A General Theory of Oblivion

This wild patchwork of a novel tells the story of Angola through Ludo, a woman who bricks herself into her apartment on the eve of Angolan independence. For the next 30 years she lives off vegetables and pigeons, and burns her furniture to stay warm. But the outside world slowly seeps in through snippets on the radio, voices from next door, glimpses of a man fleeing his pursuers and a note attached to a bird’s foot. Then one day she meets Sabalu, a young boy who climbs up to her terrace.