A girl lost in the twentieth century

Another important novel by the Portuguese writer Gonçalo M. Tavares (born 1970). He is a novelist who was introduced late to our Arab world, even though his books have been translated into all world languages, and many critics refer to him as the successor to the great novelist José Saramago. This novel culminates the novelist's efforts over many long years and is one of his latest literary works, following his long-running "The Neighborhood" series of short novels, and also his collection of short stories "Fictional Tales," which we recently translated and published through Dar Al Rafidain. The novel "A Girl Lost in the 20th Century," translated here from Spanish, has a sequel in its Portuguese text titled "A Girl Lost in the 20th Century and Searching for Her Father." The entire novel revolves around this strange, silent little girl's search for traces of her father amidst times of war and malicious human labyrinths. The significant characters within it attempt to illustrate the effects of the human psyche during times of cruelty, destruction, and devastating wars. In all these characters, whether we sympathize with them or not, we will find bits of ourselves scattered here and there. Human souls are similar in their merriment and their cruelty. This novelistic effort will be a shining light to point out our horrible mistakes in times not far from us. Everyone wants to know what happened that night, and since Star is the only eyewitness in this case, what she says – or doesn't say – could turn her community upside down, and it could also endanger her life. It tells the story of an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances, addressing racism, police brutality, double standards, distortion of facts, and other important topics.

• Section: Translated Novels

• Number of Pages: 247 pages