Summary of The Return of the Caravels
When Portugal’s African colonies gain independence in the 1970s, Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese explorers return to Lisbon in search of shelter and livelihood, only to find a country they no longer recognise. “The Return of the Caravels” is a surreal novel that switches between centuries of Portuguese history, portraying the once-glorious heroes of discovery and colonialism as degraded 20th-century refugees who end up on the fringes of modern society.
Reasons to read The Return of the Caravels
“The Return of the Caravels” is an imaginative and tragicomic exploration of Portuguese colonialism and its lasting impact on modern Portugal. The novel symbolically evokes the highs and lows of Portuguese exploration, blending magical realism with a mingling of past and present. António Lobo Antunes is regarded as one of the greatest contemporary Portuguese writers. He received numerous literary awards, including the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 2000, the Ovid Prize in 2003, the Jerusalem Prize in 2005, the Camões Prize in 2007 (the most prestigious award in Portuguese literature), the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages in 2008, and the International Nonino Prize in 2014. Other notable works by Lobo Antunes include “Fado Alexandrino” and “The Inquisitors’ Manual”.
Setting: Lisbon (Portugal)
Original title: As Naus
Year of publication: 1988
Nr of pages: 224
