Milene

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Milene is the German-language title of a novel by Lídia Jorge , which was published in Portuguese in 2002 ( O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas , Eng . The wind in the cranes). The German translation by Karin von Schweder-Schreiner was published by Suhrkamp in 2005 .

The action takes place in the present and based on events in the life of a white woman, various effects of Portuguese colonial history on life in the fictional Portuguese coastal town of Valmares are thematized.

action

Milene is a Portuguese white woman in her thirties who mourns the loss of her grandmother Regina, in whose house she lives. Since Milene's parents are no longer alive, it is stipulated in the will that one of their aunts should be the proxy for Milene's inheritance. At the beginning of the novel, Milene is looking for her grandmother, who independently ended her temporary stay in a nursing home. Milene hopes to find Dona Regina in a part of the building of the former factory of which she was the boss, which her grandmother used to call "The Jewel".

In the course of the story, Milene begins to feel at home with the extended Mata family, who immigrated from Cape Verde and now lives in the "jewel". Milene Leandros and Antonio Mata, one of the factory's current residents, become lovers, which Milene's relatives will not tolerate. Milene's relatives even fraudulently arrange for Milene to be subjected to forced sterilization. Antonio and Milene get married.

Formal aspects

In some places "I" or "we" or "our cousin" are used.

The work is divided into three parts:

  • Celebration (approx. 30 pages)
  • The book Milene (approx. 450 pages)
  • The wind in the cranes (approx. 50 pages)

Translations

  • Le vent qui siffle dans les grues (French), 2004
  • הרוח שרוקת נעגורנים (Ivrit), 3rd edition 2007
  • Milene (German), 2005

Reviews

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lídia Jorge: O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas , 538 pages, Dom Quixote, Lisboa 2002, ISBN 972-20-2332-2