250+ national review copy mailingStrong focus on outlets who favorably reviewed Couto's FSG novel, in addition to our contacts in NY media, along w/ all translation outletsInclusion in academic catalogsAcademic outreach to centers for African & Portuguese literature: University of Massachussetts, U.C. Berkeley, CUNY, U.C. Santa Barbara, UPenn, UofT Austin, etc. Co-op available Advance reader copies National print and online campaign General interest: The Believer, Bookforum, The Atlantic, The New York Times, NYTBR, LA Times, Time, LARB, Harper’s, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, SF Chronicle Trades: Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal Shelf Awareness North American TV & Radio Campaign. Pitch interviews and reviews to NPR and CBC. Online and Social Media Campaign.Pitch interviews and reviews to The Rumpus, Electric Literature, The Millions, Largehearted Boy, Shelf Awareness, Jezebel, Slate, Salon, LARB, NYRB, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Quarterly Conversation, Brooklyn Rail, Flavorwire, Buzzfeed. Canadian Media: Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Quill & Quire, Canadian Notes and Queries, Winnipeg Free Press Promote on Social Media and via Biblioasis and author websites.General Ebook Plan.Ebook available through Biblioasis and author websites.Giveaways through Edelweiss, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter
Mia Couto was born in Beira, Mozambique, in 1955. He dropped out of medical school to join the struggle against Portuguese colonialism in his country. When Mozambique became independent in 1975, Couto was named Director of Information in the revolutionary government and served as editor of two newspapers. In the 1980s, he returned to university to study environmental biology while beginning his writing career. Couto is the author of more than 25 books of fiction, essays and poems. His novels and short story collections have been published in 20 languages; made into feature films; been bestsellers in Africa, Europe, and South America; and awarded major literary prizes in Mozambique, Portugal, Brazil, and Italy, including the 2013 Camões Prize, and the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In 2015, he was a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize. His novel The Tuner of Silences was longlisted for the 2015 IMPAC Dublin Award, while Confession of the Lioness was shortlisted for the Award in 2017. Mia Couto lives with his family in Maputo, Mozambique, where he works as an environmental consultant and a theatre director.
PRAISE FOR RAIN AND OTHER STORIES“Couto’s stories counter [the]
fear of barrenness, pinpointing kernels of possibility...Becker’s
intricate translation uses wonderful almost-words to recreate
Couto’s illusory and playful sentences...concoctions precise enough
to capture the writing’s mythical, trancelike quality.”
—The New York Times Book Review “[Couto] has been creating his own
utterly original take on African life for decades now, rich and
lyrical works immersed in the soil and mind-set of rural
Mozambique...these literary fragments are dreamy but hopeful
responses to Mozambique's violent past, magical tales that find
solace in the wisdom of rivers and trees, fishermen and fortune
tellers, children and blind men. An assortment of transcendent
sketches, fables, and creation tales, Couto's stories are rooted
yet timeless, both whimsical and deeply spiritual—essential
qualities of the work of the masterful Mozambican author.”
—Vanity Fair “A charming collection...unsettling and uplifting, and
filled with the wisdom of folk tales.”
—Financial Times “Rain and Other Stories was first published in
1994, shortly after the 1992 peace agreement that put an end to the
lengthy civil war that followed the lengthy war for independence of
Mozambique. Mia Couto’s characters have endured the devastation of
decades of war: blind men, children who lost their families,
widows, displaced old men. They still find their way to solidarity
and a quiet hope. The stories are often sad but sometimes very
funny. The range of tones in the collection, together with Couto’s
verbal inventiveness, poses a considerable challenge to the
translator, but Eric M. B. Becker makes it look effortless, writing
with low-key eloquence and matching creativity with
creativity.”
—Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize Jury, Modern Language Association
“Stellar...offers fable-like gems capturing lives hurt and heroic,
damaging and enduring...At a low point, Blind Estrelinho "remained
on the side of the road, like a balled-up handkerchief soaked with
sadness," and such language stuns throughout. A woman deserted by
her husband, a problem child rushing to rescue her father—these are
some of Couto's poignant stories. VERDICT Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review) “Wide ranging in theme, mood, and
genre...[Couto's] descriptions of landscapes and people have the
power and mystery of the best style of folklore. The strength of
his characters, whether he’s portraying an old math professor
exploring love, a cross-dressing neighbor, or a businessman
creating a happy communal space as a gift to God‚ is most apparent
in how with few words their varied lives become relatable. Becker’s
translation conveys Couto’s precise use of language to capture the
innately elusive nature of human experience.”
—Booklist “Encompasses everything from unlikely confessionals to
dreamlike forays outside of realism; it’s a concise and
wide-ranging demonstration of Couto’s authorial range.”
—Words Without Borders “Stunning imagery draws power from
unexpected comparisons...Playful and poignant, Rain and Other
Stories cements Couto's reputation as one of the finest writers in
the Portuguese language, and proves Becker's talent as a discerning
and perceptive translator.”
—Shelf Awareness “Convey[s] a sense of profound loss flecked with a
measure of optimism about life after the bloodshed is over. An
impressionistic flash-fiction trek through the wreckage of
war.”
—Kirkus Reviews “Magnificent...The wonder of the collection, indeed
its grip on the reader, is that such seemingly disparate tales come
together to ultimately present how the land is remade...Nearly each
sentence is astonishing in this riveting, challenging
collection.”
—Winnipeg Free Press “What’s most successful about this collection
are the ways in which Couto repeatedly asks unanswerable questions,
piquing reader curiosity... answers manifest through subtext, and
the effect is both chilling and tragic. In this collection, Mia
Couto, via Eric M. B. Becker’s aesthetically rich translation,
packs an emotional resonance in each story—despite brevity, many
only reaching five pages—that lingers with readers long after
putting the book down.”
—Arkansas International “The roots and spirits of these tales seem
to run deep into the very bedrock of the earth. They are uniquely
Mozambican and yet timeless...[Couto] has an uncanny ability to
create miniature worlds peopled with wonderful characters, images
and happenings...simply enchanting.”
—Joseph Schreiber, Roughghosts PRAISE FOR MIA COUTO "Mia Couto’s
words help weave the story of Mozambique. Couto’s language is
enriched by his country’s idioms, voices—and possibilities."
—New York Times
“Mia Couto’s stories of civilisation and barbarity are told through
a language that is precise and profound; he weaves together the
living tradition of legend, poetry and song.”
—International Man Booker shortlist jury citation “On almost every
page … we sense Couto’s delight in those places where language
slips officialdom’s asphyxiating grasp.”
—The New York Times “[Couto is] a brilliant aphorist. There are
countless sentences that … have the weight and wisdom of ancient
proverbs.”
—The Wall Street Journal “Even in translation, his prose is
suffused with striking images.”
—The Washington Post “Couto’s narrative tone, at once deadpan and
beguiling, and his virtuoso management of time place him alongside
the best Latin American magic realists.”
—Times Literary Supplement “Quite unlike anything else I have read
from Africa.”
—Doris Lessing "Mia Couto, long regarded as one of the leading
writers in Mozambique, has now been recognized as one of the
greatest living writers in the Portuguese language … [He] cracks
open a welcoming window onto a vast world of literary pleasures
that has for too long remained under the radar in the
English-speaking world.”
—Philip Graham, The Millions
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