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O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas
This breathtaking saga, set in the 1990s, tells the story of the landlords and tenants of a derelict canning factory in southern Portugal. The wealthy, always-scheming Leandros have owned the building since before the Carnation Revolution, a peaceful coup that toppled a four-decade-long dictatorship and led to Portugal's withdrawal from its African colonies. It was Leandro matriarch Dona Regina who handed the keys to the Matas, the bustling family from Cape Verde who saw past the dusty machinery and converted the space into a warm--and welcoming--home. When Dona Regina is found dead outside the factory on a holiday weekend, her granddaughter, Milene, investigates. Aware that her aunts and uncles, who are off on vacation, will berate her inability to articulate what has just happened, she approaches the factory riddled with anxiety. Hours later, the Matas return home to find this strange girl hiding behind their clotheslines, and with caution, they take her in . . . Days later, the Leandros realize that Milene has become hopelessly entangled with their tenants, and their fear of political and financial ruin sets off a series of events that threatens to uproot the lives of everyone involved.
460 pages, Soft cover
First published January 1, 2002
85 people are currently reading
2483 people want to read
About the author
Lídia Jorge
80 books244 followersLÍDIA GUERREIRO JORGE nasceu em Boliqueime, Loulé a 18 de Junho de 1946. Concluído o curso de Filologia Românica, dedicou-se ao ensino liceal (Angola, Moçambique e Lisboa). Publicou os romances O Dia dos Prodígios (1980, Prémio Ricardo Malheiros), O Cais das Merendas (1982, Prémio Literário Município de Lisboa), Notícia da Cidade Silvestre (1984, Prémio Literário Município de Lisboa), A Costa dos Murmúrios (1988), A Última Dona (1992), O Jardim Sem Limites (Prémio Bordalo, 1995), O Vale da Paixão (Prémio D. Dinis, 1998), O Vento Assobiando nas Grutas (2002, Grande Prémio do Romance e Novela da APE/DGLB), Combateremos a Sombra (2005, Prémio Charles Bisset) e A Noite das Mulheres Cantoras (2011); os livros de contos A Instrumentalina (1992), Marido e Outros Contos (1997), O Belo Adormecido (2004) e Praça de Londres (2005); a peça de teatro A Maçon (1993) e o ensaio Contrato Sentimental (2009). Os seus romances são constituídos por vários planos narrativos, onde o fantástico coexiste com o real, e os problemas sociais colectivos são postos em relevo através de figuras humanas com dimensão metafórica e mítica. Foi condecorada, pela Presidência da República, com a Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique, em 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
October 19, 2021
Founded in 1908 by Jose Joaquim Leandro, the Fabrica de Conservas Leandro was a canning factory near Lisbon, located in the seaside town of Algarve. Considered to be a great benefactor, Leandro hired children, nonworkers, to generate extra income for their families. The tides changed during the Carnation Revolution of 1974, marking an end to the Portuguese Colonial War. Workers seized control of factories and farms, selling off machinery, leaving businesses in ruin. As of 1984, the Factory was home to a family of Cape Verdean immigrants, the Matas family, who paid a nominal rent to Regina Leandro in exchange for maintaining the abandoned canning compound.
"[Milene] had walked back and forth along that path, looking for some trace of her grandmother, a footprint, a hair...anything to explain or at least confirm what had happened...Milene could visualize [with clarity] Grandmother Regina, in her nightdress, giving the ambulance men the slip making her way back to the Fabrica de Conservas Leandro, 1908." How had Grandmother managed to walk, in the dark, through mud and slurry, only to die at the gates of the Factory? "[Milene] felt she wouldn't be able to keep intact for much longer the basket of facts inside her head. These facts would all begin to disintegrate, to escape like freed ions...then, when her aunts and uncles arrived [from holiday], she would have nothing to tell them". Milene pried open the gates of the seemingly deserted Factory. She found a place to hide behind a "fabric forest" of hanging sheets.
"Glory...once achieved by a single member of a family, glory can nourish past and future generations, bestowing on them meaning they would otherwise lack...Janina's triumph on stage, the Matas' triumph with that building, their house...the joy of sitting in the third row at the Coliseu dos Recreios...Driven on by wild applause that reverberated...had now run up against tragedy...Behind the washing partly hidden by the sheets...[a] person, huddled...looking at once defenseless and menacing...". Grandmother had been their landlady, therefore, Milene was their landlady as well. Matriarch Felicia Mata felt it was a blessing to break bread with Milene and let her spend the night. "You are not alone. you're with the Matas".
Each of Milene's aunts thought "her whole life had been turned upside down by this earthquake". Inconvenienced. Holidays abruptly ended. Newspapers reported "truths and lies...skillfully woven into what appeared to be the truth. The Leandros were "immersed in thoughts that had nothing to do with the truth". So tedious...inexplicable. Milene's thoughts were considered inconsequential.
"The Wind Whistling in the Cranes" by Lidia Jorge is a sweeping saga of the Leandro and Matas families against a backdrop of political and financial changes set to alter the landscape and change the lives of the citizenry of Algarve. Author Jorge has thoroughly, painstakingly, detailed the protagonists of the Mata family This reader came to love and understand Felicia Mata and her son, Antonino. The Leandos, a rich family, boasting a mayor among them, are fully fleshed out as well. Milene Leandro was my favorite.
I highly recommend this beautifully written work of historical fiction.
Thank you W.W. Norton & Company, Liveright and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"[Milene] had walked back and forth along that path, looking for some trace of her grandmother, a footprint, a hair...anything to explain or at least confirm what had happened...Milene could visualize [with clarity] Grandmother Regina, in her nightdress, giving the ambulance men the slip making her way back to the Fabrica de Conservas Leandro, 1908." How had Grandmother managed to walk, in the dark, through mud and slurry, only to die at the gates of the Factory? "[Milene] felt she wouldn't be able to keep intact for much longer the basket of facts inside her head. These facts would all begin to disintegrate, to escape like freed ions...then, when her aunts and uncles arrived [from holiday], she would have nothing to tell them". Milene pried open the gates of the seemingly deserted Factory. She found a place to hide behind a "fabric forest" of hanging sheets.
"Glory...once achieved by a single member of a family, glory can nourish past and future generations, bestowing on them meaning they would otherwise lack...Janina's triumph on stage, the Matas' triumph with that building, their house...the joy of sitting in the third row at the Coliseu dos Recreios...Driven on by wild applause that reverberated...had now run up against tragedy...Behind the washing partly hidden by the sheets...[a] person, huddled...looking at once defenseless and menacing...". Grandmother had been their landlady, therefore, Milene was their landlady as well. Matriarch Felicia Mata felt it was a blessing to break bread with Milene and let her spend the night. "You are not alone. you're with the Matas".
Each of Milene's aunts thought "her whole life had been turned upside down by this earthquake". Inconvenienced. Holidays abruptly ended. Newspapers reported "truths and lies...skillfully woven into what appeared to be the truth. The Leandros were "immersed in thoughts that had nothing to do with the truth". So tedious...inexplicable. Milene's thoughts were considered inconsequential.
"The Wind Whistling in the Cranes" by Lidia Jorge is a sweeping saga of the Leandro and Matas families against a backdrop of political and financial changes set to alter the landscape and change the lives of the citizenry of Algarve. Author Jorge has thoroughly, painstakingly, detailed the protagonists of the Mata family This reader came to love and understand Felicia Mata and her son, Antonino. The Leandos, a rich family, boasting a mayor among them, are fully fleshed out as well. Milene Leandro was my favorite.
I highly recommend this beautifully written work of historical fiction.
Thank you W.W. Norton & Company, Liveright and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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February 14, 2022DNF against my better judgment. I looked forward to reading The Wind Whistling in the Cranes by Lidia Jorge. It did not grab my attention after numerous chapters and I gave up. This is strictly my opinion and I’m sure most readers will enjoy this book. I will not rate or review.
June 26, 2022
This richly multi-layered and multi-generational family saga from acclaimed Portuguese author Lydia Jorge – an author I was sadly unaware of – tells the story of two families, one white, one black, one middle-class, one working-class, and how their destinies become inextricably intertwined. The wealthy Leandros own a derelict fish canning factory. The Matas, immigrants from the former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde, are their tenants and have set up home in the factory compound. One night, when most of the Leandros are away on their holidays, their matriarch is found dead at the gates of the factory. Only one member of the family is around to deal with this, the granddaughter Milene, who is warmly welcomed by the Matas but whose appearance among them sets off a chain of events which bring unexpected consequences and much turmoil in their wake. In spite of its slow, but expert, pacing, perhaps even because of it, I found the novel a real page-turner, in which the back stories are gradually revealed and the reader begins to understand more and more of the family dynamics and is drawn into their world. All this is set against a vividly evoked background of racial, social, economic and political issues. The characterisation is nuanced and three-dimensional, especially in the case of Milene, who is surely one of literature’s most intriguing figures, and who holds the many threads of the narrative together. The unique narrative voice with its rhythmic cadences I found compelling and was drawn more and more into the storyline. The sense of time and place is particularly convincing. All in all, this is an enormously engaging and enjoyable read.
February 15, 2017
I tried,I honestly tried. 100 pages in I could see no discernible plot around this book,nothing to hold to the story. So I gave up. I have way too many books in my to-read list to hold myself to such a boring one. I might try again later,just not now.
P.s: The cover was gorgeous,which is why I brought it. So one bonus star for cover art.
P.s: The cover was gorgeous,which is why I brought it. So one bonus star for cover art.
April 11, 2022
Every book has its cadence, its rhythm, its beat. Often, as a reader, it takes time to find that cadence. For those books with unique, distinct cadence, it can take longer. But once captured by the cadence, you find yourself caught up in the book’s flow, like being carried downriver in a strong current.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes cadence was new to me and took me awhile to get used to. While there was movement in the story’s plot, there was also the introspection of the narrator. The narrator introduces us to Milene, granddaughter of a rich and powerful Portuguese family’s matriarch who died when everyone is on holiday except for Milene. The matriarch’s body is found in front of a compound, owned by the rich Leandros family, but rented by the matriarch to the poor Mata family, from Cape Verde.
The matriarch’s death sets in motion other activities by the rich family: what to do with the estate, what to do with the old factory rented to the Matas, and what to do with their adult niece, Milene, whose father and mother are dead. The Matas, a multigenerational family, all living together on the factory site, is celebrating the success of one grandchild, a singer. They too have internal issues, one of which is what will become of them if Leandros family sells the factory compound.
Milene becomes the link between the two families, one black, one white, one black, and a threat to each, though the reasons are different, and are only slowly revealed through the narration. She is also a victim of her own family’s scheming, a curiosity to the Matas, and a deficient individual with simple desires.
The backdrop is Portugal, and its history in the 20th century. Set in the country’s south, on the coast, one gets the sense of economic change and challenge.
The narration slows the pace, but also softens the shock of family’s betrayal of Milene. That sequence of scenes will stay with me for a long time. At first, there is only a hint. Then Milene realizes something has happened, she has lost something, crawling around, looking. Finally, how her family discusses the betrayal, as in terms used for animals.
Overall, this narration treats gently a very challenging problem that gradually comes into focus. However, the ending was satisfying.
FB. A touching, tragic story, of betrayal and love, narrated tenderly to soften the loss and the challenge at the center of the story.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes cadence was new to me and took me awhile to get used to. While there was movement in the story’s plot, there was also the introspection of the narrator. The narrator introduces us to Milene, granddaughter of a rich and powerful Portuguese family’s matriarch who died when everyone is on holiday except for Milene. The matriarch’s body is found in front of a compound, owned by the rich Leandros family, but rented by the matriarch to the poor Mata family, from Cape Verde.
The matriarch’s death sets in motion other activities by the rich family: what to do with the estate, what to do with the old factory rented to the Matas, and what to do with their adult niece, Milene, whose father and mother are dead. The Matas, a multigenerational family, all living together on the factory site, is celebrating the success of one grandchild, a singer. They too have internal issues, one of which is what will become of them if Leandros family sells the factory compound.
Milene becomes the link between the two families, one black, one white, one black, and a threat to each, though the reasons are different, and are only slowly revealed through the narration. She is also a victim of her own family’s scheming, a curiosity to the Matas, and a deficient individual with simple desires.
The backdrop is Portugal, and its history in the 20th century. Set in the country’s south, on the coast, one gets the sense of economic change and challenge.
The narration slows the pace, but also softens the shock of family’s betrayal of Milene. That sequence of scenes will stay with me for a long time. At first, there is only a hint. Then Milene realizes something has happened, she has lost something, crawling around, looking. Finally, how her family discusses the betrayal, as in terms used for animals.
Overall, this narration treats gently a very challenging problem that gradually comes into focus. However, the ending was satisfying.
FB. A touching, tragic story, of betrayal and love, narrated tenderly to soften the loss and the challenge at the center of the story.
February 11, 2022
tysm to netgalley and wwnorton for this arc. i wanted VERY badly to like this book, but something about the prose was incredibly off putting. i hate to put it on translators, but since i can’t read portuguese i will never be sure if it’s the fault of the writing or the translation. the exposition was bizarre, the continued mention of “we wouldn’t know that for two years” gave the book tension it didn’t deserve. the character choices were bizarre given we don’t get backstory until nearly 3/4 of the way through. and i wanted so badly to be placed even more in the setting because i find southern portugal so compelling and the setting is a huge part of the plot and is so critical to the race relations and morés of the book and yet i just felt sort of displaced. ugh hate to dislike a book especially one that i just spent 500 pages reading but it was just too uneven which is just so frustrating in a book that does have a lot i was so excited about.
February 21, 2021
Lídia Jorge nous donne à voir le monde à travers le regard candide de sa narratrice : un monde empreint de perversité, de lâcheté, mais que Milène ne "comprend" pas. Faute d'avoir les mots pour exprimer sa pensée, ou l'intelligence pour lier les faits entre eux.
C'est aussi un Roméo & Juliette moderne, un équilibre délicat entre deux familles que tout oppose. Un très beau roman !
C'est aussi un Roméo & Juliette moderne, un équilibre délicat entre deux familles que tout oppose. Un très beau roman !
February 9, 2022
Novelist Lidia Jorge’s The Wind Whistling in the Cranes tells the interwoven sagas of the Portuguese Leandro family and the immigrant Mata Family from Cape Verde, a Portuguese colony until the mid-1970s. Jorge centers their story around a canning factory founded by Jose Joaquin Leandro in 1908 in Portugal’s southernmost coast.
As the book opens, Milene Leandro has gone to the factory in search of the truth about the recent death of her grandmother, Dona Regina Leandro. Clad only in her nightgown, the feeble elderly woman had mysteriously escaped the back of an ambulance and made her way to the family’s old factory where she died.
With Dona Regina’s children out of the country and unreachable after her body had been found,
granddaughter Milene Leandro, whose father is dead, knows her aunts and uncles will demand answers when they return. Obsessed with learning the truth, she goes in search of the Matas, whose many members have been paying monthly rent to their landlady, Dona Regina, and have converted the decaying factory into a multi-family home for the large Mata clan.
When Milene finds the factory deserted, she sits down to wait. Upon the Mata’s return from several days in Lisbon, they are shocked to discover a young white woman concealed behind their sheets left hanging on the clothesline and further shocked to learn of their landlady’s death on the property during their absence. The Mata’s take in the white stranger for the night.
Thus begins Milene Leandro’s relationship with the Matas, one that will have repercussions throughout the two families.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes focuses on changes occurring in Portugal from before the 1974 Carnation Revolution and into the 1990s—the present of the story. At the heart of those changes was the end of Portuguese colonialism in such places as Angola and the Cape Verde Islands. The translators’ notes at the front of the novel provide the history readers need to understand this backdrop.
The white Portuguese Leandros and the black Cape Verdean Matas are very different families, but, in a sense, they both have their own traditional outlooks. In the midst of conflict, Milene Leandro and Antonio Mata are the novel’s hope for the future.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes is a strange novel. Much of the story takes place in Milene’s head as she ponders how to deal with events in her life. The workings of Milene’s mind will exasperate readers at times, but I found her intriguing and likeable. Through Milene’s obsessions, Lidia Jorge introduces many moral and social questions. Without Milene’s mental wanderings, this could be a more straightforward book. With them, it is a treasure.
Many thanks to Liveright and W. W. Norton for an advance reader copy. I am waiting for English translations of Lidia Jorge’s other novels.
As the book opens, Milene Leandro has gone to the factory in search of the truth about the recent death of her grandmother, Dona Regina Leandro. Clad only in her nightgown, the feeble elderly woman had mysteriously escaped the back of an ambulance and made her way to the family’s old factory where she died.
With Dona Regina’s children out of the country and unreachable after her body had been found,
granddaughter Milene Leandro, whose father is dead, knows her aunts and uncles will demand answers when they return. Obsessed with learning the truth, she goes in search of the Matas, whose many members have been paying monthly rent to their landlady, Dona Regina, and have converted the decaying factory into a multi-family home for the large Mata clan.
When Milene finds the factory deserted, she sits down to wait. Upon the Mata’s return from several days in Lisbon, they are shocked to discover a young white woman concealed behind their sheets left hanging on the clothesline and further shocked to learn of their landlady’s death on the property during their absence. The Mata’s take in the white stranger for the night.
Thus begins Milene Leandro’s relationship with the Matas, one that will have repercussions throughout the two families.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes focuses on changes occurring in Portugal from before the 1974 Carnation Revolution and into the 1990s—the present of the story. At the heart of those changes was the end of Portuguese colonialism in such places as Angola and the Cape Verde Islands. The translators’ notes at the front of the novel provide the history readers need to understand this backdrop.
The white Portuguese Leandros and the black Cape Verdean Matas are very different families, but, in a sense, they both have their own traditional outlooks. In the midst of conflict, Milene Leandro and Antonio Mata are the novel’s hope for the future.
The Wind Whistling in the Cranes is a strange novel. Much of the story takes place in Milene’s head as she ponders how to deal with events in her life. The workings of Milene’s mind will exasperate readers at times, but I found her intriguing and likeable. Through Milene’s obsessions, Lidia Jorge introduces many moral and social questions. Without Milene’s mental wanderings, this could be a more straightforward book. With them, it is a treasure.
Many thanks to Liveright and W. W. Norton for an advance reader copy. I am waiting for English translations of Lidia Jorge’s other novels.
February 14, 2022
English language readers are indebted to Lidia Jorge (author), Margaret Jill Costa (translator), and Annie McDermktt (translator) for this rich, descriptive work. In it, we have a masterfully paced and nuanced exploration of race, class, and extended family dynamics. Anyone who reads this book and doesn’t feel for Milene is simply a heartless human being, with the human being part in doubt. I am doomed to book hangover for days after this one.
Thank you to the aforementioned author and translators, Liveright publishing, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to the aforementioned author and translators, Liveright publishing, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review
July 6, 2025
No conocía a Lídia Jorge, aunque por lo que vi es una escritora exitosa y prolífica, pero el verano pasado me encontré con esto en Portugal y me lo traje conmigo. Lo cogí hace un par de semanas, no sin cierto recelo, y conseguí con él lo que hace mucho tiempo quería pero no podía: leer despacio. Fue la extensión, fue el idioma y fue la dificultad de la prosa, pero sobre todo fue el propio ritmo de la novela, que se impuso sin remedio.
La historia es sencilla: una mujer muere y sus descendientes quiere recuperar el control de su antigua fábrica, prestada/ alquilada a una familia de caboverdianos; en ese contexto, una joven hace de nexo entre ambos mundos.
Sin embargo, la trama es aquí lo menos importante. En su extraordinaria lentitud, la obra nos pone frente a la humanidad de unos personajes repletos de aristas, mientras la vida simplemente discurre entre parejas que se separan, otras que se juntan, jóvenes que triunfan para después caer, novias vivas y muertas, mensajes sin respuesta durante meses y conflictos de intereses que se resuelven apartando a los más débiles con una crueldad no exenta de elegancia.
Un mundo poético, rozando lo onírico, el de Lídia Jorge. Habrá que estar atenta.
(El libro se llevó al cine el año pasado, aunque creo que no llegó a España; probablemente esto se reeditase con ese motivo).
La historia es sencilla: una mujer muere y sus descendientes quiere recuperar el control de su antigua fábrica, prestada/ alquilada a una familia de caboverdianos; en ese contexto, una joven hace de nexo entre ambos mundos.
Sin embargo, la trama es aquí lo menos importante. En su extraordinaria lentitud, la obra nos pone frente a la humanidad de unos personajes repletos de aristas, mientras la vida simplemente discurre entre parejas que se separan, otras que se juntan, jóvenes que triunfan para después caer, novias vivas y muertas, mensajes sin respuesta durante meses y conflictos de intereses que se resuelven apartando a los más débiles con una crueldad no exenta de elegancia.
Un mundo poético, rozando lo onírico, el de Lídia Jorge. Habrá que estar atenta.
(El libro se llevó al cine el año pasado, aunque creo que no llegó a España; probablemente esto se reeditase con ese motivo).
April 20, 2023
Segundo livro que leio de Lídia Jorge e volto a sentir que estou a ver um filme. As descrições, os locais, os apontamentos poéticos, os flashbacks, a história e os traços de cada personagem.
Por vezes peca apenas por ser extenso, mas talvez seja da minha natureza ansiosa e irrequieta, porque no final, estas personagens tornam-se nossas conhecidas, obrigando-nos a viver tudo com elas, um passo atrás, a espreitar por dentro cada conversa. Como um filme.
Por vezes peca apenas por ser extenso, mas talvez seja da minha natureza ansiosa e irrequieta, porque no final, estas personagens tornam-se nossas conhecidas, obrigando-nos a viver tudo com elas, um passo atrás, a espreitar por dentro cada conversa. Como um filme.
June 24, 2024
Not my favorite and found it hard to get into and stick with. I didn’t love any of the characters or feel attached for them.
Some parts were beautifully written but few and far between.
Some parts were beautifully written but few and far between.
June 15, 2023
I was struggling through the first 80% of the book - even though I was able to feel the poetry and the beauty of the language, it still was a very strange experience, and if not the need to finish the book for the book club discussion, I probably would have not finished it. However, at the end (the last 20%), the miracle happened, everything clicked for me, and I wasn't able to put the book down. And I was almost crying at the end, and I was ready to strangle some of the characters, and to nudge some others... So, it was totally worth my struggle.
As for the comparison to Elena Ferrante books, I would disagree. Ferrante books are way easier to get into, to feel the atmosphere and to relate to the characters. "The Wind whistling in the cranes" is ... not worse, not better, but very different.
As for the comparison to Elena Ferrante books, I would disagree. Ferrante books are way easier to get into, to feel the atmosphere and to relate to the characters. "The Wind whistling in the cranes" is ... not worse, not better, but very different.
March 26, 2023
Não gostei da escrita - muitas paragens desnecessárias e não sofisticada. A história é pouco cativante. Serve para entreter mas não passa muito disso.
May 14, 2022
Some of the descriptions of this book tell us that it is multi-generational family saga that unfolds through the social development of Portugal from capitalist oligarchy to the Carnation Revolution and beyond. It sounds like a Portuguese version of Bertolucci's "1900". Other descriptions tell us that it is a Romeo and Juliet story of star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the track. It's true that the book has these elements, but anybody whose description is based on this perspective was not reading the same book that I read. For me the great thing about this book is the unique elliptical writing style, filled with ironic humor and the crazy non-realistic world of the Leandros and Matas that could as well have been set in the fifth dimension as in Portugal. It reminded me of the way that people in 19th century Russia misread Gogol as a social reformer who they thought was realistically portraying and crusading against ignorance and backward thinking. In fact the only thing that he wanted to reform was the human soul, he didn't have a realistic bone in his body, and the wonderful thing about his writing was more its style than its substance. Or maybe Ms. Jorge is more like Dickens, who actually did care about social reform in the era of the Industrial Revolution, but who we read more today for his wonderful characters and use of language than for his contributions toward ending the abuses of early capitalism.
I enjoyed how Ms. Jorge deals with questions of identity and authenticity. In the beginning, before she falls in love, Milene is beset with feelings of being an imposter. She needs to express herself in the words of other people. None of the things that her relatives say or do seem real. The only grounding that she can find is in the memory of her grandmother and "the best summer of our lives". But once you scratch a millimeter below the surface it turns out that Milene is the only authentic one of the bunch. And then there is the connection/contrast between the two families of the Leandros and the Matas - rich and poor, white and black, but still somehow the same and mixed together in confusing ways with the Matas living on the property of the Leandros and having, at least morally, a better claim to it, and with the similarities of names in the two families. Both families have their matriarchs, their schemers and black sheep and contradictory internally inconsistent attitudes toward the two lovers. In the end the only solution to the confusion is to bind the families together through marriage. And then there are the unexplained loose ends in the story. Maybe the true answers are buried in the story somewhere, but I could never figure out the truth about grandmother Regina's death, or what really happened to Milene in the clinic or whether Jao Paulo is a real person or, if so, whether he is alive or, if he is alive and real, why he is absent. In the end, the answers are unimportant and leaving seemingly important questions open like this adds to the wonderful atmosphere of irrationality that pervades this strange fictional universe.
I kept looking for traces in this book of those other two great modern Portuguese writers - Pessoa and Saramago, but I could never find a connection that felt solid to me. Their styles and artistic points of view are very different from Ms. Jorge, though Ms. Jorge does share with her two great predecessors an admirable willingness to defy literary convention and write outside of the box.
I enjoyed how Ms. Jorge deals with questions of identity and authenticity. In the beginning, before she falls in love, Milene is beset with feelings of being an imposter. She needs to express herself in the words of other people. None of the things that her relatives say or do seem real. The only grounding that she can find is in the memory of her grandmother and "the best summer of our lives". But once you scratch a millimeter below the surface it turns out that Milene is the only authentic one of the bunch. And then there is the connection/contrast between the two families of the Leandros and the Matas - rich and poor, white and black, but still somehow the same and mixed together in confusing ways with the Matas living on the property of the Leandros and having, at least morally, a better claim to it, and with the similarities of names in the two families. Both families have their matriarchs, their schemers and black sheep and contradictory internally inconsistent attitudes toward the two lovers. In the end the only solution to the confusion is to bind the families together through marriage. And then there are the unexplained loose ends in the story. Maybe the true answers are buried in the story somewhere, but I could never figure out the truth about grandmother Regina's death, or what really happened to Milene in the clinic or whether Jao Paulo is a real person or, if so, whether he is alive or, if he is alive and real, why he is absent. In the end, the answers are unimportant and leaving seemingly important questions open like this adds to the wonderful atmosphere of irrationality that pervades this strange fictional universe.
I kept looking for traces in this book of those other two great modern Portuguese writers - Pessoa and Saramago, but I could never find a connection that felt solid to me. Their styles and artistic points of view are very different from Ms. Jorge, though Ms. Jorge does share with her two great predecessors an admirable willingness to defy literary convention and write outside of the box.
August 2, 2021
Acabei este livro quase sem ter palavras para o descrever. A história prendeu-me e animou-me às vezes, mas, sobretudo, destruiu-me. Começamos com Milene, a personagem principal cujo ponto de vista é dominante no livro. E que ponto de vista mais singular, sendo tão inocente mas, por vezes, certeiro para com as coisas. Dei por mim a perguntar muitas vezes quantos anos teria a personagem: se 15, se 20, se 25.
Acabei por descobrir que tinha 30, com idade de 15, e só muito lá mais para a frente é que o narrador nos diz a verdade: Milene é oligofrenica. Uma vez que isto só nos é dito no final, permite que a personagem não seja caracterizada e submetida a apenas isso. Mas, ainda assim, ajuda a explicar a sua fé cega de que a avó, falecida, não estava no caixão quando morreu, ou porque continua a ligar para o primo que nunca lhe atende, ou porque é que nunca teve um emprego, nem se interessa em tê-lo.
Mas mesmo a família sabendo da condição delicada de Milene, deixaram-na sozinha quando a avó morreu, antes e depois. Nunca quiseram saber dela com o passar da história e só agiram quando descobriram que Milene namorava com Antonino Mata, da família que eles queria expulsar da Fábrica Velha, tornada casa, que tinham alugado. E agiram da pior e mais cruel maneira que eu achei possível.
Este foi o primeiro livro que li de Lídia Jorge e eu nunca pensei que, por um lado, gostasse tanto, e, por outro lado, acabasse por ser um livro sobre o pior e o melhor da condição humana. Temos amor, carinho e lealdade, mas também temos crueldade, ganância e egoísmo. Já que acabei de o ler, só pedia a alguém que o lesse também para me servir de terapeuta.
Acabei por descobrir que tinha 30, com idade de 15, e só muito lá mais para a frente é que o narrador nos diz a verdade: Milene é oligofrenica. Uma vez que isto só nos é dito no final, permite que a personagem não seja caracterizada e submetida a apenas isso. Mas, ainda assim, ajuda a explicar a sua fé cega de que a avó, falecida, não estava no caixão quando morreu, ou porque continua a ligar para o primo que nunca lhe atende, ou porque é que nunca teve um emprego, nem se interessa em tê-lo.
Mas mesmo a família sabendo da condição delicada de Milene, deixaram-na sozinha quando a avó morreu, antes e depois. Nunca quiseram saber dela com o passar da história e só agiram quando descobriram que Milene namorava com Antonino Mata, da família que eles queria expulsar da Fábrica Velha, tornada casa, que tinham alugado. E agiram da pior e mais cruel maneira que eu achei possível.
Este foi o primeiro livro que li de Lídia Jorge e eu nunca pensei que, por um lado, gostasse tanto, e, por outro lado, acabasse por ser um livro sobre o pior e o melhor da condição humana. Temos amor, carinho e lealdade, mas também temos crueldade, ganância e egoísmo. Já que acabei de o ler, só pedia a alguém que o lesse também para me servir de terapeuta.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2024
The writing style of this book didn't appeal to me, and I nearly set the book aside. Yet I continued on and found in the end I quite enjoyed the book. This is a translation from the Portuguese, taking place on the coast in Portugal.
The reading was slow going for me, due to the style with the action/plot being slow as well. The beginning was the hardest, and the pacing improved as the book went on. One of the reasons for the slowness was the repetition, oh so much repetition. I went along with it, continuing to read, as this is a different culture, perhaps things go at a different pace than one I am accustomed to.
The story starts out with the death of the matriarch of a well to-do family, Regina Leandro. One of the sons is the mayor of the town. Everyone is out of town and unreachable, so the only person left is Milene. She is a simple-minded woman, although it took a bit to realize this. I was annoyed by her character at first, found aggravating, later though she did grow on me.
The opening scenes take place in the Old Factory, as this is where Regina was found, and Milene went there to find some answers. The Mata's now live there, the third wave, an extended immigrant family, and they too were out of town at first.
Milene becomes quite attached to one of the Mata's, a young widower. The courtship is not a typical one by any means. And him being black means not only class, but race could be a problem.
The reading was slow going for me, due to the style with the action/plot being slow as well. The beginning was the hardest, and the pacing improved as the book went on. One of the reasons for the slowness was the repetition, oh so much repetition. I went along with it, continuing to read, as this is a different culture, perhaps things go at a different pace than one I am accustomed to.
The story starts out with the death of the matriarch of a well to-do family, Regina Leandro. One of the sons is the mayor of the town. Everyone is out of town and unreachable, so the only person left is Milene. She is a simple-minded woman, although it took a bit to realize this. I was annoyed by her character at first, found aggravating, later though she did grow on me.
The opening scenes take place in the Old Factory, as this is where Regina was found, and Milene went there to find some answers. The Mata's now live there, the third wave, an extended immigrant family, and they too were out of town at first.
Milene becomes quite attached to one of the Mata's, a young widower. The courtship is not a typical one by any means. And him being black means not only class, but race could be a problem.
April 17, 2022
This was a very tedious book to read. The narrative was circular, repetitive, and took forever to get anywhere. It did have moments of poetic brilliance and I stuck with it because I wanted to find out what happened in the end. The plot line intrigued me and Milene and Antonino's relationship was very sweet. I see from other reviews that some readers loved it and others thought it was terrible. My impression was somewhere in between. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
June 29, 2024
I made a good faith effort with this one, but I ended up not finishing. The premise is really interesting. I love the idea of exploring the history of a country through a specific location, in this case an old canning factory, but I found the prose overly verbose, the pace glacial, and the main character very difficult to sympathize with. Ultimately, not my cup of tea.
July 14, 2024
DNF. I tried. Perhaps if the history behind the story was already familiar? But otherwise the tale just seems to wander about aimlessly. The young woman's behavior is incomprehensible, other than that of a shy girl who is accustomed to being berated by her overbearing relatives. That is tedious. Poor thing. I hope she learns how to stand up for herself, but I don't have the patience to find out.
February 22, 2022
This was a great book. It's very long and some complain that nothing much happens, but if you stop and think about it, each chapter is packed with information and happenings. The author uses repetition to create a rhythm that was nearly hypnotic and highly effective.
August 5, 2020
Esta é a história de duas famílias, a família Leandro e a família Mata. As duas famílias vão contactar uma com a outra através de Milene Leandro, a personagem principal. O livro é, assim, quase integralmente, a sua vivência.
A história inicia-se com a morte da avó de Milene, Regina Leandro, e a forma como esta tem de tratar dos arranjos necessários e contactar os tios. Nesta primeira fase conseguimos sentir como a Milene está desamparada sem a avó, sentimos a sua dor e a forma como se sente perdida. Só nos apetece apoia-la.
À medida que a história se desenrola percebemos que a família Leandro é uma família portuguesa com algumas posses, donos da Fábrica de Conservas Leandro 1908. Esta fábrica, desativada no período em que a história decorre, foi arrendada pela avó Regina à família Mata. A família Mata é uma família cabo-verdiana de poucas posses encabeçada pela matriarca Ana Mata.
Milene, aquando da morte da avó, refugia-se na antiga Fábrica de Conservas e vão ser os Mata que a vão acompanhar nos primeiros dias de luto. São absolutamente amorosos para com ela, sempre a darem-lhe força.
Há um contraste enorme entre as duas famílias, a família Leandro coloca Milene à margem, parece que a descredibiliza, já a família Mata preocupa-se genuinamente com ela e chega a inclui-la em planos familiares. Quase no fim do livro descobrimos que Milene sofre de oligofrenia (QI inferior a 90 pontos). De acordo com o diagnóstico, a idade mental de Milene é uns anos inferiores à sua idade “real”.
Milene apaixona-se (e é correspondida) por um dos netos de Ana Mata, Antonino. Este amor é vivido em segredo até ao momento em que decidem casar. Neste ponto é necessário comunicar a intenção às respectivas famílias. Vemos mais a interação com a família Leandro, onde o amor entre as personagens não é bem recebido e conduz a uma ação por parte das tias de Milene, que, para mim, é o cerne da história e o ponto sob o qual devemos reflectir.
Pontos positivos a destacar:
-Gostei muito do facto de ambas as famílias serem “presididas” por mulheres. Na verdade este é um livro onde as mulheres tomam as rédeas. Ana Mata não é muito participativa, a idade já não lhe permite, mas as suas filhas, principalmente Felícia, são as forças que guiam a vida dos netos de Ana. Na família Leandro, Regina não esta presente mas sentimos a sua influência nas suas duas filhas, tias de Milene, que guiam a sua existência. Os homens acabam por ser, em certa medida, personagens secundárias.
-O livro é contado, quase integralmente, pela perspectiva de Milene, o que nos permite aproximar desta personagem. Acompanhamos a sua confusão mental para alguns assuntos e a sua determinação noutros. Gostei disto e do facto de ser uma personagem muito dona do seu nariz. Milene faz o que quer, porque já não tem “cinco anos, nem dez nem vinte”
-A Milene é uma personagem como nós. Tem as suas particularidades mas não é nenhuma coitadinha que precise de salvamento. O faz com que nos irritemos com os tios, que não a acham capaz de tomar conta de si mesma.
-Adorei o contraste entre famílias, a forma como a Milene é tratada pela própria família e pela família Mata, que nos permite ver que muitas vezes o problema está nos olhos de quem vê
-Gostei muito do amor entre o Antonino e a Milene, a forma como a defende e se preocupa com ela é amorosa
Pontos negativos:
-Há muitas personagens e não há nenhuma árvore genealógica para nos guiar. No início demorei algum tempo a perceber quem era quem, acho que uma árvore genealógica teria ajudado bastante.
-O livro é quase integralmente uma descrição. Há pouquíssimos diálogos, o que torna a leitura cansativa.
-A história leva muito tempo a desenrolar-se. Senti que a mensagem podia ter sido transmitida com menos detalhe, e como o plot twist acontece quase no fim do livro, houve momentos em que senti que a história não estava a avançar em sentido nenhum.
A história inicia-se com a morte da avó de Milene, Regina Leandro, e a forma como esta tem de tratar dos arranjos necessários e contactar os tios. Nesta primeira fase conseguimos sentir como a Milene está desamparada sem a avó, sentimos a sua dor e a forma como se sente perdida. Só nos apetece apoia-la.
À medida que a história se desenrola percebemos que a família Leandro é uma família portuguesa com algumas posses, donos da Fábrica de Conservas Leandro 1908. Esta fábrica, desativada no período em que a história decorre, foi arrendada pela avó Regina à família Mata. A família Mata é uma família cabo-verdiana de poucas posses encabeçada pela matriarca Ana Mata.
Milene, aquando da morte da avó, refugia-se na antiga Fábrica de Conservas e vão ser os Mata que a vão acompanhar nos primeiros dias de luto. São absolutamente amorosos para com ela, sempre a darem-lhe força.
Há um contraste enorme entre as duas famílias, a família Leandro coloca Milene à margem, parece que a descredibiliza, já a família Mata preocupa-se genuinamente com ela e chega a inclui-la em planos familiares. Quase no fim do livro descobrimos que Milene sofre de oligofrenia (QI inferior a 90 pontos). De acordo com o diagnóstico, a idade mental de Milene é uns anos inferiores à sua idade “real”.
Milene apaixona-se (e é correspondida) por um dos netos de Ana Mata, Antonino. Este amor é vivido em segredo até ao momento em que decidem casar. Neste ponto é necessário comunicar a intenção às respectivas famílias. Vemos mais a interação com a família Leandro, onde o amor entre as personagens não é bem recebido e conduz a uma ação por parte das tias de Milene, que, para mim, é o cerne da história e o ponto sob o qual devemos reflectir.
Pontos positivos a destacar:
-Gostei muito do facto de ambas as famílias serem “presididas” por mulheres. Na verdade este é um livro onde as mulheres tomam as rédeas. Ana Mata não é muito participativa, a idade já não lhe permite, mas as suas filhas, principalmente Felícia, são as forças que guiam a vida dos netos de Ana. Na família Leandro, Regina não esta presente mas sentimos a sua influência nas suas duas filhas, tias de Milene, que guiam a sua existência. Os homens acabam por ser, em certa medida, personagens secundárias.
-O livro é contado, quase integralmente, pela perspectiva de Milene, o que nos permite aproximar desta personagem. Acompanhamos a sua confusão mental para alguns assuntos e a sua determinação noutros. Gostei disto e do facto de ser uma personagem muito dona do seu nariz. Milene faz o que quer, porque já não tem “cinco anos, nem dez nem vinte”
-A Milene é uma personagem como nós. Tem as suas particularidades mas não é nenhuma coitadinha que precise de salvamento. O faz com que nos irritemos com os tios, que não a acham capaz de tomar conta de si mesma.
-Adorei o contraste entre famílias, a forma como a Milene é tratada pela própria família e pela família Mata, que nos permite ver que muitas vezes o problema está nos olhos de quem vê
-Gostei muito do amor entre o Antonino e a Milene, a forma como a defende e se preocupa com ela é amorosa
Pontos negativos:
-Há muitas personagens e não há nenhuma árvore genealógica para nos guiar. No início demorei algum tempo a perceber quem era quem, acho que uma árvore genealógica teria ajudado bastante.
-O livro é quase integralmente uma descrição. Há pouquíssimos diálogos, o que torna a leitura cansativa.
-A história leva muito tempo a desenrolar-se. Senti que a mensagem podia ter sido transmitida com menos detalhe, e como o plot twist acontece quase no fim do livro, houve momentos em que senti que a história não estava a avançar em sentido nenhum.
August 14, 2025
This line is, for me, one of the best things about The Wind Whistling in the Cranes , it captures a certain tenderness and truth that I wish the rest of the book had delivered more consistently. Lídia Jorge clearly has an eye for small, human details and moments of emotional resonance. Her writing, at times, carries a lyrical quality that makes you pause and reread a sentence, just to savour its texture. There’s also an undeniable courage in how she confronts uncomfortable realities: class divides, racism, and the quiet violence of entrenched social hierarchies.
The book’s greatest strength lies in the way it holds a mirror to systemic injustice without turning it into a simplified moral lesson. Jorge doesn’t shy away from showing how prejudice can be embedded in everyday life in words left unsaid, in who gets to belong and who doesn’t, in the ways wealth and poverty move in entirely different worlds. There’s an honesty in that portrayal that is worth appreciating.
Unfortunately, the way this story is told made my reading experience far less satisfying than its themes deserved. The pacing is uneven to the point of being frustrating. Whole sections feel weighed down by digressions and excessive detail that don’t build momentum or deepen the emotional impact. The narrative sometimes sprawls in so many directions that the central threads of meaning are hard to follow. This isn’t a book where you can skim lightly; it demands a slow, deliberate reading pace , but instead of feeling enriching, that slowness often tipped into boredom for me.
There’s also a soap-opera quality to some of the plot elements and character interactions. While that can work in certain contexts, here it sometimes undercut the seriousness of the issues being addressed. I often felt the novel was teetering between a rich social portrait and melodrama, and the shift between those tones could be jarring.
Characterisation was another mixed point for me. Some figures felt alive, vivid, and complex, while others seemed more like ideas or symbols than people. I could sense what Jorge wanted to express through them, but I struggled to connect with them emotionally. For a book so focused on relationships and human connection, that emotional distance was disappointing.
In the end, my 3-star rating reflects a balance between respect and frustration. I admire the book’s ambition and the topics it brings forward. I also recognise the skill in certain passages and there were moments when the prose caught me off-guard with its beauty. But as a whole, the reading experience felt more like a duty than a pleasure. I can appreciate The Wind Whistling in the Cranes for what it tries to do, but I can’t pretend I loved reading it.
The book’s greatest strength lies in the way it holds a mirror to systemic injustice without turning it into a simplified moral lesson. Jorge doesn’t shy away from showing how prejudice can be embedded in everyday life in words left unsaid, in who gets to belong and who doesn’t, in the ways wealth and poverty move in entirely different worlds. There’s an honesty in that portrayal that is worth appreciating.
Unfortunately, the way this story is told made my reading experience far less satisfying than its themes deserved. The pacing is uneven to the point of being frustrating. Whole sections feel weighed down by digressions and excessive detail that don’t build momentum or deepen the emotional impact. The narrative sometimes sprawls in so many directions that the central threads of meaning are hard to follow. This isn’t a book where you can skim lightly; it demands a slow, deliberate reading pace , but instead of feeling enriching, that slowness often tipped into boredom for me.
There’s also a soap-opera quality to some of the plot elements and character interactions. While that can work in certain contexts, here it sometimes undercut the seriousness of the issues being addressed. I often felt the novel was teetering between a rich social portrait and melodrama, and the shift between those tones could be jarring.
Characterisation was another mixed point for me. Some figures felt alive, vivid, and complex, while others seemed more like ideas or symbols than people. I could sense what Jorge wanted to express through them, but I struggled to connect with them emotionally. For a book so focused on relationships and human connection, that emotional distance was disappointing.
In the end, my 3-star rating reflects a balance between respect and frustration. I admire the book’s ambition and the topics it brings forward. I also recognise the skill in certain passages and there were moments when the prose caught me off-guard with its beauty. But as a whole, the reading experience felt more like a duty than a pleasure. I can appreciate The Wind Whistling in the Cranes for what it tries to do, but I can’t pretend I loved reading it.
July 17, 2023
Ms. Jorge is clearly a woman of experience, talent and literary note, and the translators are no slouches either, so I don't know if I have a right to critique here. I've often wondered why Portugal isn't spoken of more often in America, and I know nothing about its culture, so for that reason, I kept reading this book. But like another reader said here, I couldn't get interested until the last 20%. The Leandros, quite frankly, are selfish corporate assholes. They are also lousy, unsupportive family members. Sadly, greed and arrogance are no different in Portugal than here. It was hard to learn about their flaws, but as said often here, the character descriptions are meticulous. Ms. Milene - I don't want to give a spoiler, but until I was enlightened, much later on in the book, I seriously was questioning her sanity. Mr. Mata seemed like a nice guy, but I couldn't quite grasp what made that "click" happen; the click when two people go from acquaintances to being in love. I couldn't root for them too much until the end. The author kept setting up clues that something BIG was going to happen, but again and again I was let down. The younger Mata matriarch makes a frightening discovery at her house, placed there by her wayward son, and I thought that storyline would somehow get mixed up with the Leandros, peaking in major trouble, with a spectacular conclusion, but it just died on the vine. I was confused at the end: who was the wedding guest? Why did she come to the wedding and make such profound observations about the families, when she hadn't even been in the country? Our heroine, Milene, is very forgiving at the end, even though her family royally, and I mean superbly, screwed her over. The family allowed her one important concession, but that was only to save their repuations. I left this book being chilled by the Leandros. Milene's forgiveness was touching, perhaps even understandable, but, seriously?! But then maybe that's the lesson here; in order to be happy, you have to forgive, and Milene does that like an angel.
August 15, 2023
Lídia Jorge é conhecida pela sua capacidade de explorar as profundezas da psicologia humana. Os seus personagens são complexos, com nuances emocionais que são reveladas gradualmente ao longo da narrativa. Destaca-se também por conseguir entrelaçar a história pessoal dos seus personagens com questões sociais e políticas, criando uma rica tapeçaria de significados e interpretações.
No romance "O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas" (2002), a personagem Milene Leandro desempenha um papel central, trazendo à tona questões cruciais sobre identidade, diferenças e contradições de uma sociedade em processo acelerado de globalização. Ambientada na segunda metade dos anos noventa, a narrativa acompanha Milene, uma mulher com cerca de trinta anos, que luta para superar as barreiras da linguagem e expressar-se num mundo que parece querer reduzir sua voz ao silêncio.
A trama acontece na fictícia aldeia de Valmares, onde a decadente "Fábrica de conservas Leandro 1908" representa a interseção do passado e do presente de duas famílias. A narrativa divide-se em três partes: "Cerimónia", "O Livro de Milene" e "O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas”. Com esta estrutura, a história fragmenta-se em diversas vozes, revelando a ausência de voz da protagonista. A primeira parte expõe as inseguranças e ansiedades de Milene após a misteriosa morte da sua avó, desafiando-a a encontrar palavras para explicar o ocorrido. Na última parte revela-se o casamento de Milene e Antonino Mata, visto através da perspectiva da prima da protagonista. O discurso testemunhal desta última parte expõe o diagnóstico de deficiência mental de Milene e a sua dolorosa história nas mãos da família Leandro.
Milene personifica a conexão entre dois mundos culturais (duas famílias), confrontando as fragilidades das relações de poder e a luta entre valores antigos e modernidade. Milene é também uma metáfora para a transformação humana e a capacidade de resistir que culmina na queda da Fábrica de conservas Leandro. A imagem das palmeiras inabaláveis diante das adversidades simboliza as possibilidades de mudança e resistência. As gruas são as novas palmeiras da paisagem.
“…as pessoas gostam de imaginar o grotesco nos outros, para elas mesmas se sentirem protegidas pela sua suposta normalidade.”
“…liberdade estava em nós próprios, mas o destino, esse, encontrava-se nas circunstâncias,…”
“…uma pessoa não comanda o sonho, mas manda na lembrança que dele tem.”
Fonte: http://dp.uc.pt/conteudos/entradas-do...
No romance "O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas" (2002), a personagem Milene Leandro desempenha um papel central, trazendo à tona questões cruciais sobre identidade, diferenças e contradições de uma sociedade em processo acelerado de globalização. Ambientada na segunda metade dos anos noventa, a narrativa acompanha Milene, uma mulher com cerca de trinta anos, que luta para superar as barreiras da linguagem e expressar-se num mundo que parece querer reduzir sua voz ao silêncio.
A trama acontece na fictícia aldeia de Valmares, onde a decadente "Fábrica de conservas Leandro 1908" representa a interseção do passado e do presente de duas famílias. A narrativa divide-se em três partes: "Cerimónia", "O Livro de Milene" e "O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas”. Com esta estrutura, a história fragmenta-se em diversas vozes, revelando a ausência de voz da protagonista. A primeira parte expõe as inseguranças e ansiedades de Milene após a misteriosa morte da sua avó, desafiando-a a encontrar palavras para explicar o ocorrido. Na última parte revela-se o casamento de Milene e Antonino Mata, visto através da perspectiva da prima da protagonista. O discurso testemunhal desta última parte expõe o diagnóstico de deficiência mental de Milene e a sua dolorosa história nas mãos da família Leandro.
Milene personifica a conexão entre dois mundos culturais (duas famílias), confrontando as fragilidades das relações de poder e a luta entre valores antigos e modernidade. Milene é também uma metáfora para a transformação humana e a capacidade de resistir que culmina na queda da Fábrica de conservas Leandro. A imagem das palmeiras inabaláveis diante das adversidades simboliza as possibilidades de mudança e resistência. As gruas são as novas palmeiras da paisagem.
“…as pessoas gostam de imaginar o grotesco nos outros, para elas mesmas se sentirem protegidas pela sua suposta normalidade.”
“…liberdade estava em nós próprios, mas o destino, esse, encontrava-se nas circunstâncias,…”
“…uma pessoa não comanda o sonho, mas manda na lembrança que dele tem.”
Fonte: http://dp.uc.pt/conteudos/entradas-do...
March 20, 2022
I am really surprised that I never heard of Lidia Jorge before, as I realise she is a well-respected author of many acclaimed novels. This book was described somewhere as a Portuguese version of some sort of Elena Ferrante's trilogy (which Ialso haven't read...), and this is maybe a good way to think of Jorge in terms of fame and talent.
We follow the life of Milene Leandro, a member of the wealthy Leandro family - the mayor's niece, an heiress to the Leandro canning business - as her grandmother Regina dies suddenly, and her life becomes interwoven with the Matas, Regina's tenants, who find Milene disoriented after the death occurs when her whole family - numerous uncles and aunts - is away. The Matas, who emigrated from Cape Verde, see Milene with a kindness and compassion that her own family lacks; they look after 'the white girl' while her family comes up with a complex rota to make sure someone stays with her at all time. Milene is odd - at thirty, her best friend is Violante, a sixteen year old girl. She calls her cousin who lives in the States daily and leaves long voicemails on his answering machine, even though he never answers and never calls back. It is a long and slow novel but everything comes together, and the perversity, racism and contempt of the Leandros become more and more apparent at every page.
The translation, by Margaret Jill Costa and Annie McDermott, is stunning - beautifully written, smooth, just perfect.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
We follow the life of Milene Leandro, a member of the wealthy Leandro family - the mayor's niece, an heiress to the Leandro canning business - as her grandmother Regina dies suddenly, and her life becomes interwoven with the Matas, Regina's tenants, who find Milene disoriented after the death occurs when her whole family - numerous uncles and aunts - is away. The Matas, who emigrated from Cape Verde, see Milene with a kindness and compassion that her own family lacks; they look after 'the white girl' while her family comes up with a complex rota to make sure someone stays with her at all time. Milene is odd - at thirty, her best friend is Violante, a sixteen year old girl. She calls her cousin who lives in the States daily and leaves long voicemails on his answering machine, even though he never answers and never calls back. It is a long and slow novel but everything comes together, and the perversity, racism and contempt of the Leandros become more and more apparent at every page.
The translation, by Margaret Jill Costa and Annie McDermott, is stunning - beautifully written, smooth, just perfect.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
December 24, 2022
Most reviews of this, and there are many, mention its serious themes of colonialism, racism, immigration, anticapitalism and so on, or refer to it as a Romeo and Juliet romance, or give prominence to all the awards Lidia Jorge has won. To me, it's mostly about voice. The narrator focuses narrowly: on the thought processes of Portuguese orphan Milene, or on the dreams of the Cape Verdean mother Felicia Mata, or on the menu of a Leandro family dinner party. Meanwhile the big events of the novel are sketchily described or left to the reader to work out.
It's obvious early on that Milene is different, and I thought the disconnections of the prose were meant to reflect that, but the epilogue is supposedly written by a different character and yet equally odd. What is Jorge trying to say here? Everyone is peculiar? Maybe.
I don't speak Portuguese, but I thought the translation was superb. That said, the novel is a lot of work to get through. I saw one review that compared it to Elena Ferrante's novels, and there are definitely similarities. I've been to Lisbon and Cascais and it was quite interesting, but somewhat depressing, to read about modern residents of the seacoast of Portugal.
It's obvious early on that Milene is different, and I thought the disconnections of the prose were meant to reflect that, but the epilogue is supposedly written by a different character and yet equally odd. What is Jorge trying to say here? Everyone is peculiar? Maybe.
I don't speak Portuguese, but I thought the translation was superb. That said, the novel is a lot of work to get through. I saw one review that compared it to Elena Ferrante's novels, and there are definitely similarities. I've been to Lisbon and Cascais and it was quite interesting, but somewhat depressing, to read about modern residents of the seacoast of Portugal.
February 6, 2025
At times this novel feels like a folk song, a ballad with repeating refrains: “It was an ordinary love.” At times I felt impatient with the main character, who is often too passive and too anxious to please. (Although the real reason for her behavior is made clear late in the novel.) What I liked most about this novel is the picture it paints of a society still struggling with its colonial past in a modern world divided by class. This theme is expressed in the lives of two families: the wealthy Leandros, former owners of a fish-packing factory, and the immigrant Mata family from Cape Verde, who live in the former factory. While some readers might find the pacing of this novel a little slow, I was drawn into it right away, eager to see how the unlikely romance at the heart of the story (between white Portuguese Melene and black Cape Verdean Antonino) would develop and whether it would even succeed in the end.
January 6, 2023
I received this boon from a Goodreads giveaway. I believe experiences and items come into my reach through fate, and the timing of this book being sent to me is impeccable.
The story itself revolves around a young women who's experiencing a traumatic event in her life alone, but with the help of new friends she is able to heal and actually grow. This book brought out a lot of angry emotions in me, mainly because the main character is treated very unfairly by her own family. On the other hand,, this is exactly what I liked most about the story, because you can't completely dislike any of the characters because they still demonstrate good qualities.
However, the ending in my opinion felt rushed and unsubstantiated. I'm upset there wasn't retribution for what the main character had to go through! Milene deserved so much better!
The story itself revolves around a young women who's experiencing a traumatic event in her life alone, but with the help of new friends she is able to heal and actually grow. This book brought out a lot of angry emotions in me, mainly because the main character is treated very unfairly by her own family. On the other hand,, this is exactly what I liked most about the story, because you can't completely dislike any of the characters because they still demonstrate good qualities.
However, the ending in my opinion felt rushed and unsubstantiated. I'm upset there wasn't retribution for what the main character had to go through! Milene deserved so much better!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2025
Tal como acontece com as melhores coisas da vida, e com a arte em particular, muitas vezes é necessário um esforço inicial para entrar e encontrar algo de novo que mais tarde se vem a revelar surpreendente. Também acontece isso com os melhores livros. Nem sempre nos agarram à primeira e é necessário fazer um esforço para entrar e agarrar o ritmo. Mas a partir daí é um processo gratificante e absolutamente recompensador.
A Lídia Jorge conta aqui aquilo que poderá ser considerada uma história de amor relativamente banal e que nas mãos de outro não passaria disso. Mas com ela este é um romance profundo, escrito de uma forma muito original e absolutamente arrebatador. Após o primeiro terço de leitura já lhe tinha dado cinco estrelas. No final poderia ajustar para seis.
A Lídia Jorge conta aqui aquilo que poderá ser considerada uma história de amor relativamente banal e que nas mãos de outro não passaria disso. Mas com ela este é um romance profundo, escrito de uma forma muito original e absolutamente arrebatador. Após o primeiro terço de leitura já lhe tinha dado cinco estrelas. No final poderia ajustar para seis.
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