The Madwoman of Serrano by Dina Salústio (Translated by Jethro Soutar)
Author(s) from: Cape Verde - has also lived in Portugal and Angola
Setting: ???
Original Language: Portuguese
First Publised: 1998
Description: Serrano is an isolated village where a madwoman roams. But is she really mad or is she marginalized because she is wise and a woman? Could her babbling be prophecy? One day a girl falls from the sky and is found in the forest by Jeronimo. The villagers are suspicious of the newcomer, but Jeronimo falls in love with her. When she gives birth and disappears, Jeronimo takes care of the child, naming her Filipa. Years later, estranged from Jeronimo after being taken from the village in mysterious circumstances, Filipa is a successful businesswoman in the city. Her memories of growing up in Serrano and her friendship with the madwoman become increasingly vivid. When the madwoman's warnings come true and Serrano's sheltered existence is threatened by plans to build a dam, Jeronimo heads for the city himself. Will he and Filipa finally be reunited? Dina Salústio is the first woman from the country to publish a novel, and the first writer from the country to have a novel translated to English.

Chiquinho: A Novel of Cabo Verde by Baltasar Lopes da Silva (Translated by Isabel Rodrigues and Carlos Almeida)
Author(s) from: Cape Verde - has spent some time living in Portugal
Setting: Cape Verde/Cabo Verde
Original Language: Portuguese
First Publised: 1947
Description: Baltazar Lopes's Chiquinho offers a rich and compelling exploration of Cabo Verde's unique identity. Tracing the arc of its young protagonist's life as he approaches adulthood, the novel follows Chiquinho as he leaves his village, journeys to São Vicente Island to further his education, returns home as drought and famine strike the archipelago, and makes the difficult decision to join his father in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Reflecting the challenges faced by the Creole intellectuals of the so­-called Claridade generation, this long ­overdue English translation of Chiquinho is sure to appeal to academic audiences as well as the general reader. Considered the greatest Cape Verdean novel.

The Last Will and Testament of Senhor Da Silva Araujo by Germano Almeida (Translated by Sheila Faria Glaser)
Author(s) from: Cape Verde
Setting: Cape Verde
Original Language: Portuguese
First Publised: 1988
Description: Everyone in Cape Verde knows Senor da Silva. Successful entrepreneur, owner of the island's first automobile, a most serious, upright, and self-made businessman, Senor da Silva is the local success story. Born an orphan, he never married, he never splurged--one good suit was good enough for him--and he never wandered from the straight and narrow. Or so everyone thought. But when Senor da Silva's 387-page Last Will and Testament is read aloud--a marathon task on a hot afternoon which exhausts reader after reader--there's eye-opening news, and not just for the smug nephew so certain of inheriting all Senor da Silva's property. With his will, Senor da Silva leaves a memoir that is a touching web of elaborate self-deceptions. He desired so ardently to prosper, to be taken seriously, to join (perhaps, if they'll have him) the exclusive Gremio country club, and, most of all, to be a good man. And yet, shady deals, twists of fate, an illegitimate child: such is the lot of poor, self-critical Senor da Silva. A bit like Calvino's Mr. Palomar in his attention to protocol and in his terror of life's passions; a bit like Calvino's Mr. Palomar in his attention to protocol and in his terror of life's passions; a bit like Svevo's Zeno (a little pompous, a little old-fashioned, and often hapless), Senor da Silva moves along a deliciously blurry line between farce and tragedy: a self-important buffoon becomes a fully human, even tragic, figure in the arc of this hilarious and touching novel.