The day you finished your new novel, The Century of IdiotsValter Hugo Mãe He sat down again to write. It was Good Friday, last April, and I had gone out to visit the chapel where Father António Vieira gave, for the first time, his famous sermon to the fish. I was in Brazil, in São Luís do Maranhão, and I could have followed the path of distraction and celebration. But he returned to the hotel and to writing, to one of the many stories that he resumes from time to time without a defined direction, without knowing whether it will become the next literary project. This has, in fact, been one of the hallmarks of his 30-year literary career, which he now marks with The Century of Idiots. Three decades counting from the publication, in 1996, of Silent Escape Bodyfollowed by three dozen more titles, including poetry, novels and short stories. “A certain revelry mixed with fury obstinate me”, he guarantees. “It’s a desire for more and more and more.”
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