A General Theory Of Oblivion - Jose Eduardo Agualusa

Any one of us, over the course of our lives, can know many different existences. Not many, however, are given the opportunity to wear a different skin.

This is the story of  a woman named Ludo, born in Portugal who locks herself alone for more than thirty years.  As civil war erupts outside her door, Ludo slowly starts her solitary life with her own way of finding food and water. The author beautifully describes that house - most luxurious building in Luanda ,  neighbour with big swimming pool and outside trees with water ways. The premise itself set for a good story.

The story is set during Angola's freedom struggle. It was the time that upheaval of Carnation Revolution spilt over to Angola. Ludo came to Luanda, the capital city of Angola, unwillingly after her sister Odete married to a Angolan man, Orlando.

Her brother-in-law Orlando left pouch of diamonds when he and Odete went for a farewell party. The diamonds plays a crucial role in this story. She kept herself occupied with reading , writing and cooking. By writing, she records her story for the future and for the memory. She killed a burglar who tried to steal the diamonds. She buried him in the terrace flowerbed.  For Ludo writing is important she kept on writing till there was no charcoal. Ludo survives with whatever left over . Her survival bit unrealistic but likeable.

There are lots of stories intermingled in this narration. Everyone has their own stories, some wants to be remembered and some do not wants to forget, as the one character says "A man with a good story is practically a king."  Angolans loves telling stories.As the story progress one can see the changes in Luanda , from the city of revolutions to civil war and at last the growth of capitalism. On the other hand Ludo herself changed  from hating the "black savages of Angola" to accept Angaola as her home .

Many memorable characters makes the life of Ludo more interesting and colourful. Subalu , an young boy who stays with Ludo lately, Little Chief  a businessman and a prison escapee, the Monkey named Che Guevara and the street thug Biaca. All their stories are interconnected with one another without they themselves knowing it.

The fact that Ludo is a agoraphoic woman and she was raped by his father's friend and gave birth to female baby is revealed only at the end but one can easily find out that something was wrong happened to Ludo earlier itself as she points out "the accident".

The book is mixture of  diary entries ,poems and at points looks like a documentary, the author beautifully made it like a montage and gives us a good story. Because of many connected lives , there is a constant state of mystery in the story which augurs well for the reader. The story is neatly crafted with simple language. The titles of each chapter itself speaks volumes of the author. kudos the translator for not missing the essence of the story with the language.This story talks about love, pain , bondage and freedom -also the impact of rape.

A minor classic!