Un día más con vida

by Ryszard Kapuściński, Agata Orzeszek Sujak (Translator)

Segunda mitad del siglo XX: allí donde estalla una guerra o una revolución, donde se produce un golpe de Estado o hay un imperio que se desmorona, casi seguro que transcurren ante ese excepcional testigo de la historia in statu nascendi que es Ryszard Kapuscinski quien, en 1976, escribe Un día más con vida, que –junto con muchos lectores– considera su mejor obra. La revolución de los claveles anuncia el fin del colonialismo portugués y fija la proclamación de la independencia de Angola para el 11 de noviembre de 1975. Tres meses antes, Kapuscinski se instala en Luanda, donde asiste al «éxodo blanco»: observa cómo van abandonando el país médicos e ingenieros, bomberos, basureros y policías, corresponsales extranjeros y enviados especiales... Incluso los perros. Mientras, en su avance hacia la capital, la guerra por el poder en el futuro Estado soberano se recrudece por momentos, sembrando el caos, la desolación y la muerte.

Cuando está a punto de despegar el último avión y zarpa el último barco, se necesitan grandes dosis de valor –o de insensatez– para tomar la decisión de quedarse allí hasta la fecha señalada. Kapuscinski la toma: se quedará hasta el final. No porque sea un héroe o un loco, sino porque su innata curiosidad de periodista y el deseo –tan característico de él– de verlo todo con sus propios ojos para luego contar la verdad de lo vivido resultan más fuertes que el miedo a morir de un balazo (o por deshidratación). Un día más con vida, el más personal y literario de sus libros, se aleja mucho de lo que identificamos como relato de un reportero. Se trata más bien de un diario íntimo, escrito por un ser humano al límite de sus fuerzas, abrumado por su soledad y consciente de su indefensión ante la amenaza de muerte que se cierne sobre su cabeza. Al igual que sobre las cabezas de tantos angoleños, soldados y civiles, que protagonizan el libro.

«Lección de periodismo y de maravillosa literatura» (J. Estefanía, El País).

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, History, Angola, Journalism, Travel, Polish Literature

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Ryszard Kapuściński debuted as a poet in Dziś i jutro at the age of 17 and has been a journalist, writer, and publicist. In 1964 he was appointed to the Polish Press Agency and began traveling around the developing world and reporting on wars, coups and revolutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe; he lived through twenty-seven revolutions and coups, was jailed forty times, and survived four death sentences. During some of this time he also worked for the Polish Secret Service, although little is known of his role.

See also Ryszard Kapuściński Prize

Reviews

[Sophie Heawood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought a Polish journalist's first-hand account of civil war in Angola in the 1970s would be so beautifully written that I'd wake up in the night, turn the light on and have to finish the book, but it had me gripped like that. Am now an utter convert to Kapuscinski's writing about Africa. Astonishing.

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

یک روز دیگر از زندگی را می توان نخستین جلد از سه گانه ماجراجویانه ریشارد کاپوشچینسکی روزنامه نگار پرآوازه لهستانی دانست که به شرح فجایعی که در جنگ داخلی در آنگولا دیده پرداخته ، او در کتاب بعدی امپراتور و بازی امپراتور زمانه پر رنج هایله سلاسی آخرین امپراتور اتیوپی را بیان کرده و در کتاب سوم یعنی شاهنشاه ، او آفریقا را رها کرده و منطقه بحران آفرین دیگر یعنی خاورمیانه و اتقلاب ایران را شرح داده است .
روش کار کاپوشچینسکی در تمامی این کتاب ها ، به جای بیان تاریخ و روایت اعداد که البته هرعددی هم داستان فردی ایست ، به شرح آنچه که خود دیده و مشاهدات و گفتگوهای او با مردم عادی در خیابان ، هتل ، بیمارستان و حتی سربازان و یا درجه داران ارتش پرداخته و آنچه جنگ بر سر این مردمان آورده را بازگو کرده است ، او در مقام یک خبرنگار جنگی همان کاری را کرده که پیش تر اوریانا فالاچی در زندگی ، جنگ و دیگر هیچ و سپس بعد از او لینزی آداریو در این کار من است کرده اند.
سقوط رژیم دیکتاتوری سالازاردر پرتغال و تصمیم دولت جدید برای ترک آنگولا ، خلا قدرتی در آنگولا وجود آورد و تلاش گروه و قبایل مختلف برای کسب قدرت ، زمینه ساز جنگ داخلی طولانی شد که در پایان صدها هزار کشته به جا گذاشت . کاپوشچینسکی در زمانی به آنگولا رسید که هزاران اروپایی و سفید پوست برای حفظ جان خود تلاش می کنند که خود را از لواندا ، پایتخت جنگ زده آنگولا با هر وسیله ممکن خارج و خود را به مکان امنی برسانند . کاپوشچینسکی تصاویری آخر الزمانی از فرودگاه و جاده های شلوغ و پایتخت خالی از سکنه نشان داده که به لطف جنگهای تمام نشدنی برای بشر امروز چندان هم ناآشنا و عجیب نیست .
ماجراجویی های کاپوشچینسکی با سفر های دیوانه وار او در دل جنگ داخلی ادامه دارد ، مشاهدات او جاده های پر از اجساد و فقر و نابودی مردمی را روایت می کند که همیشه فقیر و درمانده بوده اند ، زبان بانتو ، زبانی که انبوهی از مردم در جنوب آفریقا را در بر می گیرد زمان آینده ندارد ، چون اصولا واژه آینده مفهومی در آنگولا و آفریقا ندارد .
نویسنده اگرچه تصویر بسیار ملموسی از یک جنگ داخلی نشان داده اما فرقی میان رنج و درد جسم با روح نگذاشته است ، آنچه در کتاب او می بینیم تنها و تنها زجر جسم است و رنج و سوز روان نادیده گرفته شده است .در پایان باید گفت که کتاب کاپوشچینسکی فاصله زیادی با شاهکار این سبک یعنی زندگی ، جنگ و دیگر هیچ نوشته اوریانا فالاچی دارد .

[Daren · Rating 5 out of 5]

1975, and with independence declared for Angola by the Portuguese, Angola prepares. How does Angola prepare? With a further chapter of civil war.

The MPLA (Popular Movement for Liberation of Angola) led by Agostinho Neho, and backed by Russia and Cuba) is defending Luanda, the capital, against the FNLA (National Front for Liberation) led by Holden Roberto, backed by Zaire and UNITA (National Union for Total Independence of Angola) led by Jonas Savimbi, backed by South Africa.

The front is constantly moving, all sides are Confusão.P118

Confusão is a good word, a synthesis word, and everything word. In Angola it has its own specific sense and is literally untranslatable. To simplify things: Confusão means confusion, a mess, a state of anarchy and disorder. Confusão is a situation created by people, but in the course of creating it they lose control and direction, becoming victims of confusão themselves. There is a sort of fatalism in confusão.

Ryszard Kapuściński is a long term foreign correspondent, based in Luanda, who lives day to day or week to week. He travels with the MPLA officers, or truckloads of troops, with the Cuban mercenaries or in shared cars. He visits the fronts (which are constantly moving) and cities (which change hands frequently). Every roadblock is potentially the end, if it is not a MPLA roadblock... - but all the soldiers wear the same ragtag uniforms, made up of bits a pieces of clothing, making it near impossible to tell who is who.
P76- MPLA's Comandante Farrusco -

"In Europe," he said, "they taught me that a front is trenches and barbed wire, which form a distinct and visible line. A front on a river, along a road or from village to village. You can trace it on a map with a pencil or point to it on the terrain. But here the front is everywhere or nowhere. There is too much land and too few people for a front line to exist... This is a war of ambushes. On any road, at any place, there can be a front. You can travel the whole country and come back alive, or you can die a metre from where you're standing. There are no principles, no methods. Everything comes down to luck and happenstance. This war is a real mess. Nobody knows just where they stand."

I hadn't realised this was his first book, published in 1976. This edition contained some updates in the last section - a timeline of Angola, through to 2000 (it's a 2001 Penguin edition).

Excellent, although I can't believe the risks Kapuściński took on for his reportage.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Day of Life is beautiful, surreal, and tragic reportage from Angola at the bloody birth of that nation that is also imbued with a non-grating sense of something close to whimsy. The country dropped as a colony by the fleeing Portuguese is torn between three armies and their allies fighting a proxy war (Cuba, Zaire(now DRC,), South Africa.) Filled with wonderful described moments and written with sense of atmosphere and perfect details. The fine moments are almost too many to point out and cruel spoilage for future readers to describe, but the crate city, the migratory pack of forgotten dogs, the culture of checkpoints, the survival of city depending on the one man who knows how to repair the water pumps, and the discussions on what constitutes a “front” in the war are some of particular favorite ones of mine. This reads closer to a novel or poetry (some people question Kapuscinski’s truth) than war reportage, and it earns comparison to Hemingway, Calvino, Kafka, Hunter s Thompson, and Robert Stone. That disparate list should showcase the beauty, power, and uniqueness of Kapuscinski’s vision and style. Truth of not, Another Day of Life is a powerful piece on a forgotten war and a forgotten country.

[Ярослава]

Ришард Капусцінський був воєнкором на війні в Анголі - і в якийсь момент, я так розумію, чи не єдиним на всю країну, за що його дуже там шанують. Проблема в тому, що якщо ви нічого не знали про війну в Анголі до цього (як, на мій сором, я) - ви після книжки не знатимете більше, інформативну функцію виконує тільки післямова. Натомість сама книжка - це не про війну в Анголі з усією її конкретикою, а радше:
(а) про сміливого воєнкора - погляньте, який наш герой відважний, погляньте, в яку халепу готовий вляпатися, щоб розповісти про свої авантюри світові!
(б) про досить узагальнених людей у біді, torture porn, щоб полоскотати нерви глядача з безпечніших країн - що відбувається з людьми, коли навколо розпадається світ? чи трималися б ми так само добре, якби війна прийшла під наші двері? (відповідь, імовірно, так, бо життя всюди триває попри війну, якось там вигрібаєш).
Напевно, до того, як в Україні почалася війна, цей конструкт, де увагу перетягує зовнішній спостерігач, а про місцеву ситуацію розказано обмаль, не здавався б мені аж таким проблематичним, а зараз здається, звісно. При цьому в Капусцінського дуже добре око на деталі, і красивих деталей багато. Наприклад:

Жу-Жу – політичний комісар генерального штабу армії MPLA і щоденно о восьмій вечора виголошує по радіо донесення про ситуацію на фронтах ангольської війни. Донесення ці звучать патетично, оскільки в їх писання Жу-Жу вкладає всю свою душу і почуття. [...] Якщо ситуація сприятлива, донесення Жу-Жу короткі й спокійні. Факти говорять самі за себе, в добрих речах не треба переконувати. Якщо ж однак щось починає псуватися, якщо починає бути зле, донесення стають розлогими й заплутаними, у них з’являється безліч прикметників, множаться похвали на власну адресу й епітети, що висміюють противника. Я йду вулицям Луанди, і через відчинені вікна до мене доноситься голос Жу-Жу. На такій віддалі не чути слів, але оскільки він говорить тільки хвилю, я знаю, що все добре, що вистояли, що щось здобули. Учора ж я пройшов половину міста, а Жу-Жу все говорив і говорив. Щось вочевидь рвалося на фронті. На мене накотилася тисяча сумнівів: чи зможуть утриматися, чи переможуть?

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

▫️ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE by Ryszard Kapuściński, translated from the Polish by William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand, 1976/2001.

1975 Luanda, Angola.
Independence from centuries of Portuguese colonialism.
Cold War proxy war / Angolan Civil War.
Confusão.

Kapuściński was one of the only journalists on the ground in Luanda as Angola's Civil War climaxed. In ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE, he snapshots the multicultural society that is Angola, sending reports back to his news service in Warsaw via Telex.

The writing is fractious and surreal. No doubt mirroring the events happening in real time. There is a slew of acronyms - the various political entities that formed: the socialist MPLA backed by USSR and Cuba, the joint UNITA and FNLA that have multinational (capitalist) ties, primarily through the CIA in the US.

Narratives + clips from people on the street, local journalists, and then Kapuściński ventures to the active southern front, where war / genocide is raging. He meets an MPLA soldier that serves as a sigil - Carlota. She is a young Black Angolan idealist with big plans. All are immediately taken with her zest and purpose. Another "larger than life" character from the book is Farrusco, the Portuguese 'defector' who joins the Angolans in their fight for independence.

🎬 ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE was adapted into a film in 2018. Using both animation & real interviews with the book's cast, the film truly brought the book together for me. Seeing the scenes was very powerful and "clicked" better than the book did for me. Beautiful animation that viewed like a graphic novel, illuminating words - and the "after" the book words by the interviewees was also fantastic.

Daresay, I liked the film more than the book - but of course, the book was the complete source material... So they do work together well.

Recommended if you're interested in journalism, post-colonialism, history, and the Cold War in southern Africa.

[Justo Martiañez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de mis libros preferidos del maestro Kapuscinski. Inclasificable como todos, nos narra con su estilo único y genial los últimos días del colonialismo portugués en Angola. El caos en el que se ven envueltos los que quieren salir, el caos en el que viven los que se quedan y que dará lugar a uno de los conflictos más largos y sangrientos que se han vivido en África.
Kapuscinsky nos narra el día a día en el que vive, donde se entremezclan el miedo, la incertidumbre, la improvisación, que, como en muchas otras ocasiones, le lleva a jugarse literalmente la vida para poder enterarse en primera persona de la situación real del país y transmitirlo al mundo.
La forma en que el autor es capaz de visualizar la realidad social e histórica de un país y ponerlo todo ello en el contexto de los acontecimientos que está viviendo y que nos está contando, es lo que hace único a este autor. Su visión privilegiada, es fundamental para comprender muchos de los acontecimientos que han sucedido, sobre todo en África, en la segunda mitad del siglo XX.

[Nelson Zagalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

É uma ótima leitura para quem como eu conhece pouco sobre a guerra em Angola, porque funciona como espécie de relato documental do período que mediou entre a saída dos portugueses de Angola e o início da República de Angola (1974-1975). Não é um livro de digestão fácil, coloca o dedo sobre muitas feridas, com culpas de todos os quadrantes.

Aquilo que talvez mais me impressionou, ou não, foi o facto de um país tão distante e num tempo ainda tão pouco global, estar a mercê de tantos interesses internacionais e ideológicos, tudo apenas e só porque sob o seu solo existia ouro negro. É muito triste verificar que uma das regiões mais ricas do planeta não se consegue erguer, não por falta de edificação de quem lá vive, mas porque a quem está do lado de fora isso é o que menos interessa.

[imagem]
"E aí vi montanhas impressionantes de caixotes, empilhados até alturas perigosas, sem qualquer sinal de movimento, abandonados, como se não pertencessem a ninguém." p.37

Para nós, portugueses, o livro tem particular interesse, porque escrito por um jornalista polaco sem interesses diretos no território, oferecendo-nos uma leitura dos impactos da nossa presença no país, e que nos obriga a refletir sobre aquilo que fomos e somos enquanto nação. Deixo algumas linhas:

“Este país está em guerra há quinhentos anos, desde que os portugueses chegaram. Eles precisavam de escravos para o tráfico, para exportar para o Brasil, para as Caraíbas e para o outro lado do mar em geral. De toda a África, Angola foi a região que maior número de escravos forneceu para esses países. Por isso é que chamam ao nosso país a Mãe Negra do Novo Mundo. Metade dos camponeses brasileiros, cubanos e dominicanos descende de angolanos. Esta terra foi em tempos um país populoso, estabelecido, e depois esvaziou-se, como se tivesse havido uma praga. Angola continua deserta até aos dias de hoje. Centenas de quilómetros e nem uma única pessoa, como no Sara. As guerras de escravos continuaram durante trezentos anos ou mais. Era um bom negócio para os nossos chefes. As tribos mais fortes atacavam as mais fracas, faziam prisioneiros e punham-nos à venda. Por vezes, tinham de o fazer, para pagar os impostos aos portugueses. O preço de um escravo era determinado de acordo com a qualidade dos seus dentes. Eles arrancavam os dentes ou limavam-nos com pedras, para terem um valor de mercado inferior. Tanto sofrimento para serem livres. De geração em geração, as tribos viviam no receio umas das outras, viviam no ódio. As campanhas militares realizavam-se na época seca, porque as movimentações eram mais fáceis. Quando as chuvas terminavam, toda gente sabia que começariam os tempos da desgraça e de caça às pessoas. Na época das chuvas, quando o país se afogava em água e lamas, as hostilidades cessavam. Mas os chefes ocupavam o tempo a magicar novas campanhas e a arrebanhar novas forças. Tudo isto é recordado por toda a gente até aos dias de hoje, porque, no nosso modo de pensar, o passado ocupa mais espaço do que o futuro.", Kapuściński, “Mais um Dia de Vida - Angola 1975”, Tinta-da-China, Lisboa, p.54

[imagem]
Fotografia da escultura "Nkyinkim" de Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, instalada no The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, inaugurado em Abril 2018 em Montgomery, Alabama, EUA.

Publicado no VI: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jun 3, 6pm ~~ Review asap.

Jun 4, 1130am ~~ I could never be a foreign correspondent. Just reading about the author's time in Angola in 1975 was nerve-wracking, I cannot imagine actually living through it, or having the desire to experience such tension in order to let the world know what is happening. I understand the concept of that idea, but could never do it myself, which makes me admire RK for what he did with his life. He spent most of his career in Africa at a period when colonial times were ending and devastating civil wars were starting almost everywhere.

I was a high school student during the time frame of this book. I remember hearing about Angola but I was involved in high school stuff and never learned any more than what I heard from Walter Cronkite on the evening news. So Angola to me was just like the Ethiopia of an earlier book by RK: a place I heard about but never really knew about. It seems odd to have lived through such history without realizing what exactly was going on in the world, but I suppose that was the blessing of youth at the time: wrapped up in my own little bubble, never thinking that I should learn more about what was happening in the bigger world, more than mere headlines could tell me.

So this book showed me what had happened in Angola while I was caught up in worrying about classes, clubs, and boys. It wasn't pretty, and it was very confusing. There were three factions in the struggle, and I could never remember who was who. RK says it was very hard to tell which man with a gun was on which side, because no one had any set uniforms. The stress of passing through checkpoints was horrendous; a person never knew which side had set up the checkpoint or if it had been perhaps set up by bandits. If you, as a traveler, said the wrong word in greeting, you might be shot after being forced to dig your own grave. I don't know how RK had the nerve to be there at all, let alone to try and get out of the city in order to see for himself what was taking place in the final months before independence.

His home base was Luanda, and his descriptions of life in the city were quite vivid, and during the final days, when he talked about being in contact with his press agency in Poland through the teletype machine, I was almost more stressed than he was with the fear of any soldier coming in and hauling him off to jail. That did happen once, he had to cut off communication immediately and could not return to it until the next appointed time, which by then was twice a day, morning and night, just in case anything happened either in the war or to him.

What surprised me when I read the wiki article about Angola after finishing the book was that the civil war lasted from independence in 1975 all the way to 2002, and the country is not doing all that great even now. I have to wonder, as I so often do, how different history might have been without the European colonization that jolted so many part of the world out of their own path and into a forced march to someone else's tune. We will never know, but I think the scars left by the colonizers will never disappear.

[Jonfaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a Cuban who arrives in Angola, neither the climate, nor the landscape, nor the food are strange. For a Brazilian, even the language is the same.

Another Day is erratic, passages of tedium and sorrow punctuated by violence. There is a gnawing post-colonial fear that the natives are going to correct the historical damage. When is the last plane back to Europe? A parallel city of crates is built, all the while every ear is poised, listening for artillery as the rebels make their way to Luanda. Forget the capitol, Angola is a thirsty country. No one fights in the heat of the day. They take off on weekends as well. The author reports his dispatches to Warsaw. The world waits, even as the Portuguese pack all the kitsch which constituted their lives and haul it to the airport. There are many ellipses in this book. There is also death and more significantly fear. Terror appears to be the operating principle. The chronology at the book's end is dispassionate, even if the consequences were so damning.

[César Lasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review em português, followed by review in English

EM PORTUGUÊS: Situado na Angola desgarrada pela guerra, nos meses prévios à declaração da independência, isto é também parte da história de Portugal, do imenso êxodo de meio milhão de Portugueses e dos que lá ficaram e decidiram abraçar a nova nacionalidade. E tudo, com o selo característico do sempre interessante Kapuściński.

IN ENGLISH: Set in a chaotic and war-torn Angola during the three months previous to the declaration of independence, this is also part of the history of Portugal.
The read is easy even to those not acquainted with the specifities of that African country, and full of interest.

[Antonio Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

En tres partes de ritmo muy ágil y estilo diferenciado, Kapuscinski narra, como corresponsal en Angola, con un enfoque entre reportaje periodístico y diario personal, los primeros meses de la guerra civil de 1975, justo después de la independencia de Portugal.

El lenguaje es muy sencillo, directo y contundente, y consigue exponer de forma breve una crónica de la guerra, sin perder su tono en primera persona, vulnerable y sobrepasado por la violencia.

En la primera parte "Cerramos la ciudad" con apenas unas páginas retrata el colapso de Luanda y la huida masiva de portugueses tras la independencia. "Luanda moría de una manera diferente que nuestras ciudades en los años de guerra". Los puertos llenos de gente que huye con todo lo que tiene vaciando la ciudad: "La ciudad salió a navegar por el mundo en busca de sus moradores"

En la segunda parte "Escenas del frente" narra el viaje con el MPLA (Movimiento Popular de Liberación de Angola) en plena guerra civil, "...se alimentan de la ignorancia del pueblo y pagan grandes cantidades para que la guerra entre tribus se prolongue hasta el infinito...". Aparece al final la frase que da título al libro. El lenguaje es más descriptivo, a ritmo de crónica de viaje, muy ágil. Se trata de sobrevivir en la guerra.

La tercera parte, "Cablegramas", introduce reflexiones sobre la dimensión política de la guerra y la perplejidad en la ciudad a la espera de los carros blindados antes de la independencia, la transformación de contienda interna de guerrillas a guerra entre ejércitos con la agresión del ejército de Sudáfrica a un lado y la ayuda del ejército cubano a otro.

Lectura muy interesante además de amena, se lee en un momento, y como curiosidad me ha sorprendido que terminara en 2002!, y unos cuantos años más para el desarme y desmovilización....

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this about 25 years ago along with Ryszard Kapuściński’s other books. At the time it was my favourite of his, and it didn’t disappoint on re-reading.

As the blurb states, Kapuściński described this as “a very personal book, about being alone and lost” and that is part of why this book is such a moving read. In 1975 he was the sole foreign correspondent of the official Polish press agency. He went to Angola to cover the lead-up to the country’s independence and the accompanying civil war involving the pro-Soviet MPLA and two pro-Western factions.

The book is divided into 3 main parts. In the first, Kapuściński describes the Portuguese exodus from Luanda, and about trying to live in a city that no longer has any police, doctors, pharmacists, firemen, garbage collectors, or anyone else to allow the city to function. He does so with astonishing vividness. In the second, he describes being at the front with MPLA troops.

“…the image of war is not communicable – not by the pen, or the voice, or the camera. War is a reality only to those stuck in its bloody, dreadful, filthy insides…”

True enough I’m sure, but I think Kapuściński gets as close to it as anyone, through a series of beautifully observed individual incidents, that on both readings left me in a deeply reflective mood.

In the third section the author is back in Luanda, now post-independence, trying to be a journalist and make sense of a war that has expanded to include South African and Cuban troops. He uses copies of his telex messages at the time to convey the drama and tension of being in a city under siege. If you haven’t read Kapuściński before, his books are a unique mix of history, reportage, politics, and some of the sharpest observation you will encounter in any non-fiction. The amateur reviewer that I am can’t do justice to his books. I can only recommend that you read them, and this one most of all.

[mohsen pourramezani · Rating 3 out of 5]

ریشارد کاپوشچینسکی خبرنگار لهستانی است که پس از فروپاشی دیکتاتوریِ سالازار (دیکتاتور پرتغال) در سال 1975 و استقلالِ آنگولا به این کشورِ آفریقایی می‌رود و مشاهداتش را از زمان خروج پرتقالی‌ها و شروع جنگ داخلیِ آنگولا می‌نویسد.
اولین کتابی بود که در مورد آنگولا می‌خواندم. نویسنده توضیحات و توصیفات خوبی از وضعیت آنگولا در آن سال‌ها داده بود. دوست داشتم بیشتر حسِ پلشتی جنگ را توی کتاب منتقل می‌کرد اما شاید همان‌طور که خودش گفته: «تصویر جنگ قابل انتقال نیست - نه با قلم نه با صدا نه با تصویر. جنگ واقعیت است، اما فقط برای آنهایی که درون میدان خونبار و سهمگین و پلشتش گرفتار شده‌اند.»
http://choobalef.blog.ir/1395/04/19/%...

[John Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the authors other book is far better and he became a far better writer in the interim between these books, but he’s still a great font of information about the eruption of freedom in Africa after colonialism…and as a primer on the low IQ of Africans…

“inhabited by five million poor people, benighted illiterates incapable of operating”

“blacks from the clay huts haven’t tried to move in. The idea hasn’t crossed their minds. This might be the best explanation”

“Their less enlightened brothers—who are a dime a dozen—demand nothing for themselves, accepting their clay hut and bowl of manioc as the only world they will ever have”

The below is the most telling. I’ve watched videos on this. Many African tribes have no sense of the future…I used to take this as just some primitive-mysticism like some funky 60s hippie communards, but when you realize average IQ is about 70 the reason is far more prosaic…
“The Bantu language has no future tense; the concept of the future doesn’t exist for the Bantu people, they are not tormented by the thought of what will happen in a month, in a year”

[Pooriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

توی یک نیمکره‌ی زمین، آدم‌ها دارند خر و پف می‌کنند و از این دنده به آن دنده می‌شوند و همزمان، در آن یکی نیمکره‌، آدم‌ها کم‌کم پا می‌شوند، شیر می‌جوشانند، اصلاح می‌کنند و به صورتشان پودر می‌مالند. و بعد برعکس. آدم‌ها از خواب پا می‌شوند و فکر نمی‌کنند ممکن است آخرین روز زندگی‌شان آغاز شده باشد. احساسی معرکه، اما آن‌قدر طبیعی که کسی توجهی بهش نمی‌کند. در هر لحظه صدها، اگر نگوییم هزارها، ایستگاه رادیویی دارند کار می‌کنند و دریایی از کلمات را روانه‌ی آنتن می‌کنند. جالب است شنیدن این‌که دنیا چطور مباحثه می‌کند، تهییج می‌کند، اغوا می‌کند؛ چطور تهدید می‌کند، چطور ظاهرسازی می‌کند و دروغ می‌گوید؛ چطور همه حق دارند و هیچ‌کس نمی‌خواهد صدای طرف دیگر را بشنود. همین الان کل دنیا نگران آنگولاست و این‌جا در پاریس، آن‌جا در لندن، قاهره و توکیو دارند درباره‌ی آنگولا حرف می‌زنند. دنیا چشم دوخته به صحنه‌ی نمایش عظیم نبرد و مرگ، صحنه‌ای که نهایتا تصور کردنش هم برایش سخت است، چون تصویر جنگ قابل انتقال نیست-نه با قلم نه با صدا نه با تصویر. جنگ واقعیت است، اما فقط برای آن‌هایی که درون میدان خونبار و سهمگین و پلشتش گرفتار شده‌اند. برای بقیه جنگ صفحاتی است توی کتاب، تصاویری روی پرده، و نه بیش‌تر.

[Adrián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otro capítulo de esa África convulsa del siglo XX que Kapuściński vivió en sus propias carnes. Esta vez, le toca el turno a Angola en los días previos a su independencia, que desembocaría en una guerra civil interminable.

Kapuściński se mueve como pez en el agua en esa difusa línea que separa la valentía de la insensatez, y de la que , asombrosamente, siempre sale indemne. De hecho, es en las situaciones de vida o muerte donde mejor aprovecha su talento.

Esta exposición, que le aleja de la seguridad del hotel y le acerca al frente de batalla, es la que le lleva a comprender de una manera tan lucida la filosofía de la gente de a pie, su modo de vida, y su razón de ser.

También resulta encomiable la serenidad con la que comunica los hechos más traumáticos, y la clarividencia para desmenuzar las intrigas políticas de cualquier parte del planeta, haciéndolas asequibles para todos.

Pese a todo, me queda la sensación de que la historia queda inconclusa, más allá de por razones obvias (este libro fue escrito en 1976, y la guerra acabó en 2002).

"...Ésta es una guerra de emboscadas. En cada camino, a cada paso, puede formarse un frente. Es tan posible recorrer este país de punta a punta y salir indemne como lo es morir abatido por una bala al dar un paso. Esto no se rige por ningún principio, ningún método. Todo depende de la suerte y de la casualidad..."

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, and I'm sure, also great translation.

This is a very sad story that can tear you up.

The next prisoner looks twelve. he says he's sixteen. He knows it is shameful to fight for the FNLA, but they told him that if he went to the front they would send him to school afterward. he wants to finish school because he wants to paint. if he could get paper and a pencil he could draw something right now. He could do a portrait. he also knows how to sculpt and would like to show his sculptures, which he left in Carmona. he has put his whole life into it and would like to study, and they told him that he will, if he goes to the front first. he knows how it works - in order to paint you ust first kill people, but he hasn't killed anyone.

And so I cried.

This is one of the reasons why I hardly complain about the state of my nation. It's bad, but as long as one is alive, it's alright. This book brings back some similar emotions I had after reading The Poisonwood Bible. I felt so hopeless and so desperate. Where is the light out of this?

[Shima · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب جالبی بود و تصویر واضحی از جنگ داشت، جنگ استقلال آنگولا از پرتغال. یک دعایی هم از كك، رهبر قبيله‌ى كريكاس، قبل نبرد سال ١٨٧٦ با افريكانسى‌ها نقل شده بود به اين مضمون:
"پروردگارا! با وجود دعاهاى بسيارمان به درگاه تو، داريم همين طور جنگ‌هايمان را مى‌بازيم. فردا باز نبردى در پيش داريم كه واقعا مهم است. با تمام توانى كه داريم، باز به يارى تو محتاجيم. براى همين مى‌خواهم درخواستى كنم: نبرد فردا سواى بقيه است. جای بچه ها نيست. پس ناگزيرم استدعا كنم پسرت را به يارى‌مان نفرستى و خودت بيايى."

[Andrew]

Normally, Kapuscinski doesn't stick to a single event across a book, but here, as in The Emperor, he documents, with precision, the downfall of a regime. And this is twice the account that The Emperor is, infinitely more hallucinatory, describing the insanity and fragmentation that accompanied the fall of one of Europe's last colonial projects in Africa, a poor and unstable country that had long been run by another poor and unstable country, before becoming the setting of one of the ugliest proxy conflicts of the Cold War. Some of Kapuscinski's finest work I've read yet.

[dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Svet sa prizerá veľkému predstaveniu vojny a smrti, ktoré si však môže iba slabo predstaviť, pretože obraz vojny nie je sprostredkovateľný. Ani perom, ani hlasom, ani kamerou. Vojna je realitou iba pre tých, čo spočívajú v jej zakrvavených, ohyzdných, špinavých útrobách. Pre iných je stranou v knihe, obrazom na obrazovke, nič viac."

[Данило Судин · Rating 4 out of 5]

Суперечливі враження. З одного боку, дратує те, що з першої ж статті Капущинський не переймається читачами: MPLA, FNLA, UNITA борються між собою, а читачам годі збагнути, хто це і що це. З іншого боку, деякі історії дуже людяні, деякі - дозволяють відчути атмосферу Анголи 1975 р. Але і тут частина - дуже метафоричні історії.

Структурно книга складається з 4 статей: "Замикаємо місто", "Фронтові сцени", "Депеші", "АВС". Перша - про міграцію португальців з Анголи. Історія, яка більше нагадує причту і мене дещо розохолодила читати далі. Але "Фронтові сцени" та "Депеші" - це вже історії з того часу та того місця. В них Капущинський не стає в позу пророка, що говорить притчами, а переповідає історії, що з ним трапилися. І вони людяні, хоча деколи і тут Капущинський наче каже: війна в Анголі - це гра у війну. Але ближче до кінця книги він вже собі такого не дозволяє.

А от "АВС" - це "буквар" про Анголу. Чому його не подати на початку? В ньому є вся необхідна інформація, щоб зрозуміти три попередні статті.

Осноіний клопіт цієї книги: вона написана в 1970-х для читачів, які знають, що ж там відбувається в Анголі. В 2015 р. очікувати такого ж знання контексту не випадає. А тому, попри "АВС", хотілося б вступної статті наукового редактора. Або післямови. Бо зрозуміти контекст з самих статей Капущинського - важко.

П.С. Найбільше дивує "АВС", яку Капущинський писав в 1970-х (там посилання на дані 1973 р.), але останні дві сторінки - дописані в 2000-х. Чому ж не дописати ще статтю?!

[Hamide meraj · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کشور یعنی آنگولا پانصد سال درگیر جنگ بوده از همان وقتی که پرتقالی ها امدند. برده لازم داشتند که صادر کنند به برزیل و کارائیب و سایر کشورها. در تمام افریقا آنگولا بیشترین تعداد برده را برای این کشورها صادر کرده. برای همین است که به کشور آنگولا می گویند مادر سیاه دنیای نو .
چنانکه تاریخ نگاران می گویند از مناطق محدود به مرزهاس آنگولا حدود 4 میلیون برده به امریکا واروپا و ... منتقل شده است.
بعضی آدم ها فکر میکنن جنگ یه زخم کوچیک خوشگله روی پا. اشتباه میکنن جنگ کله ای که خرد شده پاهایی که پودر میشن . ادم هایی که با دل و روده بیرون ریخته تو یه حلقه دارن سینه خیز میرن و آدمی که خیس ناپالمه اما هنوز زندس. جنگ احساستو از بین میبره مثلا یه کوبایی مجروح میبینی به پشت برش میگردونی و اون یه حرکتی میکنه. فکر میکنی میخواد روت اسلحه بکشه و برای همین بهش شلیک میکنی و میک��یش. ولی شلید فقط میخواسته یه عکسی از زنش در بیاره وبگه کمکم کن. اون وقت تو بهش شلیک کردی. فقط نمیخواستی خطر کنی. وقتی یه آدم به یه دویار متحرک انسانی شلیک میکنه.صورت ها رو نگاه نمیکنه و ادم هارو نگاه نمیکنه. فقط داره به هیبت های مبهمی شلیک میکنه. وبه هیچ چیز انسانی هم ربطشون نمیده.. وقتی صاف می ایستی جلوی کسی و باهاش میجنگی میبینی اون هم یه ادمیه درست مثله تو. ولی معمولا اینجور وقت ها زندگیت در خطره و باید بکشیش. قبل اینکه اون تورو بکشه.
کتابی راجع به استقلال انگولا. کتاب خوب بود. اما کاش یکم یه مقدمه ای برای امثال من که چیزی از انگولا نمیدونستیم قرار داده بودند .تا نصف کتاب گیج بودم کامل. کتاب دوم از نویسنده خبرنگار ریشار کاپوشچینسکی.

[Peiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب یک روز دیگر از زندگی از سری کتاب های تاریخی نشر ماهی هست که سری واقعا جذابی شده. کتاب در مورد جنگ داخلی آنگولا پس از اینکه پرتغال استقلال اونجا رو به رسمیت میشناسه هست و از زبان یک خبرنگار لهستانی که خودش اونجا حضور داشته. روایت ها خیلی خواندنی و گاهی تلخ

[Karolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeszcze nigdy nie czytałam reportażu (albo powieści realistycznej - kto przeczytał ten wie), przez który tak płynnie by mi się szło. Napisany jest genialnie, i pomimo ciężkiego tematu jakim jest wojna w Angoli, nie czułam się przytoczona.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rounded down (may round up...)

[Sheska · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in Angola for a couple of years during the first period of its civil war. I was just a kid and my family shielded me from any kind of mention of war but even at that age I knew that the rare distant rumblings and sudden bangs in the night were not thunder. Another Day of Life was my first return to that country. Even if you don’t care about Angola or its place in the history of the world, I really recommend this book. It is masterfully written, first chapter alone has this unforgettable depiction of a city within a city, which is both frenetic and languid at the same time, not many could’ve captured that atmosphere with such ease. But there is, of course, more, even for such a tiny tiny book. My only complaint with it is the scarcity of background information, but I can easily satisfy my curiosity elsewhere.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El  mundo contempla el gran espectáculo de lucha y muerte, cosas que le resultan difíciles de imaginar porque la imagen de la guerra es intransferible. No se puede transmitir ni con la pluma ni con la voz ni con la cámara. La guerra es una realidad sólo para aquellos que están apresados en su interior, sangriento, sucio y repugnante. Para otros no es sino una página en un libro o unas imágenes en una pantalla; nada más."

"Las personas desaparecen de nuestras vidas sin dejar rastro, total e irremediablemente, primero del mundo y luego de nuestra memoria."

Mi primer acercamiento a los libros del periodista polaco no ha podido ser mejor. Kapuscinski fue testigo de la guerra civil que se produjo en Angola en 1975 en el momento de la independencia de Portugal. Y esos primeros días de "confuçao" es lo que relata en este brevísimo pero intenso relato, entre el periodismo y la literatura.

[Vylivacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

не хапае такіх змястоўных, псіхозных, захапляльных кніжак

[Lorenzo Berardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago I listened in awe to an excerpt from 'Another Day of Life' on an Italian online radio focused on books. As those pages revolving around a sieged Luanda were beautiful and poignant, I got interested in adding up another Kapuscinski to my increasing lot.

Then I moved abroad and as I had read all of my Kapuscinskis in Italian translation purchasing one of his books in English didn't seem quite right.
Back to Italy for a stopover inbetween the UK and Poland I've finally bought the long-awaited book and promptly started to read it.

Now that I'm done with 'Another Day of Life' I must confess that I'm slightly disappointed by it. Unlike what happens in most of the reportage books by Kapuscinski, here I felt like something crucial was missing: clarity.
The reasons and the main forces behind the Civil War (following a long Independence War) in Angola the great Polish reporter followed and lived in during the 1970s are - to say the least - blurred and confusing for the readers of today.

In this respect I feel very much like your average Mr Brown / Kowalski / Rossi here.
I know where Angola is. I know the country used to be a Portuguese 'colony' and that was shamelessly used for centuries as a slave market. I've even heard that Luanda today is one of the most expensive cities in the world with the greatest gap you can imagine between wealthy nababs and poor locals. A Portuguese friend of mine told me that to many unemployed compatriots of his, Angola looks like the promised land, an Eldorado of easy (and often dirty) money. This way, scores of Portuguese people migrated to the former colony looking for a job they cannot find at home. So much for the ups and downs of history!

This is what an average reader buying 'Another Day of Life' by Kapuscinski might already know about Angola. The problem is that chances are the same Mr Brown / Kowalski / Rossi doesn't know anything at all about Angola between the 1960s and the 1970s. That's why I would have liked more explanations from dear old Ryszard concerning the purpose of and the difference between combatants belonging to MPLA, UNITA, FNLA and FLEC.
Unluckily Kapuscinsky - unlike what he did when writing about, say, Rwanda or Iran - relies too much on what his readers know about the whole bloody conflict in this book.

That's why I struggled with some parts of this book especially those in which the reporter goes to 'the front' where he meets up with Cuban soldiers dispatched to Angola by the Castro regime to give military support to one of the sides involved and faces South African forces deployed there for the same reason.

This criticism of mine doesn't affect the fact that Kapuscinski is always fantastic to read and that the pages about life in Luanda are magnificent and cliffhanging. There is also an interesting and heartbraking insight on a supposedly minor character like the young female soldier Carlotta whose death makes the Polish reporter wonder about the foolishness of a war where there cannot ultimately be any actual winner.