Award of Romanic Languages, which has been awarded annually in Italy since 1990.
Stylistically, his writing is heavily influenced by magical realism, a style popular in modern Latin American literature, and his use of language is inventive and reminiscent of Guimarães Rosa.
Português)
Filho de portugueses que emigraram para Moçambique nos meados do século XX, Mia nasceu e foi escolarizado na Beira. Com catorze anos de idade, teve alguns poemas publicados no jornal Notícias da Beira e três anos depois, em 1971, mudou-se para a cidade capital de Lourenço Marques (agora Maputo).
Iniciou os estudos universitários em medicina, mas abandonou esta área no princípio do terceiro ano, passando a exercer a profissão de jornalista depois do 25 de Abril de 1974. Trabalhou na Tribuna até à destruição das suas instalações em Setembro de 1975, por colonos que se opunham à independência. Foi nomeado diretor da Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM) e formou ligações de correspondentes entre as províncias moçambicanas durante o tempo da guerra de libertação. A seguir trabalhou como diretor da revista Tempo até 1981 e continuou a carreira no jornal Notícias até 1985.
Em 1983 publicou o seu primeiro livro de poesia, Raiz de Orvalho, que inclui poemas contra a propaganda marxista militante. Dois anos depois demitiu-se da posição de diretor para continuar os estudos universitários na área de biologia.
Além de ser considerado um dos escritores mais importantes de Moçambique, é o escritor moçambicano mais traduzido. Em muitas das suas obras, Mia Couto tenta recriar a língua portuguesa com uma influência moçambicana, utilizando o léxico de várias regiões do país e produzindo um novo modelo de narrativa africana. Terra Sonâmbula, o seu primeiro romance, publicado em 1992, ganhou o Prémio Nacional de Ficção da Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos em 1995 e foi considerado um dos doze melhores livros africanos do século XX por um júri criado pela Feira do Livro do Zimbabué.
Na sua carreira, foi também acumulando distinções, como os prémios Vergílio Ferreira (1999, pelo conjunto da obra), Mário António/Fundação Gulbenkian (2001), União Latina de Literaturas Românicas (2007) ou Eduardo Lourenço (2012). Ganhou em 2013 o Prémio Camões, o mais importante prémio para autores de língua portuguesa.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 6, 2022
A collection of extraordinary stories by Mia Couto. He is one of the most unique writers I've had the pleasure to read using magical realism and mysticism to spin his very original stories in very poetic prose. Some of the stories that stood out to me are:
"The Fire" about an old man who decides to dig graves for him and his wife because there will be no one around when they're dead to do it for them.
"Saide, the Bucket of Water" A man wants a son but he is unable to impregnate his wife so he tells her to go out and find a man who can.
"The Tale of the Two Who Returned From the Dead" A village is washed away in a flood and two men are missing and declared dead. After several days the men appear but are officially dead so must convince the officials that they are alive.
"The Barber's Most Famous Customer" A barber tries to impress his customers by telling them that he cuts the hair of a white man but this leads the police to accuse him of helping a terrorist.
"The Bird Dreaming Baobab" An old man known as the bird man shows up in a white neighborhood every morning with hordes of birds and the children love him but the adults are threatened because he is black.
"The Blind Fisherman" A fisherman is lost at sea during a huge storm and left adrift. After many days he becomes so famished that the only thing he can use as bait to catch a fish is an eyeball. This sustains him for a while but eventually the same thing happens and he uses his other eyeball which sustains him until he is washed ashore.
"The Fire" about an old man who decides to dig graves for him and his wife because there will be no one around when they're dead to do it for them.
"Saide, the Bucket of Water" A man wants a son but he is unable to impregnate his wife so he tells her to go out and find a man who can.
"The Tale of the Two Who Returned From the Dead" A village is washed away in a flood and two men are missing and declared dead. After several days the men appear but are officially dead so must convince the officials that they are alive.
"The Barber's Most Famous Customer" A barber tries to impress his customers by telling them that he cuts the hair of a white man but this leads the police to accuse him of helping a terrorist.
"The Bird Dreaming Baobab" An old man known as the bird man shows up in a white neighborhood every morning with hordes of birds and the children love him but the adults are threatened because he is black.
"The Blind Fisherman" A fisherman is lost at sea during a huge storm and left adrift. After many days he becomes so famished that the only thing he can use as bait to catch a fish is an eyeball. This sustains him for a while but eventually the same thing happens and he uses his other eyeball which sustains him until he is washed ashore.
December 21, 2024
An original collection of 32 fairly short stories, many with a touch of magical realism and a fable like writing style. Many of the stories invert reality. An enjoyable, unpredictable reading experience.
Examples of the author’s writing style:
‘Love is a web weaving a spider’
‘Suddenly, the cow exploded. It burst without so much as a moo. In the surrounding grass a rain of chunks and slices fell, as if the fruit and leaves of the ox. Its flesh turned into red butterflies. It’s bones scattered coins. Its horns were caught in some branches, swinging to and fro, imitating life in the invisibility of the wind.’
These short stories, (the author’s early stories), were first published in ’Voices Made Night’ (1990) and ‘Every Man is a Race’ (1994). The author won the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
Mia Couto is a Portuguese writer who grew up and lives in Mozambique. As the author states, ‘I am white and African. I like to unite contradictory worlds”.
Examples of the author’s writing style:
‘Love is a web weaving a spider’
‘Suddenly, the cow exploded. It burst without so much as a moo. In the surrounding grass a rain of chunks and slices fell, as if the fruit and leaves of the ox. Its flesh turned into red butterflies. It’s bones scattered coins. Its horns were caught in some branches, swinging to and fro, imitating life in the invisibility of the wind.’
These short stories, (the author’s early stories), were first published in ’Voices Made Night’ (1990) and ‘Every Man is a Race’ (1994). The author won the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
Mia Couto is a Portuguese writer who grew up and lives in Mozambique. As the author states, ‘I am white and African. I like to unite contradictory worlds”.
February 19, 2024
Unread country: Mozambique
Misogynistic, pointless and worst of all, boring.
Had to skim the last few stories to keep my sanity. In the future I'll make sure to DNF before it gets to that point.
Misogynistic, pointless and worst of all, boring.
Had to skim the last few stories to keep my sanity. In the future I'll make sure to DNF before it gets to that point.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews