"False memories and clairvoyant dreams combine in Agualusa's sweeping,
intricately plotted tale of personal and political history in Angola . .
. " - Publishers Weekly
When Daniel Benchimol--consummate dreamer--uncovers the photographed
reveries of a famous Mozambican artist, Moira, his fascination quickly
develops to obsession as the sight lines between reality and dreams get
harder to bring into focus
Daniel Benchimol spends his dreaming hours interviewing revolutionaries
and writers. In this treacherous sleepscape, we find the Angolan
anti-communist Jonas Savimbi, Muammar Gaddafi, hunched and hiding in a
gutter, and Julio Cortázar as a great billowing tree, speaking to Daniel
through an alphabet of clouds. He dreams wild dreams of people he's
never met, squinting at them as if submerged in the hazy waters of
southern Angola.
When Daniel finds a camera on the beach, he becomes obsessed with the
woman in the photos. Moira is a Mozambican artist with a similar
preoccupation with her subconscious life - she stages her dreams in her
artwork. The two meet, and together they explore the cloudy edges of
their nightly visions, tugging at the fringed hem of the real. The
Society of Reluctant Dreamers is a delicately crafted glimpse into the
aftermath of Angolan independence, a postcard sent to prod the illusion
of peace and freedom.
