Antonio Lobo Antunes Commission of Tears Paperback Book

Antnio Lobo Antuness twentyfifth novel, Commission of Tears (2011, Comisso das Lgrimas) is set during the Angolan Civil War (19752002). Angola attained official independence on November 11, 1975 and, while the stage was set for transition, a combination of ethnic tensions and international pressures rendered Angolas hardwon victory problematic. As with many postcolonial states, Angola was left with both economic and social difficulties which translated into a power struggle between the three predominant liberation movements. The Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), formed in December of 1956 as an offshoot of the Angolan Communist Party, had as its support base the Ambundu people and was largely supported by other African countries, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. In this novel, Lobo Antunes delves into this traumatic period of Angolas history through the fragmented memories and dreams of a broken woman. The author drew from the story of the commander of the female battalion MPLA (Popular movement for the liberation of Angola) who was tortured and killed following the state coup of May 1977. It is said that while they tortured her she did not stop singing. This is the story of Cristina, admitted in to a psychiatric clinic in Lisbon. In her torrent of memories, dialogues and traumatic episodes, Cristina remembers her early childhood in Africa, at the time when everything inside her head was intertwined with her fathers voice, who was a former Black priest and... | Antonio Lobo Antunes Commission of Tears Paperback Book