Absolutely captivating! This book was an incredible journey from start to finish. A true masterpiece that I couldn't put down. Highly recommend!

This collection of 26 Portuguese short stories is set mostly in mid-20th century urban Portugal. The stories focus on the mundanity, lack of purpose or meaningful human connection experienced by modern citizens. The lives of men and women, married, widowed, single, childless and with children, are detailed. They see their lives as uneventful and seem to lack the agency to change that–or fear to act on agency, trapped in unsatisfying lives:

“Sometimes, she would pick up her alarm clock and make the hands spin. One day, eight days, thirty days…But when she stopped, only two or three minutes had passed, five at most, and there she was in the same place, still holding the clock.”

There is no hope offered in these stories, and although they are quite well written, it took me several months to read the entire collection.

This collection of stories were beautifully written - authentic, gripping and impactful. The harrowing realities and stories behind the women living under a dictatorship were at times very difficult to read, but rewarding to learn about. I would recommend possibly adding some trigger warnings to allow for readers to have a fair insight into how intense the topics and stories are throughout the collection.

I had not too much context going into this collection, but after navigating these stories it has encouraged me to look further into the history and culture of Portugal.

What a beautiful collection to showcase and celebrate women writers! Especially those who were previously silenced by society and the publishing industry. I am excited to possibly look into more women Portuguese authors in the future.

4.25/5

A collection of short stories from Portuguese author Maria Judite de Carvalho that will have you thinking about life and the weight of existing. I think it's important to walk into this book understanding the context in which these stories were written. Life under a dictatorship is hard, conservative, rigid, and hopeless, which is easily observed in the general tone of the book. The tales in this anthology are a little sad, a little pessimistic, but often realistic and even darkly funny. Most of them focus on women and their place in this stifling society, that aims to keep them controlled and in their place, and what happens when they stray from the path, often with terrible consequences.

I really enjoyed the collection, Maria Judite de Carvalho was an excellent writer with a lot to say about Portuguese society. The author shines when the stories are short and self contained, while the longer ones got a little too repetitive for my taste. I also want to talk about the translator, Margaret Jull Costa. While I haven't read this in the original Portuguese the translation is high quality, being understandable without ever losing the authentic meaning and flavoring. I enjoyed this fully but, I will say that if you're not in the greatest state on mind you might want to put this one aside for a while since the subject matter can be quite harsh and depressing at times.

I liked this book quite a lot even if I had to put it away from time to time. De Carvalho's writing made me think of the Portuguese word saudade. A sort of sad longing for.. I don't know what for. Good writing and good translation.

I plan to read also the novel Empty Wardrobes from the same author.