The Last Flight of the Flamingo

By Mia Couto

Book Overview

"A wonderful mix of magical realism and wordplay that has a similar tone to M rquez at his best. Couto writes in an idiom all his own that feels authentically African."--Ink

In Mozambique after the end of the civil war, local soldiers have been unaccountably blown up. When it begins to happen to UN peacekeepers, a high-level delegation visits the village of Tizangara to initiate an investigation. As the UN investigation unfolds, Mia Couto brilliantly shows how the perceptions of events both inside and outside the country are altered when interpreted from an African perspective.

Mia Couto was born in 1955 in Mozambique and is the most prominent Portuguese-speaking African writer. He now lives in Maputo, where he manages the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852428139
• ISBN13: 9781852428136
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Not as good as his other books

I am a great fan of Mia Couto's books. I love how he is able to take you deep within the social fabric of life in Mozambique this book however I felt fell short. The story is a little confusing and in many parts, pointless it is only at the conclusion of the book you have any idea of what the story was realy about. Unlike his other novels the characters have no appeal nor does the story have anything distinct to make it stand out from his other books; it is almost as if he was running out of ideas with this one. The horrific wars that took place in Mozambique have been largely overlooked in the West especially the aftermath, a country scared by mines. Something which makes Mia Coutos books all the more powerful. Try, voices made night. A collection of short stories some of which almost follow the same lines of this one but a whole lot better.