What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire?: A Novel
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Authors: António Lobo Antunes
WHAT CAN I DO WHENEVERYTHING’S ON FIRE?
OTHER BOOKS BY
ANTÓNIO LOBO ANTUNES,
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
South of Nowhere
(1979)
Knowledge of Hell
(1980)
An Explanation of the Birds
(1981)
Fado Alexandrino
(1983)
Acts of the Damned
(1985)
The Return of the Caravels
(1988)
The Natural Order of Things
(1992)
The Inquisitors’ Manual
(1996)
The Fat Man and Infinity
(2009)
Translated from the Portuguese by GREGORY RABASSA
W. W. NORTON & COMPANY
New York • London
Copyright © 2001 by António Lobo Antunes and Publicações Dom Quixote English translation copyright © 2008 by Gregory Rabassa
Originally published in Portugese as
Que Farei Quando Tudo Arde?
All rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
Production manager: Devon Zahn
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Antunes, António Lobo, 1942–
[Que farei quando tudo arde? English]
What can I do when everything’s on fire? / António Lobo Antunes; translated from the Portugese by Gregory Rabassa
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-0-393-06953-2
I. Rabassa, Gregory. II. Title.
PQ9263.N77Q8413 2008
869.3'42—dc22 2008013189
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
W. W. Norton & Company, Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London
WIT 3QT
to Marisa Blanco for her pitiless friendship
to my cousin José Maria Lobo Antunes Nolasco, who’s gotten
me out of some tight spots
and to the poet Francisco Sá de Miranda, so much at home
here, coming from the sixteenth century to
supply the title of this book.
I am you and you are me
; where you are, I am, and in all things I find myself dispersed. Whatever you find, it is me you are finding; and when you find me, you find yourself.(Epiphanius, Haer. 26.3)
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
PAULO ANTUNES LIMA
son of Judite and Carlos
CARLOS/SORAIA
drag queen, father of Paulo, lover of Rui
JUDITE
(maiden name is Claudino Baptista)—teacher, wife of Carlos, mother of Paulo
RUI
Soraia’s lover, Paulo’s friend
MR. COUCEIRO
(Jaime Couceiro Marques)—Paulo’s guardian, retired World War II veteran
DONA HELENA
Mr. Couceiro’s wife, Paulo’s guardian, housewife
NOÉMIA COUCEIRO MARQUES
the Couceiros’ dead daughter
DONA AURORINHA
Carlos’s neighbor on Príncipe Real
ALCIDES
later lover of Soraia
DONA AMÉLIA
candy seller at the club, friend of Carlos
GABRIELA MATOS HENRIQUES
maid in hospital dining room, lover of Paulo
SECONDARY CHARACTERS
ABEL LOPES MARTINS
Mr. Couceiro’s grandfather, Isabel’s father
ALBERTO
Dona Amélia’s uncle
AQUILES
father of Gabriela
CAMÉLIA
Judite’s blind mother, Paulo’s grandmother
CARMINDO
new lover of Gabriela
CRISTINA
(and Elizabete and Márcia) fellow teachers of Judite in Lisbon
CORA
grandmother of Judite
DÁLIA
girl on tricycle in Bico da Areia, later seen by Paulo in Chelas
ELISA
lover of Luciano
FIRMINO
uncle of Gabriela
FLORIANO
store clerk, lover of Judite
MR. FREITAS
Marlene’s stepfather
ISABEL LOPES MARTINS
Mr. Couceiro’s mother
JOÃO
Rui’s father
JÚLIA
Paulo’s girlfriend in Personnel
LUCIANO
Paulo’s doctor at the hospital
PROFESSOR MAIA ONOFRE
newspaper columnist
MARIA DA SOLEDADE
Mr. Couceiro’s grandmother, Isabel’s mother
MERCÊS
Julia’s mother
OFÉLIA
Rui’s mother
ORLANDO BORGES CARDOSO
Rui’s grandfather
OTÍLIA
sister of Gabriela
PEDRO
Rui’s uncle
PILAR
friend of Rui’s aunt
SERGEANT QUARESMA
Dona Aurorinha’s uncle
ROSENDO
former fiancé of Dona Aurorinha
VIVALDO
orderly at hospital
DRAG QUEENS (in order of mention)
ANDREIA
BÁRBARA
ALEXANDRA
NINI
SAMANTA
CAROLE/ANTÓNIO
(has a daughter in France, niece of Aura; childhood neighbors are Dona Eunice, Álvaro, and Fernanda)
VÂNIA/MARCELINO
Gonçalves Freitas
MILÁ
MICAELA
MARLENE/JOAQUIM
(son of Lurdes)
RICARDA
(Brazilian)
DINA
SISSI
LUCI
CRISTIANA
VANDA
CARLOS/SORAIA’S LOVERS AND CUSTOMERS (in order of mention)
RUI |
|
FAUSTO |
|
LUCIANO |
|
TADEU |
|
MÁRIO |
|
DINO |
|
JÁCOME |
|
LICÍNIO |
|
HERNANDO |