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193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
Impossible not to notice that face. Such a characteristic, round face with those huge eyes and cheeks. A disabled girl – or boy? Hard for Marius to tell. At first glance it looked like a girl, certainly – how old, maybe fifteen, sixteen? – but later, if you took a better look at him/her, you’d think it was a lad – but no, a girl.
Probably capable of identifying the more common foods, capable of separating objects of different sizes, and different colors – but many of them would be somewhere else entirely, close to some other perverse situation that seemed quite pleasant to them, and always smiling, with that smile that is seductive and so naïve.
He tells Hanna the story of Hansel and Gretel, the two children who, so as not to get lost, leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind them.
Hanna likes the story and Marius, falling quiet, once again leafs through the small index cards with the instructional stages for children with learning disabilities. Who could have left this thing in Hanna’s hands? Hanna is looking for her father; most likely somebody would be looking for her.
and so i likewise tried—and of this i am ashamed—to wave as if my hand really was the hand of a good man; deep down, that's sometimes the only reason we're alive: just to accept what is happening, and move on.the breadth of gonçalo m. tavares' storytelling never fails to impress, adept as he so evidently is writing within different forms about so many disparate subjects. from his masterful kingdom series to his book-length epic poem to the lively, comical neighborhood series, the angolan-born portuguese author brims with talent (and prolificity).
"you see, my friend? everything is in order. it's not a question of running away, of not wanting to know. it's about maintaining one's direction. an individual direction. and that's the only reason we hold out. that's why i'm here. and i've already shown you that on the same day my grandfather died, my father picked up the series. it's not about indifference or a lack of connection to the outside—it's just about continuing, simply continuing."