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Neighbours: The Story of a Murder
On the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid, Narguiss, who 'never wanted anything to do with politics', is more preoccupied with family problems than with the radio news of kidnappings and murders.
Nearby, Leia, Januário and their young daughter are caught up in the pleasure and security of finally finding a flat of their own, while Mena, who was once the beauty of her village, overhears her husband plotting murder.
Before dawn, these innocent people seeking to lead peaceful lives are thrown together in a vicious conspiracy to infiltrate and destabilise Mozambique.
Skilfully weaving together present events and age-old traditions through narrative 'snapshots', Lília Momplé gives us, in the drama of a few short hours, an insight into the consequences of Mozambique's complex history.
Nearby, Leia, Januário and their young daughter are caught up in the pleasure and security of finally finding a flat of their own, while Mena, who was once the beauty of her village, overhears her husband plotting murder.
Before dawn, these innocent people seeking to lead peaceful lives are thrown together in a vicious conspiracy to infiltrate and destabilise Mozambique.
Skilfully weaving together present events and age-old traditions through narrative 'snapshots', Lília Momplé gives us, in the drama of a few short hours, an insight into the consequences of Mozambique's complex history.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
19 people are currently reading
565 people want to read
About the author
Lília Momplé
5 books6 followersNasceu em 1935, na Ilha de Moçambique. É licenciada em Serviço Social pelo ISSSL. Depois de viver algum tempo em Inglaterra e no Brasil, regressou definitivamente a Moçambique, em 1971. Tem representado o seu país em vários eventos internacionais e integrou o Conselho Executivo da UNESCO em Paris, de 2001 a 2005. É membro de honra da Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos, onde já exerceu os cargos de Presidente e Secretária-Geral. A sua obra encontra-se traduzida em inglês, francês, alemão, italiano e sueco, e representada em várias antologias nacionais e estrangeiras.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
August 4, 2018
This is very well written and set up like a crime fiction novel - only murder happens at the end, not the beginning. As such the story has a drive toward it's unknown but dramatic end point - but the way to that end brings us into the lives of three sets of people in a Mozambique in it's early days as an independant nation. Though not everyone likes the new ways, there is war in the country and trouble is brewing from the white regime in South Africa who's hunting the ANC.
It is a cleverly spun tale about everyday life, national & international politics - and how the two are intertwined.
It is a cleverly spun tale about everyday life, national & international politics - and how the two are intertwined.
August 28, 2021
During apartheid, post-independence Mozambique was both a haven for South African activists and battle area for the apartheid government as civil war raged in the country. Ruth First, mother of Gillian Slovo was assassinated in the country and mystery sill surrounds the death in an airplane crash of Mozambican president, Samora Machel. In this short book, the author introduces a cast of characters, each shaped by their life in Mozambique whose lives will collide in the act of murder that night. Beautifully written and I learned a lot about Mozambique in the process. Highly recommend.
March 6, 2018
The book grew on me. It tells the stories of the perpetuators and the victims of a brutal home invasion and politically inspired murders. The murderer’s stories focus on their motivations – greed, revenge, power – and how they were recruited by South Africa to help create confusion and terror within the new independent nation of Mozambique. The victims are pure innocents who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
June 11, 2014
Neighbors are neighbors largely by chance. We choose the place where we want to live, but we don’t get to choose the people who live next door to us. As Mozambican novelist Lília Momplé demonstrates in Neighbours: The Story of a Murder, the neighbors we live among can have a fateful impact on our lives. This principle applies whether one is talking about people – like the Maputo residents who make up most of the characters in this well-written short novel – or about countries: for many years, one of the decisive factors in the life of the nation of Mozambique was the fact that it shared a border with the apartheid regime of pre-1994 South Africa.
Momplé’s Neighbours weaves the personal and the political quite seamlessly. Among the major characters of the novel – chapter titles typically place us in their homes, emphasizing the characters’ status as neighbors – are a woman named Narguiss and her three grown daughters; one of the daughters, Muntaz, is defying gender conventions by making use of her intellectual talent to study medicine, rather than relying on her looks to find a husband, as her mother would wish. We meet a young couple named Leia and Januário, who are very poor, and have both suffered grievously as a result of Mozambique’s turbulent history, but nonetheless feel fortunate to have secured a flat where they can live in privacy and raise their infant daughter. And from a quiet expression of respect for the inner strength of Leia and Januário, the story takes on a grimmer tone when we enter the home of Mena and Dupont; Mena is a woman of goodwill, but her husband Dupont has been bringing home large amounts of foreign currency, and is meeting regularly with a menacing-looking group of men, and she senses that Dupont is up to no good.
Among the strengths of this novel is the way in which it captures the tensions of life in Mozambique during and after the country’s struggle for independence from Portugal – a time in which the cruelty of Portuguese colonial overlords is matched by the cruelty of armed bandits. Additionally, during the time in which the novel is set, the South African apartheid regime frequently sent agents across international borders to carry out destabilization activities against the country’s neighbors, particularly if a neighbor of South Africa was sheltering members of the then-banned African National Congress. In connection with those aspects of this novel, I appreciated the nuanced manner in which Momplé devotes a chapter each to why three conspirators – Dupont, Zalíua, and Romualdo – who are not white or South African would be willing to help agents of apartheid South Africa.
The plot, the reader will not be surprised to hear, is a murder plot – after all, the novel is subtitled The Story of a Murder -- and the circumstances of the murder plot contain surprises that I will not reveal here. Suffice it to say that the reasons for the choosing of the victims of the prospective murder plot reveal a certain degree of what could be called randomness – and that, as in a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies, violence has a way of claiming unintended as well as intended victims. Momplé, unlike many mystery writers, also knows that if a writer introduces characters to her reader and gives the reader the chance to get to know those characters, then the prospect of those characters suffering a violent death takes on an emotional depth and resonance that is not the case otherwise.
Presented as part of the Penguin African Writers series published by Penguin Books, Neighbours: The Story of a Murder is an economically and gracefully written novel with fine insights into how the lives of ordinary people can intersect with the epic sweep of major historical events. One senses both the tragedy of Mozambique’s history and the hopes that its people hold for a better future. Reading this novel while visiting Ibo Island in Mozambique, I felt a long way from the busy-ness of a major city like Maputo, and from the historical time when South Africa’s white-minority rulers were ready to send commandos into neighboring countries on murder missions in order to prop up apartheid. But I could see, from my conversations with various people on Ibo Island, how well Momplé had captured the Mozambican people’s dignity, grace, and spirit in the face of all their country has suffered. Neighbours tells a powerful and important story, and captures well the spirit of modern Mozambique.
Momplé’s Neighbours weaves the personal and the political quite seamlessly. Among the major characters of the novel – chapter titles typically place us in their homes, emphasizing the characters’ status as neighbors – are a woman named Narguiss and her three grown daughters; one of the daughters, Muntaz, is defying gender conventions by making use of her intellectual talent to study medicine, rather than relying on her looks to find a husband, as her mother would wish. We meet a young couple named Leia and Januário, who are very poor, and have both suffered grievously as a result of Mozambique’s turbulent history, but nonetheless feel fortunate to have secured a flat where they can live in privacy and raise their infant daughter. And from a quiet expression of respect for the inner strength of Leia and Januário, the story takes on a grimmer tone when we enter the home of Mena and Dupont; Mena is a woman of goodwill, but her husband Dupont has been bringing home large amounts of foreign currency, and is meeting regularly with a menacing-looking group of men, and she senses that Dupont is up to no good.
Among the strengths of this novel is the way in which it captures the tensions of life in Mozambique during and after the country’s struggle for independence from Portugal – a time in which the cruelty of Portuguese colonial overlords is matched by the cruelty of armed bandits. Additionally, during the time in which the novel is set, the South African apartheid regime frequently sent agents across international borders to carry out destabilization activities against the country’s neighbors, particularly if a neighbor of South Africa was sheltering members of the then-banned African National Congress. In connection with those aspects of this novel, I appreciated the nuanced manner in which Momplé devotes a chapter each to why three conspirators – Dupont, Zalíua, and Romualdo – who are not white or South African would be willing to help agents of apartheid South Africa.
The plot, the reader will not be surprised to hear, is a murder plot – after all, the novel is subtitled The Story of a Murder -- and the circumstances of the murder plot contain surprises that I will not reveal here. Suffice it to say that the reasons for the choosing of the victims of the prospective murder plot reveal a certain degree of what could be called randomness – and that, as in a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies, violence has a way of claiming unintended as well as intended victims. Momplé, unlike many mystery writers, also knows that if a writer introduces characters to her reader and gives the reader the chance to get to know those characters, then the prospect of those characters suffering a violent death takes on an emotional depth and resonance that is not the case otherwise.
Presented as part of the Penguin African Writers series published by Penguin Books, Neighbours: The Story of a Murder is an economically and gracefully written novel with fine insights into how the lives of ordinary people can intersect with the epic sweep of major historical events. One senses both the tragedy of Mozambique’s history and the hopes that its people hold for a better future. Reading this novel while visiting Ibo Island in Mozambique, I felt a long way from the busy-ness of a major city like Maputo, and from the historical time when South Africa’s white-minority rulers were ready to send commandos into neighboring countries on murder missions in order to prop up apartheid. But I could see, from my conversations with various people on Ibo Island, how well Momplé had captured the Mozambican people’s dignity, grace, and spirit in the face of all their country has suffered. Neighbours tells a powerful and important story, and captures well the spirit of modern Mozambique.
November 21, 2021
This felt like a book by a beginner, it had a soap opera feel, where women are all desirable and men are lustful brutes, except for a few, needed to illicit our sympathy. There are 3 separate families. You get to know about them in detail yet briefly. The details are supposed to build a bond between the reader and the characters, but as the story progresses the reader, myself in this case, realises that the details are just entertaining chatter at best, until the real role of these people is revealed. The novel is meant to highlight the subotage of the occupying governments on the freedom and independence of long suffering states, it doesn't fail but somehow it needed a more accomplished plot and author.
May 27, 2022
De forma sencilla pero intensa, la autora desgrana la vida de varias familias de Maputo y sus mujeres. Mujeres solas, mujeres vulnerables y mujeres que toman decisiones que cambian sus vidas. La vida que no es nada ante la prepotencia de los agentes del Apartheid sudafricano que odian a los negros y se arrogan el derecho de vida y muerte sobre ellos, aunque sus errores lleve al asesinato de los inocentes. Detrás de todo eso los ecos del colonialismo y del racismo. Todo ello con un toque de novela negra e intriga.
January 11, 2022
4.75
Au dela de la place de la femme dans la société mozambicaine, ce qui m'a fasciné c'est la liberté criminelle avec laquelle le gouvernement fasciste et supremaciste blanc d'Afrique du Sud, faisait ce que bon lui semblait en toute impunité dans un pays pourtant souverain. Le système éducatif qui ressemblait davantage a un endoctrinement qu'a un lieu d'acquisition du savoir, la hiérarchisation des races. Ces indiens qui regardent de haut les métisses qui eux même méprisent les noirs qui ne rêvent que de s'unir a eux pour purifier la race...bref, ce roman est un condensé d'informations utiles. Ce qui chez Mondlane ou Machel ne sont que théories, deviennent des cas concrets à visage et forme humaine chez Momplé. A lire ABSOLUMENT pour un autre regard sur ce pays lusophone qui a longtemps souffert de sa proximité avec le royaume de l'apartheid.
Au dela de la place de la femme dans la société mozambicaine, ce qui m'a fasciné c'est la liberté criminelle avec laquelle le gouvernement fasciste et supremaciste blanc d'Afrique du Sud, faisait ce que bon lui semblait en toute impunité dans un pays pourtant souverain. Le système éducatif qui ressemblait davantage a un endoctrinement qu'a un lieu d'acquisition du savoir, la hiérarchisation des races. Ces indiens qui regardent de haut les métisses qui eux même méprisent les noirs qui ne rêvent que de s'unir a eux pour purifier la race...bref, ce roman est un condensé d'informations utiles. Ce qui chez Mondlane ou Machel ne sont que théories, deviennent des cas concrets à visage et forme humaine chez Momplé. A lire ABSOLUMENT pour un autre regard sur ce pays lusophone qui a longtemps souffert de sa proximité avec le royaume de l'apartheid.
September 30, 2025
un entramado de vidas relacionadas en el Mozambique poscolonial, donde aun las tensiones de las revoluciones contra la ocupación portuguesa dominan el día a día.
interesante conocer como distintos personajes tan variados reaccionan a la independencia de Mozambique, a la caída del gobierno colonial portugués y a la independencia; pasando desde la euforia, la apatía o incluso el rechazo a la nueva democracia.
interesante conocer como distintos personajes tan variados reaccionan a la independencia de Mozambique, a la caída del gobierno colonial portugués y a la independencia; pasando desde la euforia, la apatía o incluso el rechazo a la nueva democracia.
December 15, 2021
I wanted to read this book in Portuguese, but I had difficulties to find an original copy. Translated version were readily available, so I finally read the English translation.
This is a beautifully written book with an original setup, retracing the lives of some neighbors in post-independence Mozambique, intersecting one evening in the case of a planned murder.
Momplé describes how the different characters evolved and developed their livelihoods, against the backlash of violence, poverty and struggle just before and after independence. She paints an insightful picture of Mozambican society.
The story itself builds up nicely to a climax and an original end. Great work.
This is a beautifully written book with an original setup, retracing the lives of some neighbors in post-independence Mozambique, intersecting one evening in the case of a planned murder.
Momplé describes how the different characters evolved and developed their livelihoods, against the backlash of violence, poverty and struggle just before and after independence. She paints an insightful picture of Mozambican society.
The story itself builds up nicely to a climax and an original end. Great work.
June 11, 2022
Doce horas en la vida de tres familias en el Maputo de un día de abril de 1985. La autora nos situa en tres hogares de los que nos va a narrar cómo llegaron hasta el preciso instante en el que se encuentran al mismo tiempo. Una novela breve pero intensa sobre las consecuencias del colonialismo, la descriminación por la clase social, el color de la piel y por ser mujer, y el estar en el lugar y el momento equivocados sobre todo cuando los criminales del apartheid rondan tu ciudad.
Excelente novela con tintes de novela negra absolutamente recomendable.
Excelente novela con tintes de novela negra absolutamente recomendable.
July 4, 2021
Really liked it! Quick read - dives briefly into the back story of each character and in doing so tells a sad and violent story of Mozambican independence. Excited to go learn more about Mozambique now!
May 3, 2022
A sad story of the murder of a lovely couple who one is bound to show affection for and hurt at their death. Lília Momplé does a great job in sharing the woes and struggles of Mozambicans after independence from the lives of everyday people and neighborhoods.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2021
“Adquiriu, assim, o hábito de descansar, imóvel, durante longas horas do dia, ao mesmo tempo que se deixava impregnar da pungente doçura que acompanha o fim da esperança.”
September 1, 2014
I was tempted to give this novella 4 stars, mostly because even though it is an obscure translated book, I found it readable and was interested in the characters. But I try to rate all books on the same scale, including obscure translations, and while this is a decent, competent story, it doesn’t quite reach the 4 star level for me.
Neighbours follows three households for one fateful night. In the first, a mother and her adult daughters prepare food for Eid; in the second, a young couple and their child relax in their newly-acquired flat (acquired at great difficulty due to bureaucratic obstructions); in the third, a group of conspirators prepares for murder while an abused wife tries to find out what’s going on. We also spend substantial time in the backstories of many of these characters, learning how they became who they are.
This is a story both personal and political, a fact evident even in the title. The households are drawn together because they’re neighbors; the crime, though carefully planned, is almost random: the conspirators choose the victims because they live next door to African National Congress refugees. But that leads to the political: this is a story about Mozambique, but it has a powerful and dangerous neighbor in South Africa, which sponsors the killings to support its own apartheid regime. In that sense both the nation and the individuals are victimized based on the accident of their neighbors.
But this isn’t an op-ed book: the characters are believable individuals in their own right, and while we learn a fair bit about Mozambique in the process, that’s because what they have lived through becomes part of who they are, not because the author uses the story as a historical tract. I am impressed by how much of the history Momplé manages to weave into the story, though, and it did whet my appetite for more. Meanwhile, it’s interesting that she gives no time at all to the South African characters who intersect with the story, even while delving into the backgrounds and motivations of everyone else; I can only presume this was deliberate, to keep this story to Mozambique even while South Africa tries to interfere.
All that said, and though I was interested in and came to like some of the characters even in a scant 131 pages, I ultimately found this book too short for the number of characters it contains and the amount of material it covers. Particularly with the conspirators, we read so many backstories so quickly that I had some trouble remembering which life went with which man. And elements that at first seem important to the story, such as Narguiss’s husband’s desertion, fade into the background without being dealt with. If this book had been a bit longer, and given its characters a bit more to do, it would have merited a solid 4 stars. As is, 3.5 for a sad and thought-provoking story that doesn’t quite reach its full potential.
Neighbours follows three households for one fateful night. In the first, a mother and her adult daughters prepare food for Eid; in the second, a young couple and their child relax in their newly-acquired flat (acquired at great difficulty due to bureaucratic obstructions); in the third, a group of conspirators prepares for murder while an abused wife tries to find out what’s going on. We also spend substantial time in the backstories of many of these characters, learning how they became who they are.
This is a story both personal and political, a fact evident even in the title. The households are drawn together because they’re neighbors; the crime, though carefully planned, is almost random: the conspirators choose the victims because they live next door to African National Congress refugees. But that leads to the political: this is a story about Mozambique, but it has a powerful and dangerous neighbor in South Africa, which sponsors the killings to support its own apartheid regime. In that sense both the nation and the individuals are victimized based on the accident of their neighbors.
But this isn’t an op-ed book: the characters are believable individuals in their own right, and while we learn a fair bit about Mozambique in the process, that’s because what they have lived through becomes part of who they are, not because the author uses the story as a historical tract. I am impressed by how much of the history Momplé manages to weave into the story, though, and it did whet my appetite for more. Meanwhile, it’s interesting that she gives no time at all to the South African characters who intersect with the story, even while delving into the backgrounds and motivations of everyone else; I can only presume this was deliberate, to keep this story to Mozambique even while South Africa tries to interfere.
All that said, and though I was interested in and came to like some of the characters even in a scant 131 pages, I ultimately found this book too short for the number of characters it contains and the amount of material it covers. Particularly with the conspirators, we read so many backstories so quickly that I had some trouble remembering which life went with which man. And elements that at first seem important to the story, such as Narguiss’s husband’s desertion, fade into the background without being dealt with. If this book had been a bit longer, and given its characters a bit more to do, it would have merited a solid 4 stars. As is, 3.5 for a sad and thought-provoking story that doesn’t quite reach its full potential.
August 19, 2015
A fascinating story about post-colonial Mozambique and the destabilising actions of apartheid South Africa. This novel is delightfully short but loaded with compelling themes of violence, race, racism, gender and patriarchy. This is the first Mozambican novel I've read and it has interested me in Mozambican history.
February 19, 2023
Illuminating
February 19, 2023
Illuminating
March 29, 2025
De uns tempos para cá temos visto o crescimento de uma literatura que pode ser chamada de “militante”. Não que a literatura tenha sido em algum tempo apolítica, todas as obras ao longo do tempo carregam motivações e entretinhas. Entretanto, ten crescido o surgimento de textos, onde sobra militância e falta literatura. Tais autores poderiam aprender muito com Lília Momplé.
Para aqueles que tinham ficado impressionados com a potência dos contos de Ninguém matou Suhura, em Neighbours, Momplé nos confirma a impressão de ser uma escritora pra se ter atenção. A autora através de um microcosmo apresenta-nos uma realidade de seu país que para nós pode ser completamente desconhecida.
A primeira ilusão que a autora destrói tem a ver com a questão étnico religiosa, somos apresentados a um caldo cultural inesperado dado o senso comum de uma homogeneidade étnico religiosa na África.
Outra ilusão que Momplé rapidamente dissipa é a de homogeneidade de interesses, as duas nações africanas destacadas tem interesses muito diferentes. Interessa também como a autora sutilmente nos mostra o “abandono” por parte de Portugal, que envolto em seus próprios problemas meio que recebe a independência de Moçambique com indiferença.
Momplé apresenta-nos um microcosmo envolvendo três famílias e algumas horas e apesar do enredo imensamente simples, o que interessa aqui são os diversos conflitos dos personagens. Numa leitura apressada vemos apenas um crime político sendo executado, mas essa é só a camada superficial para a complexa teia que permeia a obra.
Se é certo que o racismo é um tema importante e não pode ser ignorado, Momplé nos mostra que o machismo em suas diversas formas é tão ou mais perniciosa na vida das mulheres moçambicanas. A autora habilmente discute o papel da mulher naquela sociedade e mesmo o conflito de gerações, mas ao contrário de outras autoras, não temos palestrinha aqui. É particularmente interessante como a personagem mais esclarecida consegue ter empatia pela mãe, mesmo vendo com clareza o que ela tenta negar.
Momplé não se preocupa em ser didática, em achar que o leitor é burro, ela simplesmente mostra a opressão para que o leitor veja, julgue, entenda e se revolte. A conclusão do conflito de uma das personagens é um irônico soco no estômago.
Como o texto de apoio dessa edição nos aponta, temos uma diferença de desenvolvimento entre personagens femininas e masculinas, as motivações das personagens masculinas são mais esplanadas como se a autora ironicamente estivesse dizendo ao leitor que para a mulher só resta exercer um papel, com uma vida interior pífia. Espelhando o silenciamento de uma sociedade onde a mulher não tem voz o texto também quase não lhes permite dizer nada.
Vale apontar também que Momplé não é maniqueísta, salvo talvez o óbvio e justificado ressentimento contra o regime racista da África do Sul, os personagens em si, não são reduzidos a mocinhos e bandidos. Mesmo as figuras femininas antagonistas não são demonizadas, ainda que tendamos a nos solidarizar com as protagonistas.
Neighbours de Lília Momplé, portanto é um romance que parece simples, mas que em suas entrelinhas faz um estudo bastante profundo de como o machismo e o racismo podem desencadear uma rede de opressão, silenciamento e morte. E uma aula de como escrever um texto político sem cair no mero panfletário.
Para aqueles que tinham ficado impressionados com a potência dos contos de Ninguém matou Suhura, em Neighbours, Momplé nos confirma a impressão de ser uma escritora pra se ter atenção. A autora através de um microcosmo apresenta-nos uma realidade de seu país que para nós pode ser completamente desconhecida.
A primeira ilusão que a autora destrói tem a ver com a questão étnico religiosa, somos apresentados a um caldo cultural inesperado dado o senso comum de uma homogeneidade étnico religiosa na África.
Outra ilusão que Momplé rapidamente dissipa é a de homogeneidade de interesses, as duas nações africanas destacadas tem interesses muito diferentes. Interessa também como a autora sutilmente nos mostra o “abandono” por parte de Portugal, que envolto em seus próprios problemas meio que recebe a independência de Moçambique com indiferença.
Momplé apresenta-nos um microcosmo envolvendo três famílias e algumas horas e apesar do enredo imensamente simples, o que interessa aqui são os diversos conflitos dos personagens. Numa leitura apressada vemos apenas um crime político sendo executado, mas essa é só a camada superficial para a complexa teia que permeia a obra.
Se é certo que o racismo é um tema importante e não pode ser ignorado, Momplé nos mostra que o machismo em suas diversas formas é tão ou mais perniciosa na vida das mulheres moçambicanas. A autora habilmente discute o papel da mulher naquela sociedade e mesmo o conflito de gerações, mas ao contrário de outras autoras, não temos palestrinha aqui. É particularmente interessante como a personagem mais esclarecida consegue ter empatia pela mãe, mesmo vendo com clareza o que ela tenta negar.
Momplé não se preocupa em ser didática, em achar que o leitor é burro, ela simplesmente mostra a opressão para que o leitor veja, julgue, entenda e se revolte. A conclusão do conflito de uma das personagens é um irônico soco no estômago.
Como o texto de apoio dessa edição nos aponta, temos uma diferença de desenvolvimento entre personagens femininas e masculinas, as motivações das personagens masculinas são mais esplanadas como se a autora ironicamente estivesse dizendo ao leitor que para a mulher só resta exercer um papel, com uma vida interior pífia. Espelhando o silenciamento de uma sociedade onde a mulher não tem voz o texto também quase não lhes permite dizer nada.
Vale apontar também que Momplé não é maniqueísta, salvo talvez o óbvio e justificado ressentimento contra o regime racista da África do Sul, os personagens em si, não são reduzidos a mocinhos e bandidos. Mesmo as figuras femininas antagonistas não são demonizadas, ainda que tendamos a nos solidarizar com as protagonistas.
Neighbours de Lília Momplé, portanto é um romance que parece simples, mas que em suas entrelinhas faz um estudo bastante profundo de como o machismo e o racismo podem desencadear uma rede de opressão, silenciamento e morte. E uma aula de como escrever um texto político sem cair no mero panfletário.
August 4, 2025
Este libro ha sido todo un descubrimiento gracias al reto de “Un país, un libro”, en el que Mozambique era el país del mes de junio. Aunque llegué tarde con la lectura al hacerla entre julio y agosto, valió totalmente la pena.
Neighbours es una novela corta pero muy intensa (172 páginas) que se lee con mucha facilidad. La historia transcurre en solo una noche —desde las 10 de la noche hasta las 8 de la mañana—, y durante esas horas conocemos a fondo a los vecinos de un edificio. Primero vemos dónde están y qué están haciendo, y luego vamos conociendo su pasado, lo que les ha llevado a actuar como lo hacen. Esta estructura por capítulos, casi como si fuera un reloj avanzando, está muy bien pensada y mantiene el interés todo el tiempo.
Lo más poderoso de la novela es cómo retrata problemas muy reales: la xenofobia, el racismo, el machismo, la corrupción y la violencia que sacuden al país. La autora no se limita a contar una historia de personajes, sino que denuncia y explica, a través de la ficción, cómo la historia de Mozambique —su independencia, su relación con otros países, la pobreza, los abusos de poder— sigue marcando a su gente.
A pesar de lo duro del contenido, la lectura es muy ágil y fácil de seguir. De hecho, la terminé en dos o tres días, y si no me hubiera querido tomar mi tiempo, la habría acabado en uno. El final está a la altura y deja con muchas reflexiones sobre lo que significa vivir en un contexto tan complejo.
Le doy 4,5 estrellas porque es una novela breve, bien escrita, con mucho contenido social y político, y que logra dejar huella. Además, me ha despertado interés por saber más sobre Mozambique, así que cumple mucho más que solo entretenimiento.
Neighbours es una novela corta pero muy intensa (172 páginas) que se lee con mucha facilidad. La historia transcurre en solo una noche —desde las 10 de la noche hasta las 8 de la mañana—, y durante esas horas conocemos a fondo a los vecinos de un edificio. Primero vemos dónde están y qué están haciendo, y luego vamos conociendo su pasado, lo que les ha llevado a actuar como lo hacen. Esta estructura por capítulos, casi como si fuera un reloj avanzando, está muy bien pensada y mantiene el interés todo el tiempo.
Lo más poderoso de la novela es cómo retrata problemas muy reales: la xenofobia, el racismo, el machismo, la corrupción y la violencia que sacuden al país. La autora no se limita a contar una historia de personajes, sino que denuncia y explica, a través de la ficción, cómo la historia de Mozambique —su independencia, su relación con otros países, la pobreza, los abusos de poder— sigue marcando a su gente.
A pesar de lo duro del contenido, la lectura es muy ágil y fácil de seguir. De hecho, la terminé en dos o tres días, y si no me hubiera querido tomar mi tiempo, la habría acabado en uno. El final está a la altura y deja con muchas reflexiones sobre lo que significa vivir en un contexto tan complejo.
Le doy 4,5 estrellas porque es una novela breve, bien escrita, con mucho contenido social y político, y que logra dejar huella. Además, me ha despertado interés por saber más sobre Mozambique, así que cumple mucho más que solo entretenimiento.
August 2, 2016
A very short novella set in the tumultuous and unstable environment of newly-independent Mozambique, published within two decades following its present-tense setting. Roughly three-quarters of Neighbors is constructed as short vignettes of backgrounds, alternating between mostly-painful pasts (filled with personal suffering) and a mostly-unstable present (which exists as the few short hours heading into a holiday's morning). Three groups of characters (Narguiss and her daughters: Muntaz, Dinazarde, and Rabia; Leia and her husband Januario; Mena, her husband Dupont, and his associates Romu and Zaliua) confront, or attempt to adapt within, a country rife with corruption, abuse of power, political violence, shortages of goods, substandard public services, and poor infrastructure. Added to this volatile mix are bitter colonial history and legacy which permeate throughout with exploitation, insurgencies, civil strife, and foreign meddling. Their narratives do not intersect. Here is a collage of parallels and contrasts quilting together their individual strands: imagine, if you will, split-screens and compartments within split-screens.
Opening up our central characters, Narguiss strikes an uncomfortable blend of a previously-proud and now-pitiable, if trudging, matriarch-of-sorts whose wisdoms and superstitions are framed by age, experiences, traditions, past privilege, and modest education. In the face of life difficulties and moral challenges , the tenderness, understanding, and fortitude in Leia's and Januario's marriage is juxtaposed with the shakiness, abuse, and mutual antipathy defining Mena's and Dupont's. Similarly, Zaliua and Januario successfully apply for jobs, but they harness the difficult stings from their severe childhoods in different ways, while riding divergent trajectories going forward. Zaliua exploits his position as a vehicle to accrue unbridled power and amass great wealth until it crashes into ignominy. Meanwhile, Januario adopts his as a pathway for self-development, creative initiative, and inspiring a passion in others to join in beautification amdist an abundance of grim reality. Parallels are also threaded between the selfishness of Abdul (Narguiss's absent husband) and that of Elsa (Romu's mother), countered with the saintly sacrifices and quiet resignations endured by Narguiss and Mr. Pugas (Elsa's husband, and Romu's stepfather) to keep relationships functional. Despite variation in class upbringing and educational attainment levels Leia's concern and compassion for others, and the intelligence and inquisitiveness with which she approaches matters, favorably compares with Muntaz's.
Indeed Lilia Momple crafts a work with very few likable and redeemable personalities and a dearth of favorable dynamics [with rare exceptions, Mozambican emigres and Portuguese settlers don't escape the author's condemnations; while Boer South Africans have received a special reservation of contempt] . And yet it is possible to empathize (if not sympathize) with the many which fall short. That, however, some of the most likable and positive characters end up in the most tragic way impedes readers from appreciating Neighbours as a "diamond-in-the-rough" tale (which was probably not the intent, at any rate). It is as if Momple offers an imposing monument to Mozambique that is more awing than awe-inspiring, and flings the door wide open on the questions of just how much deeper will the country descend, and how much longer can it limp along this path?
Translation in straightforward prose and the use of a single narrator for the many characters and plot-lines enable quick and easy reading. However, because so much is contained within so few pages, much is left wanting for elaboration. [To avoid spoilers, only a little will be commented on.] Significant names, like RENAMO, FRELIMO, and Lorenco Marques, and significant events such as a 1974 Coup in Portugal, are dropped into stories without ample historical contextualization or story-wise groundings. Several minor characters are introduced anonymously with little relatable depth, and key elements of central character plot-lines are breezed over. Given how essential the theme of foreign meddling is to weave the past and the present in the novel, it was striking that only one South African character (out of a South African-run ring) is presented at some considerable length. Zaliua's six years in missionary-run school and farm, a fork-in-the-road aiding his personal transformation, is abridged in a couple of terse paragraphs. How and when did Romu make a life-shocking discovery of his true origins? And did he make any attempts to find out details? His reaction is merely to manipulate family, and to seek, with relentless brutality and destructive obsession, other routes of belonging and affirmation. A similar restrictive approach is taken at the end of Neighbours, leaving readers to deal with inconclusive endings for all except one of the perpetrators of the murder, as well as for all but three of its victims. Despite its evocative power and enormous grasp of history, Momple's storytelling unfortunately reaches out too broadly in too confined a space to allow for fulfilling story arches in all directions.
It is in the final fourth of the novel where the aforementioned vignettes finally converge and crescendo into a night of murder with personal and political ramifications. Action breaks out with a lightning pace and a gripping suspense that once again highlight the country's setbacks. Wrapping to a close, the final chapter makes a marked departure from the novel's earlier pattern of time-phase alternations. Here instead, the narrative is strictly a tense, melancholy, palpable---and ultimately arresting, vague, and semi-serene---post-crime present (of the novel's setting).
Opening up our central characters, Narguiss strikes an uncomfortable blend of a previously-proud and now-pitiable, if trudging, matriarch-of-sorts whose wisdoms and superstitions are framed by age, experiences, traditions, past privilege, and modest education. In the face of life difficulties and moral challenges , the tenderness, understanding, and fortitude in Leia's and Januario's marriage is juxtaposed with the shakiness, abuse, and mutual antipathy defining Mena's and Dupont's. Similarly, Zaliua and Januario successfully apply for jobs, but they harness the difficult stings from their severe childhoods in different ways, while riding divergent trajectories going forward. Zaliua exploits his position as a vehicle to accrue unbridled power and amass great wealth until it crashes into ignominy. Meanwhile, Januario adopts his as a pathway for self-development, creative initiative, and inspiring a passion in others to join in beautification amdist an abundance of grim reality. Parallels are also threaded between the selfishness of Abdul (Narguiss's absent husband) and that of Elsa (Romu's mother), countered with the saintly sacrifices and quiet resignations endured by Narguiss and Mr. Pugas (Elsa's husband, and Romu's stepfather) to keep relationships functional. Despite variation in class upbringing and educational attainment levels Leia's concern and compassion for others, and the intelligence and inquisitiveness with which she approaches matters, favorably compares with Muntaz's.
Indeed Lilia Momple crafts a work with very few likable and redeemable personalities and a dearth of favorable dynamics [with rare exceptions, Mozambican emigres and Portuguese settlers don't escape the author's condemnations; while Boer South Africans have received a special reservation of contempt] . And yet it is possible to empathize (if not sympathize) with the many which fall short. That, however, some of the most likable and positive characters end up in the most tragic way impedes readers from appreciating Neighbours as a "diamond-in-the-rough" tale (which was probably not the intent, at any rate). It is as if Momple offers an imposing monument to Mozambique that is more awing than awe-inspiring, and flings the door wide open on the questions of just how much deeper will the country descend, and how much longer can it limp along this path?
Translation in straightforward prose and the use of a single narrator for the many characters and plot-lines enable quick and easy reading. However, because so much is contained within so few pages, much is left wanting for elaboration. [To avoid spoilers, only a little will be commented on.] Significant names, like RENAMO, FRELIMO, and Lorenco Marques, and significant events such as a 1974 Coup in Portugal, are dropped into stories without ample historical contextualization or story-wise groundings. Several minor characters are introduced anonymously with little relatable depth, and key elements of central character plot-lines are breezed over. Given how essential the theme of foreign meddling is to weave the past and the present in the novel, it was striking that only one South African character (out of a South African-run ring) is presented at some considerable length. Zaliua's six years in missionary-run school and farm, a fork-in-the-road aiding his personal transformation, is abridged in a couple of terse paragraphs. How and when did Romu make a life-shocking discovery of his true origins? And did he make any attempts to find out details? His reaction is merely to manipulate family, and to seek, with relentless brutality and destructive obsession, other routes of belonging and affirmation. A similar restrictive approach is taken at the end of Neighbours, leaving readers to deal with inconclusive endings for all except one of the perpetrators of the murder, as well as for all but three of its victims. Despite its evocative power and enormous grasp of history, Momple's storytelling unfortunately reaches out too broadly in too confined a space to allow for fulfilling story arches in all directions.
It is in the final fourth of the novel where the aforementioned vignettes finally converge and crescendo into a night of murder with personal and political ramifications. Action breaks out with a lightning pace and a gripping suspense that once again highlight the country's setbacks. Wrapping to a close, the final chapter makes a marked departure from the novel's earlier pattern of time-phase alternations. Here instead, the narrative is strictly a tense, melancholy, palpable---and ultimately arresting, vague, and semi-serene---post-crime present (of the novel's setting).
May 28, 2024
This book took me two reads to have a 5 star review--initially it did not capture me the way it now does.
While this novel takes place at a very specific time and place with unique political details shaping the events of the night (the entire story takes place in the span of a day), this book covers much broader themes of senseless violence, waste, and how lives are interconnected in a way that is both horrific and painfully real.
I can see how a critique of this book might be the relative simplicity of the characters--for the most part good characters are 'good' and the bad characters are straight up evil, not much room for nuance. However, with this many characters in such a small book I don't think that is totally justified. I felt they were symbolic more than anything else.
Having a better understanding of Mozambique history upon second reading deepened my understanding and experience with it. I am glad I gave this book a second chance.
While this novel takes place at a very specific time and place with unique political details shaping the events of the night (the entire story takes place in the span of a day), this book covers much broader themes of senseless violence, waste, and how lives are interconnected in a way that is both horrific and painfully real.
I can see how a critique of this book might be the relative simplicity of the characters--for the most part good characters are 'good' and the bad characters are straight up evil, not much room for nuance. However, with this many characters in such a small book I don't think that is totally justified. I felt they were symbolic more than anything else.
Having a better understanding of Mozambique history upon second reading deepened my understanding and experience with it. I am glad I gave this book a second chance.
August 3, 2025
I initially gave this 3 stars but have since taken to a 3.5, rounded to a 4. I kept thinking about the book all day which has given rise to some more coherent thoughts.
January 31, 2022
I am full of admiration how the author Lília Momplé has succeeded in putting so much into so few beautifully written pages (131). Yes, it is a crime story, but a very innovative one with an intriguing and novel storyline. It is so much more than an ordinary crime story. Further to the crime story this book gives a good insight of life in Mozambique in the first decades of its independence. The idealism and the great expectations related to the country’s independence have unfortunately not abolished un-equality, corruption, or misery. The depiction of war and cruelty in the book is realistic. Colonialism has led to post-colonialism and racism continues in a multitude of shapes. Racism does not exist only on the white/black axis, it permeates all layers of society. In all its harshness this is nevertheless an exceptionally beautiful book. At the end of the book, I was so impressed by the courage one of the female protagonists showed.
July 11, 2025
Antes de escrever essa análise eu li uma review dizendo que esse romance parece ter sido escrito por um iniciante. Considero essa uma leitura bem equivocada do texto, pois apesar de sim, ser um romance simples em sua forma, essa simplicidade é possivelmente um dos seus pontos mais fortes. Sim, é um livro que utiliza de técnicas narrativas como paralelos, foreshadow e arquétipos de maneira "straighforward", mas esse é absolutamente o ponto do livro, talvez por acessibilidade da parte da autora para com a sua demografia (a lá Pagu em Parque Industrial), talvez por não ser uma história tão densa que precise de uma forma tão obtusa/"avançada", é uma história simples sobre aqueles no hemisfério sul que são impactados de maneiras inimagináveis pelos terrores da guerra, e ao invés da autora tentar masturbar o próprio ego tentando escrever um calhamaço, ela apenas entrega da maneira mais crua e sem rodeios que poderia, e justamente por isso a história ganha um caráter tão real e palpável.
May 21, 2018
A well written and well translated book that explores the complicated politics of class, race, and gender in newly independent Mozambique. Unlike Anglo colonies, which had a white Other racial hierarchy and pretended that mixed peoples did not exist, Continental colonies typically had a formalized racial caste system where various races and mixes of races occupy different rungs of the hierarchy. This text explores how this hierarchy poisons attempts to form a new Mozambique state. The text also explores the toxic sexual politics for women within these various communities.
May 15, 2023
This book is labelled by my library as a quick read. While 134 pages, including a glossary places this book into the category of a novella, the depth and detail within means this feels like a satisfying novel as opposed to a prolonged short story.
The events of the story take place over thirteen hours and the characters encompass Mozambican society in both circumstances and ethnicity. The deftness in which Momplé weaves together these circumstances is skillful and riveting. The characters range from the hopeful to the frankly evil, but all are well-drawn. An essential read.
The events of the story take place over thirteen hours and the characters encompass Mozambican society in both circumstances and ethnicity. The deftness in which Momplé weaves together these circumstances is skillful and riveting. The characters range from the hopeful to the frankly evil, but all are well-drawn. An essential read.
May 24, 2025
The Neighbours is a compelling read that captures the harsh realities of life in post-independent Mozambique. The author skillfully portrays the lingering effects of colonialism in a post-independent society, highlighting the injustices, poverty, and violence that continued to plague ordinary citizens even after liberation. The narrative gradually intensifies and shows how easily it is for your life to just be upended by unfortunate circumstances.
February 13, 2019
A tale of murder, following both the criminals and victims.
I found this an odd book, with too many different characters for me to easily follow, but the book did bring home of the random nature of life.
This book was approximately 35,000 words, reading time roughly 2.5 hours.
I found this an odd book, with too many different characters for me to easily follow, but the book did bring home of the random nature of life.
This book was approximately 35,000 words, reading time roughly 2.5 hours.
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