{"product_id":"paradise-and-other-hells","title":"Paradise and Other Hells","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJosé Eduardo Agualusa is the kind of man who asks Siri if she believes in God and connects her second response (because why would you accept the first?) to a question he is asked about which Portuguese is his Portuguese. This capacity for weaving seemingly disparate threads into fascinating texts lies at the heart of Agualusa’s work as both journalist and novelist. In \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParadise and Other Hells\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, we see both sides come together, humanised further by touches of the mundane: a father marvelling at the wonder of his daughter’s hair, the absolute logic of his son’s naïveté; an older man musing about ageing and funerals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether riffing on Jorge Luis Borges and his relationship with time, dissecting the political landscape of Angola, unpacking Fernando Pessoa’s casual racism, reflecting on the theory of dreams; or in awe at the beauty of Mozambique Island (where he lives), examining the influence of Africa and Brazil on contemporary Portuguese language, this is a book that reveals a mind constantly at work, a pen always at play with language, and it fizzes with Agualusa’s trademark humour and proboscis-sharp observation.\u003c\/p\u003eBlending excerpts from his diary with columns published in the press, this is an intricate book that still allows for stop-start reading. In the short article, \u003ci\u003eGod is Sick\u003c\/i\u003e, José Eduardo Agualusa asserts that ”people who are sure that their beliefs are based in good sense are open to discussion. They put forth arguments. They defend a certain line of thinking...” That is precisely what \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParadise and Other Hells\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e does, it opens a discussion of the world with the world, and that is the secret of its timelessness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTranslated from Portuguese by a team of some of the finest contemporary translators — \u003cb\u003eRahul Bery\u003c\/b\u003e (David Trueba’s \u003ci\u003eRolling Fields\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003cb\u003eAndrew McDougall\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eRobin Patterson\u003c\/b\u003e (Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis’s \u003ci\u003ePosthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003cb\u003eFrancisco Vilhena \u003c\/b\u003e(Adelaide Ivanova’s \u003ci\u003ethe hammer and other poems\u003c\/i\u003e) and José Eduardo’s longtime translator, \u003cb\u003eDaniel Hahn, OBE\u003c\/b\u003e — and written with a convivial spirit, reading this book is akin to sitting next to a sparkling companion at a memorable dinner party, where the meal is secondary to warm, erudite conversation. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParadise and Other Hells\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is José Eduardo Agualusa as you’ve never read him before.","brand":"Flipped Eye Publishing Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55548280242520,"sku":"9780956318800","price":16.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780956318800.jpg?v=1765778424","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/paradise-and-other-hells","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}