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The Book of Chameleons

FElix Ventura trades in an unusual commodity; he is a dealer in memories, clandestinely selling new pasts to people whose futures are secure and who lack only a good lineage to complete their lives. In this completely original murder mystery, where people are not who they seem and the briefest of connections leads to the forging of entirely new histories, a bookish albino, a beautiful woman, a mysterious foreigner, and a witty talking lizard come together to discover the truth of their lives. Set in Angola, Agualusa's tale darts from tormented past to dream-filled present with a lightness that belies the savage history of a country in which many have something to forget -- and to hide. A brilliant American debut by one of the most lauded writers in the Portuguese-speaking world, this is a beautifully written and always surprising tale of race, truth, and the transformative power of creativity.

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type

about

http://schema.org/about

alternateName

http://schema.org/alternateName

  • "O vendedor de passados"@it

author

contributor

creator

description

http://schema.org/description

  • "FElix Ventura trades in an unusual commodity; he is a dealer in memories, clandestinely selling new pasts to people whose futures are secure and who lack only a good lineage to complete their lives. In this completely original murder mystery, where people are not who they seem and the briefest of connections leads to the forging of entirely new histories, a bookish albino, a beautiful woman, a mysterious foreigner, and a witty talking lizard come together to discover the truth of their lives. Set in Angola, Agualusa's tale darts from tormented past to dream-filled present with a lightness that belies the savage history of a country in which many have something to forget -- and to hide. A brilliant American debut by one of the most lauded writers in the Portuguese-speaking world, this is a beautifully written and always surprising tale of race, truth, and the transformative power of creativity."@en
  • "An Angolan house gecko relates the exploits of an unusual businessman who sells manufactured new pasts to unhappy clients seeking to improve their future prospects by breaking free of painful memories, a practice that is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a mysterious foreigner."@en
  • "The story of Felix Ventura, a man who helps people to create new pasts for themselves -- charmingly related by the lizard who lives in his house."
  • "This unusual novel about the landscape of memory and its inconsistencies follows Felix Ventura as he trades in a curious commodity--selling people different pasts."
  • "Set in contemporary Angola, this book is about the landscape of memory, its inconsistencies and its randomness."@en
  • "Félix Ventura geht einer ungewöhnlichen Tätigkeit nach: Er handelt mit erfundenen Vergangenheiten. Seine Kunden sind Minister, Landbesitzer und Generäle, Menschen der neuen angolanischen Oberschicht. Sie alle blicken in eine gesicherte Zukunft, was ihnen jedoch fehlt, ist eine glanzvolle Vergangenheit. Ventura erstellt neue Stammbäume für sie, beliefert sie mit Fotografien von illustren Vorfahren und versorgt sie mit glücklichen Erinnerungen. Doch eines Nachts kommt ein Fremder in sein Haus, dem er eine neue angolanische Identität verschaffen soll. Venturas Schöpfung auf den Namen José Buchmann beginnt den Fremden so sehr zu fesseln, dass er sich zunehmend mit der erfundenen Person identifiziert und sich auf die Suche nach den Figuren seiner gekauften Vergangenheit begibt. Agualusas wendiger Erzähler nimmt uns mit auf eine spannende und poetische Reise durch die wechselnden Landschaften von Erinnerung und Geschichte, in eine Welt, in der die Wahrheit sich von einem Moment zum anderen verändert. "Das Lachen des Geckos" wurde bisher in zehn Sprachen übersetzt und erhielt 2007 den renommierten britischen Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. José Eduardo Agualusa, geboren 1960 in Huambo/Angola, studierte Agrarwissenschaft und Forstwirtschaft in Lissabon. Er veröffentlichte Gedichte, Erzählungen und Romane, die in zahlreiche Sprachen übersetzt wurden. 2006 gründete er den brasilianischen Verlag "Língua Geral". Er lebt als Schriftsteller und Journalist in Portugal, Angola und Brasilien."
  • "The narrator of this novel is a rather charming lizard. He lives on Félix Ventura's living-room wall. Félix, the lizard's friend and hero of the story, is a man who sells pasts - if you don't like yours, he can come up with a new one for you, a new past full of better memories, with a complete lineage, photos and all."

genre

http://schema.org/genre

  • "Political satire"
  • "Electronic books"
  • "Electronic books"@en
  • "Romans (teksten)"
  • "Roman angolais de langue portugaise"
  • "Fiction"
  • "Fiction"@en
  • "Belletristische Darstellung"
  • "Psychological fiction"

name

http://schema.org/name

  • "De handelaar in verledens : roman"
  • "The Book of Chameleons"@en
  • "Il venditore di passati"@it
  • "Il venditore di passati"
  • "El vendedor de pasados"@es
  • "El vendedor de pasados"
  • "Le marchand de passés"
  • "The book of chameleons"
  • "The book of chameleons"@en
  • "O vendedor de passados : um romance"
  • "Obchodník s minulosťou"
  • "O vendedor de passados : romance"@pt
  • "O vendedor de passados : romance"
  • "O vendedor do passados : romance"
  • "The book of chameleons a novel"@en
  • "O vendedor de passados"
  • "Das Lachen des Geckos : Roman"
  • "O vendedor de passados romance"

workExample

http://schema.org/workExample