José Eduardo Agualusa wins Russian literary prize
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Jornal F8
Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa has won Russia’s Iasnaia Poliana literary prize in the foreign literature category for his novel “Nação Crioula”, published in 1997. The Russian translation of the book, published in 2021, helped bring it to Russian-speaking readers, publisher Quetzal announced.
Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa has won the Iasnaia Poliana Prize, awarded by the Lev Tolstoy Foundation, in the foreign literature category for his novel “Nação Crioula”. Publisher Quetzal announced the award on 22 October.
Agualusa hailed the honour of joining the authors who have previously received the award, including Orhan Pamuk, Mario Vargas Llosa, Amos Oz, Julian Barnes, Yu Hua and Mo Yan. He also highlighted the role of translators in the international circulation of literary works. The Russian translation of “Nação Crioula”, by Varvara Makhortova, was published in 2021 in the literary journal Inostrannaia Literatura.
The jury praised a novel that explores memory, human destiny and the weight of history, in writing it described as luminous. Published in 1997, the book features the character Carlos Fradique Mendes, created by Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós, and tells of his relationship with Ana Olímpia Vaz de Caminha, who was born enslaved and became one of Angola’s most powerful and wealthiest women.
The plot is set in the late 19th century between Luanda, Lisbon, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, against the backdrop of the struggle against slavery. The novel received Portugal’s RTP Grand Prize for Literature in 1998.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
