Memories from a voluntary prison. A general theory of oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa Cover Image

Memórias de um cárcere voluntário. José Eduardo Agualusa, Teoria geral do esquecimento
Memories from a voluntary prison. A general theory of oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa

Author(s): Anna Wolny
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: José Eduardo Agualusa; A general theory of oblivion; Portuguese post-colonialism; memory

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents an analysis of A general theory of oblivion, a novel by José Eduardo Agualusa, in light of the Portuguese postcolonial paradigm, specifically by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. It presents the trajectory of the protagonist, Ludovica, as a hybrid of a representant of the past, colonial tradition and a habitant of the emerging postcolonial reality. Agualusa shows two strategies of dealing with those conditions and, in a creative effort of constructing a new Angolan identity, positions himself on the side of the memory perpetuated through time.

  • Issue Year: 21/2021
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 115-124
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Portuguese