{"product_id":"the-cartographer-of-absences-hardcover","title":"The Cartographer of Absences - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMia Couto\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDavid Brookshaw\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An intensely powerful work about revolution, compromise, and long-buried secrets . . . A haunting, compelling book.\" --Tobias Carroll, \u003ci\u003eWords Without Borders\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn atmospheric novel about a father and son in the waning days of colonial Mozambique by the winner of the 2025 PEN\/Nabokov Award\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDiogo Santiago is a celebrated Mozambican poet and intellectual, a well-known professor at the university in his country's capital. In 2019, on the eve of a cyclone that will devastate the East African coast, he returns to his hometown of Beira to receive a tribute from his fellow citizens. As he travels across Mozambique, his mind returns to the past--to his own upbringing, and to the history of his country when it was still a Portuguese colony. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDiogo's father, himself a poet and a journalist, observed a terrible massacre committed during the waning days of the Estado Novo and was persecuted by the PIDE, the Portuguese secret police. Diogo's reflections on his father's life are interspersed with found documents--letters, stories, entries in the journal kept by the PIDE agent who oversaw the case. As Cyclone Idai approaches Beira, threatening to wipe away the physical traces of the world in which he grew up, Diogo is forced to confront the impermanence of his own memories, too. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA haunting novel of historical witness, \u003ci\u003eThe Cartographer of Absences\u003c\/i\u003e is one of Mia Couto's finest works. Drawing on the author's own life in colonial Mozambique, this book is a significant new entry in the world literature canon.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMia Couto\u003c\/b\u003e, born in Beira, Mozambique, in 1955, is one of the most prominent writers in Portuguese-speaking Africa. After studying medicine and biology in Maputo, he worked as a journalist and headed several Mozambican national newspapers and magazines. Couto has been awarded numerous literary prizes, including the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Camões Prize (the most prestigious Portuguese-language award), the Prémio Vergílio Ferreira, the Prémio União Latina de Literaturas Românicas, the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages, and, most recently, the PEN\/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. He lives in Maputo, where he works as a biologist. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Brookshaw\u003c\/b\u003e is an emeritus professor at the School of Modern Languages at the University of Bristol. He has translated numerous books by Mia Couto, including \u003ci\u003eThe Cartographer of Absences\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Drinker of Horizons\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Sword and the Spear\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWoman of the Ashes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eConfession of the Lioness\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Tuner of Silences\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA River Called Time\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSleepwalking Land\u003c\/i\u003e.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.08 x 8.51 x 5.62 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 30, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52019933348141,"sku":"9780374616311","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/the-cartographer-of-absences-hardcover-4809792.webp?v=1777439648","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-cartographer-of-absences-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}