A General Theory Of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa; trans. Daniel Hahn, book review

Lusophone Africa is marking 40 years of independence this year: the revolution that overthrew Portugal's dictatorship in 1974 ended the country's colonial wars, and power was formally ceded the following year. Nowhere was transition smooth and Portugal's withdrawal from Angola sparked 26 years of civil war. José Eduardo Agualusa's A General Theory Of Oblivion begins on the eve of Angolan independence and tells the story of Ludo, an exiled Portuguese who, alarmed by events, bricks herself into her apartment and stays there till it's all over, 28 years later.