A General Theory of Oblivion, General Discussion, No Spoilers (May 2019)

[Whitney]

This is for general discussion of A General Theory of Oblivion. I'll be opening up the general discussion and posting more here this weekend.

Meanwhile, please, talk amongst yourselves. What did people think of the book? Was it what you expected based on the description?

[Hugh]

Whitney - thanks for kicking this off. I'll start with an apology - I had completely forgotten about this one - I was intending to participate as I enjoyed the three Agualusa books I read before joining GR, but I have not yet obtained a copy of this one, but will try and get hold of one and start reading it in the next week or two.

Here are some reviews (as always these may include spoilers):

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
https://africainwords.com/2016/05/12/...
http://quarterlyconversation.com/a-ge...

[Tamara]

I finished it last week. I enjoyed it. But I'll wait for others to chime in before I throw my two pennies worth into the discussion.

[LindaJ^]

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it in Feb 2017 and do not intend to reread but will chime in where possible. Good choice moderators!

[Ami]

I've read it twice now, back in 2016, and recently, gearing up for this discussion. My sentiments about the book have remained consistent, the one caveat being that this time I was in the know about the Angolan Civil War, which made for a better reading experience.

It reads like poetry; a flawless marriage between soulful, impactful and light... The reading experience is similar to as if I was running my hands over "something" plush, yet delicate like angora.

Ludo an agoraphobic female who has endured some accident in her past; Oh GOD; but then there's the sibling relationship with Odette, a move to Angola in the midst of a civil war, something about some stolen diamonds, a secret, Ludo's relationship with Phantom, Che Guevara, Jeremiah-All this only in the first 115 pages. There's quite a bit to work with, and it's all extraordinarily bizarre! These last few details along with the writing style had my head spinning while thoughts of Allende's "The House of the Spirits" danced through my mind-I find their writing styles to be evocative! What I found most riveting in AToO is how Agualusa creates a parallel between the chaos from the war outside of Ludo's apartment to the chaos that ensues inside of it; and maybe even with the war she's fighting within herself. It's absolutely wild the depths to which Ludo goes to keep herself safe.

Things are getting heavy as the civil war is really brewing, yet the delivery continuously feels seamless and digestible. The writing is so lyrical, I often found myself lost within it forgetting that there was a civil war going on at all. Yeah, this book kicked ass, twice... Even if Agualusa completely stressed me out over Phantom's well being!

There's so much here to unpack, I look forward to discussing it with all of you in better detail in the coming days! Till then.

[Ami]

Hugh wrote: "Whitney - thanks for kicking this off. I'll start with an apology - I had completely forgotten about this one - I was intending to participate as I enjoyed the three Agualusa books I read before jo..."

Hugh, the other three you've read by Agualusa...did they too read lyrical and poetic in nature...any common themes?

[Mark]

Just getting started. The situation seems very similar to An Unnecessary Woman; single isolated woman in apartment in civil war. Looking foreward to it!

Ami, what an imaginative description! "The reading experience is similar to as if I was running my hands over "something" plush, yet delicate like angora. "

[LindaJ^]

Mark, similar situation but quite different books. I loved both books, but I think this one just a bit more.

[Tamara]

LindaJ^ wrote: "Mark, similar situation but quite different books. I loved both books, but I think this one just a bit more."

I'm the opposite. I loved both books, but I loved An Unnecessary Woman a whole lot more.

[Hugh]

Ami wrote: "Hugh, the other three you've read by Agualusa...did they too read lyrical and poetic in nature...any common themes?"
To be honest, I don't remember any of them clearly enough to be sure - the ones I read were The Book of Chameleons and My Father's Wives (both in 2009) and Rainy Season (in 2010). I suspect that the poetic voice was there in all of them, as was the political and (in the case of Chameleons) surreal content.

I have now ordered a copy of this one.

[Ami]

Mark wrote: "Just getting started. The situation seems very similar to An Unnecessary Woman; single isolated woman in apartment in civil war. Looking foreward to it!

Ami, what an imaginative description! "The ..."

Ha! Thanks! I can explain it better in the next thread. I chose an association because I couldnt Find the right words to convey my thoughts properly.

[Ami]

Hugh wrote: "Ami wrote: "Hugh, the other three you've read by Agualusa...did they too read lyrical and poetic in nature...any common themes?"
To be honest, I don't remember any of them clearly enough to be sure..."

A-ha! Thank you!

[♑︎♑︎♑︎]

I read this a while ago and I'm going to try to locate it for this discussion. I loved the idea of someone living in the middle of a war zone and finding a way to survive successfully in it. I'm in love with the idea that some people just glide through. It does happen that way at times...people live their little lives on the edges while the world implodes around them. But usually authors don't write about stasis. I thought it was brave to make nothing-changes the theme of the novel.

[Whitney]

Wow, great to see so many people here! Looking forward to everyone's comments in the "Entire Book" topic, which is now open.

Ami, I also loved your lyrical discussion of this book, "soulful, impactful and light". The writing (and translating) had such a deft touch to stay so light with such heavy subject matter. (And I also spent a large part of the book stressing over what would happen to Phantom)

I'm afraid I haven't read An Unnecessary Women, I will move it up on my TBR.

Lark, I'd like to hear more about how you see the theme of the book being "nothing changes", as well as other people's thoughts of what themes they saw, in the "Entire Book" topic.

[Whitney]

This site does a good job summarizing the history of Angola and the factions involved in the fighting after Portugal abandoned the country. It clarifies some of the shifting alliances and changing situations of the secondary characters.

https://www.mercenary-wars.net/angola...

[Ami]

Whitney wrote: "Wow, great to see so many people here! Looking forward to everyone's comments in the "Entire Book" topic, which is now open.

Ami, I also loved your lyrical discussion of this book, "soulful, impa..."


You put a Phantom in the picture and I'm a goner. Little do we realize with whom those feral tendencies do surface...and to what extent. Good grief, that was insane, wasn't it? SMH. Extreme hunger...what are you going to do? Well, I wouldn't have done that.

[Hugh]

No news yet on my ordered copy - latest status is still "order received"...

[Ami]

Speaking of books, was anybody surprised by the physical size and shape of the book? Mine was in the shape of a square, on the shorter side compared to other books. When I received my copy, I was tickled by the size, it reminded me of those novelty books without the durable binding, of course.

[Marc]

Hugh, my copy took a long time to arrive, as well (I think it was 3 weeks compared to almost never having to wait more than a week at most when I usually order).

Ami, I was expecting the shape since I've read some others put out by Archipelago Books, but I'm used to their hardbacks (from the library) and much larger page counts, so when this small squarish, paperback arrived, I thought it rather adorable (which, perhaps, when added to the delightful writing, just fed into my overall fondness for the book as a whole).

Thank you for the link, Whitney--I've been meaning to find a good resource since my knowledge of both the area and its history are next to non-existent.

[Ami]

Marc wrote: "Hugh, my copy took a long time to arrive, as well (I think it was 3 weeks compared to almost never having to wait more than a week at most when I usually order).

Ami, I was expecting the shape sin..."

A-ha! It’s an Archipelago Books thing...I’m down with it! It totally affected my reading experience.

[Hugh]

Marc wrote: "Hugh, my copy took a long time to arrive, as well (I think it was 3 weeks compared to almost never having to wait more than a week at most when I usually order).

Ami, I was expecting the shape sin..."

I spoke too soon! Just seen the email, so I should be able to collect it tonight, and start later in the week. Lanny will have to wait.

[Whitney]

Looking forward to others joining in.

I read on Kindle, so didn't get to enjoy the unique size of the book. Is that the brown cover? The image of the pink cover looks more typical.

[Marc]

Yup. That's the one.

[Ella]

I ordered this to read with you guys on the 6th. As we speak it's sitting in a warehouse about 10 miles from my house. The seller neglected to tell me that it would be shipped in a "batch" with other books, so I have no idea when I'll actually get my copy. Looking forward to reading it whenever it comes, and then I'll come read the thread.

[Whitney]

Ella wrote: "I ordered this to read with you guys on the 6th. As we speak it's sitting in a warehouse about 10 miles from my house. The seller neglected to tell me that it would be shipped in a "batch" with oth..."

Looking forward to your joining in, Ella. Hopefully your book will be liberated soon!