This month, Ondjaki launches "The story of the sun and the rhinoceros", a fable about a large rhino "that had a sadness in his chest that almost never left him", asking for advice in the sun to ward off that melancholy.
With a Alfaguara stamp, this story of empathy and perseverance set in the savannah, has illustrations by Colombian author Catalina Vásquez, making her debut in the Portuguese literary panorama and in this collaboration with Ondjaki.
"The story of the sun and the rhinoceros" joins almost a dozen works by Ondjaki for the youngest, among illustrated books, short stories and youth novels, namely "The flight of the dolphin", "The lion and the jumping rabbit" , "The bicycle that had mustaches" and "The firefly guest".
Danuta Wojciechowska, Rachel Caiano and António Jorge Gonçalves are some of the illustrators and visual artists with whom Ondjaki has worked.
In August, on Editorial Caminho, the Angolan author will release the most recent novel, "O Livro do Desprembramento", again set in Luanda, overshadowed by the civil war.
The narrative takes place "in the period when, after the Bicesse agreements, the civil war stopped, and there were elections in Angola for the first time. But in a short time the civil war is reigniting", reads the synopsis.
"The Book of Disembarkation" comes at a time when Ondjaki marks the 20th anniversary of his literary debut in 2000, when he launched the poetry book "Actu Sanguíneu".
Ondjaki, literary pseudonym of Angolan writer Ndalu de Almeida, 43, is the author of more than two dozen literary works, including poetry, romance, theater, short stories and various titles for children and youth, some recommended by the National Reading Plan.
It is translated, for example, into French, Spanish, English and Mandarin and has accumulated several literary awards, including the Saramago Award 2013 with the novel "Os transparentes".
The translation of this novel into English, "Transparent City", is nominated for the Dublin International Literary Award 2020, which distinguishes works written or translated into that language.
