A General Theory of Oblivion

By: José Eduardo Agualusa

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

The brilliant novel from the winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

On the eve of Angolan independence, Ludo bricks herself into her apartment, where she will remain for the next thirty years. She lives off vegetables and pigeons, burns her furniture and books to stay alive, and keeps herself busy by writing her story on the walls of her home.

As the country goes through various political upheavals from colony to socialist republic to civil war to peace and capitalism, the outside world slowly seeps into Ludo’s life through snippets on the radio, voices from next door, glimpses of a man fleeing his pursuers, and a note attached to a bird’s foot. Until one day she meets Sabalu, a young boy from the street who climbs up to her terrace.

©2013 José Eduardo Agualusa. English translation copyright © 2015 by Daniel Hahn. First published in 2013 as Teoria Geral do Esquecimento by Publicações Dom Quixote in Portugal (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Confusion

Strange story but a few good parts. Too many characters unrelated to main character. 15