The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated by Daniel Hahn (MacLehose, £12.99)
“That is how it all begins: the night splitting open in a huge flash, and the island separating from the world.” Such is the fate of a group of writers at a literary festival on the Island of Mozambique, who find themselves stranded with limited resources and, worst of all, no internet; there’s Ofélia, more famous for her interview outbursts than her poetry; there’s Julio, who keeps rewriting the same novel; there’s Cornelia, whose first book was so successful she can’t write another; and Jude, who didn’t review Cornelia’s novel favourably enough. “I gave it four stars out of five.” “Precisely. You did not give it five.” The writers tell one another stories, Decameron-style, as they wonder: has the world ended? Are they all dead? Agualusa’s funny and lively tale turns increasingly ominous ahead of an explosive conclusion. I give it four stars – and a half.
