A Vida Sem Ti

by Tânia Ganho

Ana is 27, has a long history of boyfriends and no desire to get married and have a baby. But when she meets Richard, a man twenty one years older than her, divorced and the father of two small children, she packs her bags without thinking twice and moves to London, certain that she's found the love of her life. She leaves behind a job at the University, a family who loves her, a twin brother who needs her and, above all, her independence. When she arrives in England, she discovers that life as an immigrant is not the adventure she expected and that playing the mother of other people's children is not an easy game. A tragedy puts an end to her small daily dramas and shows that we should never take life for granted...

246 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Tânia Ganho was born in Coimbra, in 1973, and starting writing at an early age. When she was 12, she won a national literary competition, "Ler Melhor para Viver Melhor", but it was only in 2005 that she decided to publish her first novel, "A Vida Sem Ti" ("Life Without You", Oficina do Livro), followed by "Cuba Libre" (Oficina do Livro, 2007), "A Lucidez do Amor" ("The War Wife", Porto Editora, 2010) , "A Mulher-Casa" ("La Femme-Maison", Porto Editora, 2012), and "Apneia" (Casa das Letras, 2020), a disturbing story about domestic violence and child abuse.

"Apneia" was semifinalist of the Oceanos Prize and finalist of the Bertrand Prize for Best Portuguese Novel of the Year. In 2021, Tânia Ganho won a six-month literary grant from the Ministry of Culture in order to write her next novel, set in Lisbon and in a wolf conservation centre.

In 2012, she won the Cidade de Araçatuba Brazilian Prize for best international short-story.

Tânia Ganho taught translation as guest lecturer at the University of Coimbra and has been working as a literary translator for the past two decades. She has translated authors such as Angela Davis, Maya Angelou, Amor Towles, Alice Walker, Leïla Slimani, Rachel Cusk, Chimamanda Adichie, David Lodge, Hervé Le Tellier, among many others.

She is regularly invited to participate in literary festivals and to give talks on translation and writing.

author photograph ©Luis Carvalhal

Reviews

[Rosa Ramôa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completamente rendida à escrita da Tânia!
Venham mais...
"Quem não lê não pensa, e quem não pensa será para sempre um servo."
Nem mais*

[Leonor Lopes · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Silvana Martins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Numa escrita muito cuidada e limpa, fui acompanhando os desafios e os conflitos internos da Ana sem nunca me sentir perto dela ou conectada. Era apenas uma leitora espetadora que assistia de forma passiva e pouco envolvida ao desenrolar das situações que iam pautando o quotidiano desta mulher.

Opinião completa: https://pordetrasdaspalavras.blogs.sa...

[Maria João · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fez-me lembrar a Sally Rooney em pior e sem tanta maluqueira. Diria que a parte da manipulação deve ter sido um treino para o Apneia, ou então esta senhora gosta muito do tema. A quase ausência do gémeo na primeira parte torna difícil compreender o esmagamento da dor na segunda.

No fim ficou-me a sensação de de um remate um bocadinho à bruta. Mas já no Apneia fiquei com a mesma ideia...