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Gonçalo M. Tavares

ゴンサーロ・エム・タヴァレス

Goncalo M. Tavares

Pen Names: Gonçalo M. TavaresProfessional name / published name

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1970-08-01 (Luanda, Angola)
Nationality
Portugal
Languages
Portuguese
Residence History
Luanda (birthplace), Angola → Lisbon (residence), Portugal

Career

Occupations
writer, university professor, professor of Theory of Science, essayist
Active Years
2001-
Influenced By
Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett
Nominations
Prix Médicis (finalist), Prix Femina (finalist), Oceanos Prize (finalist, multiple times)

Awards

Prix Laure Bataillon
2021
Work: The Neighbourhood (French translation)
Organization: Prix Laure Bataillon (organization)
Result: 受賞
Bellas Artes - Margarita Michelena Award for Best Translation
2019
Work: A Girl is Lost in Her Century Looking for Her Father
Organization: Bellas Artes (Mexico)
Result: 受賞
Prix Littéraire Européen (Étudiants Francophones)
2011
Work: Mister Kraus and Politics
Organization: Prix Littéraire Européen (France)
Result: 受賞
Special Prize of the Jury of the Grand Prix Littéraire du Web Cultura
2010
Organization: Grand Prix Littéraire du Web Cultura
Result: 受賞(審査員特別賞)
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
2010
Organization: Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (organization)
Result: 受賞
Belgrade Poetry Award
2009
Organization: Belgrade Poetry Award (organization)
Result: 受賞
International Prize of Trieste
2008
Organization: International Prize of Trieste (organization)
Result: 受賞
Prêmio Portugal Telecom
2007
Organization: Prêmio Portugal Telecom (organization)
Result: 受賞
José Saramago Prize
2005
Work: Jerusalem
Organization: José Saramago Prize (organization)
Result: 受賞
University of Lisbon Prize
2019
Organization: University of Lisbon
Result: 受賞
Vergílio Ferreira Literary Award
2017
Organization: Vergílio Ferreira Literary Award (organization)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Jerusalem

2004 The Kingdom / novel

A philosophical and experimental novel exploring power, violence and memory. Considered one of his early major works and frequently cited among notable contemporary Western literature.

powerviolencememorythe city
Translations
  • Jerusalem (translated into multiple languages, including English)

Joseph Walser's Machine

2004 The Kingdom / novel

A story themed around modernity and machinic forces; an allegorical work where characters and devices intersect.

modernitymachinesallegory

The Neighbourhood

2002 The Neighbourhood / short story cycle

The Neighbourhood series consists of short fragments that probe the boundary between logic and madness, everyday life and the absurd.

absurditylogic and madnesscracks in everyday life

A Voyage to India

2010 Novel / travel elements

Using the motif of a voyage to explore history, memory and human relationships; noted as a work likely to endure.

journeymemoryhistory

Bibliography

  • A Temperatura do Corpo (2001)
  • Livro da Dança (2001)
  • Investigações (2002)
  • Mr Valéry and Logic (2002)
  • Jerusalem (2004)
  • Joseph Walser's Machine (2004)
  • A Voyage to India (2010)
  • Plague Diary: The Year 2020 (2021)

Adaptations

  • Several works have been adapted for stage, opera, film/video and used as subjects for art videos and art objects

Translations of Works

  • Jerusalem: translated into English, French, Japanese and many others
  • The Neighbourhood: French translation (Prix Laure Bataillon winner) etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, fragmentary prosephilosophical and conceptual fragmentsgenre-subverting experimentalism
Recurring Motifs
the city and neighbourhoodmechanicity and modernityviolence and powermemory and fragmented subjectivity

Legacy

Gonçalo M. Tavares is one of the leading figures of contemporary Portuguese literature since the 2000s. His poetic yet austere fragmentary style and genre-crossing oeuvre have earned international recognition. Jerusalem is included in the European edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.

In Popular Culture

  • Jerusalem included in the European edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
  • Works have been used as material for theatre, film/video, opera and art projects

Quotes

  • José Saramago stated: "In thirty years' time, if not before, Tavares will win the Nobel Prize, and I'm sure my prediction will come true... Tavares has no right to be writing so well at the age of 35. One feels like punching him."
    Source: José Saramago (award ceremony comment) (2005)

Trivia

  • His books have been published in over 70 countries.
  • Jerusalem is included in the European edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.
  • The French translation of The Neighbourhood won the Prix Laure Bataillon.