Ondjaki’s “Transparent City”: Luanda as a metaphor for Angola

Abstract

This article analyzes the work Transparent City of the Angolan writer Ondjaki, based on the concepts of memory, nostalgia and fiction, in the scenario of Luanda city, understood as a metaphor for Angola. Using Baccega’s works on Pepetela’s Mayombe, we trace the context in which Ondjaki’s novel is inscribed. It is pointed out, from work excerpts, how the author fictionalizes characters and interests of Luanda city, namely the elite that supports the ex-president who ruled the country for about forty years. Evoking Baccega once again, we analyze how characters are constructed, in a dichotomy of winners/losers, and in a progressively chaotic and corrupt urban scenario, where memory and nostalgia are the anchor of dispossessed resilience. Finally, we map references and the role of the media, focusing the relevance of Journalism in Angola and the influence of Brazilian soap operas.