{"title":"Valério Romão","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas born in 1974 in France, but has lived most of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator and playwright, known for his intense approach and for exploring the darkest corners of human experience. He writes novels, plays and short stories. Among his best-known books are \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAutismo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eO da Joana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCair para Dentro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Valério Romão is still alive and active on the Portuguese literary scene, and is considered one of the most singular voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"autismo","title":"Autism","description":"\u003cp\u003eA dive into the most intimate territory of loss and how difficult it is to communicate with others. Published in 2012, it opens the trilogy \u003cem\u003ePaternidades Falhadas\u003c\/em\u003e and confronts the reader with the devastating experience of loss and the inability to cope with silence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrative follows a father who sees his son (...) unexpectedly, exposing the fragility of family relationships and the emotional violence that sets in when language fails. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein Abysmo; \"\u003cspan\u003eIn the hospital emergency room, a couple desperately tries to find out the condition of their son, who has been hit by a car. Valério Romão's theatrical writing draws us into a dizzying spiral where we will encounter loneliness and failure, the cruelty of a condition that affects everyone it touches, the helplessness in the face of doctors or school and, in short, the despair of a contemporary family, but also, and above all, the selfless struggle, the obstinacy, the strength where there was no strength and, of course, love. The outcome of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTISM\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the first literary approach, among us, to this disabling disease, is surprising AND the portrait it paints is highly disturbing.\u003c\/span\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão \u003c\/strong\u003ewas born in 1974, in France, but spent much of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator, and playwright, recognized for his intense approach and exploration of the darkest corners of the human experience. Author of novels, plays, and short stories. Among his best-known books are \u003cem\u003eAutismo\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eO da Joana\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eCair para Dentro\u003c\/em\u003e. Valério Romão remains alive and active in the Portuguese literary scene, considered one of the most unique voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abysmo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064903332106,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/autismo.jpg?v=1762167631"},{"product_id":"o-da-joana","title":"Joana's","description":"\u003cp\u003eA book in the \u003cem\u003eFailed Paternities\u003c\/em\u003e trilogy. Published in 2013, this book confirms the uniqueness of Romão's writing: a rigorous prose, marked by a slow cadence and a tension that creeps into every sentence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe text builds itself as a space of confrontation, where language becomes an instrument of emotional dissection. Reading it requires availability and attention, because what is at stake is not just a story, but a reflection on the limits of communication, intimacy, and the fragility that permeates human relationships. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein Abysmo: \"Joana and Jorge have been waiting for a child for eight years. They changed the color of the child's room three times: the anxiety was immense. That night, at seven months pregnant, when Joana's waters break, Jorge found himself thinking that perhaps there are evils that come for good and that this meant an easier birth. The drama explodes in the hospital when something goes wrong. Joana then asks the doctor to simulate a normality, beginning a long inner journey that takes her, the character, and us, readers, on a roller coaster ride to madness.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e«Valério describes everything in minute detail, in a fast, elastic, comprehensive prose, made of panoramas and zooms, like a documentary that the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewould make about us, humans, those primates who are ultimately so similar in their “deepest and most genuine drives.” There is talk, for example, of the primary “magnetism” that makes mothers drawn to their children's crying, following the instinct of “a properly calibrated female heart.” And it is here that the story begins its slide into an “existential high sea in which everything is stripped bare in the absence of solid ground.”»\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJosé Mário Silva\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eExpresso\u003c\/em\u003e, August 2013\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e«With a remarkable sense of detail, an original use of metaphor, and never losing the rhythm of the sentence and the flow, in a rugged score, between direct and indirect speech, meta-text and raw orality, in a galloping sequence, like the heart of a premature fetus on a CTG machine, the book opens with an extremely powerful salomonic scene, after the illustrations, also made with a scalpel by Alex Gozblau.»\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAna Margarida de Carvalho\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eVisão\u003c\/em\u003e, September 2013\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas born in 1974, in France, but lived much of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator, and playwright, recognized for his intense approach and exploration of the darkest areas of the human experience. Author of novels, plays, and short stories. Among his best-known books are \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAutism\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eO da Joana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCair para Dentro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Valério Romão remains alive and active in the Portuguese literary scene, being considered one of the most unique voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abysmo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064905888010,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/odajoana.jpg?v=1762168290"},{"product_id":"cair-para-dentro","title":"Fall inwards","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 2014, it is part of the trilogy \u003cem\u003ePaternidades Falhadas\u003c\/em\u003e. The work confirms the author's aesthetic approach, focused on the rigorous analysis of human relationships and their fragilities. The narrative is constructed with precision, avoiding artifice and maintaining a direct language that demands the reader's attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book addresses complex themes related to intimacy, loss, and the difficulty of communication. It is a text that values clarity and psychological depth, inviting reflection on fundamental aspects of the human experience. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein Abysmo: \"CAIR PARA DENTRO tells the story of two women, Virgínia and Eugénia, united by the mother-daughter relationship. Eugénia, the daughter, was not raised to be an independent adult and, although she is a university professor, her mother controls her money and her time, even forbidding her to have a mobile phone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Virgínia begins to develop symptoms of dementia, Eugénia finds herself forced to leave that artificial childhood constructed by her mother behind, growing up and taking care of all practical aspects of both their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUntil she discovers that, given her mother's condition, revenge is a possibility. CAIR PARA DENTRO, the volume that concludes the trilogy «Paternidades Falhadas», explores to the limit the difficulties of human relationships and the moral dilemmas that arise from them.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abysmo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064907133194,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/cairparadentro.jpg?v=1762168584"},{"product_id":"da-familia","title":"From the family","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 2018, it offers an in-depth analysis of family relationships and their tensions. The work maintains the author's distinctive style, marked by clarity and a rejection of artificial dramatisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe text is rigorously structured, with careful attention to psychological detail and the complexity of human interactions. Romão uses direct language and avoids unnecessary stylistic devices to create a narrative that demands concentration and reflection. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a book that confirms the author's consistent approach to difficult themes, always maintaining a sober, analytical tone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein Abysmo: \"One of today's most challenging writers presents a collection of 11 short stories, some of which were previously published in magazines such as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eEgoísta\u003c\/em\u003e. In a style of great lyrical starkness, he expands his universe here to the omnipresent theme of family, creating extraordinary characters and apocalyptic settings with unusual authenticity. On the cover, a small mirror, scratched by time and use, reminds us that no one, not even the unwary reader, can escape the family portrait—the portrait of an ordinary family.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Like some of his characters, Valério does not hesitate to use the scalpel, and it is precisely the incisions made into the body of the narrative—brief lyrical digressions (for example, someone drawing \"a rudimentary Japanese garden with a fork\" on their plate of rice)—that give it brilliance and an unusual power.\"\u003cbr\u003eJosé Mário Silva,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eExpresso\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão \u003c\/strong\u003ewas born in France in 1974 but spent much of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator and playwright, recognised for his intense approach and his exploration of the darkest aspects of human experience. He has written novels, plays and short stories. Among his best-known books are Autismo, O da Joana and Cair para Dentro. Valério Romão remains a vibrant and active figure in the Portuguese literary scene, regarded as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abysmo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064908706058,"sku":null,"price":16.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/dafamilia.jpg?v=1762168848"},{"product_id":"mais-uma-desilusao","title":"Another disappointment","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst poetry book, published in 2021. The work is part of a literary tradition that seeks to question national identity and its contradictions, articulating personal experiences with a critical reading of the historical and social context.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRomão constructs a collection of poems that address issues related to memory, childhood, individual formation, and the relationship with a country that oscillates between the promise of modernity and the vestiges of an authoritarian past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe writing is characterized by attention to detail, maintaining a rigorous and demanding register. \u003cem\u003eMais uma Desilusão\u003c\/em\u003e is an exercise in cultural diagnosis, which confronts the reader with the complexity of a reality in transformation. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Abysmo: \"\u003cspan\u003eIn his first poetry book, Valério Romão joins the long tradition of creators whose work contains a facet of questioning and diagnosing the strange and apparently incurable condition of \"being Portuguese\". \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStarting from the reflection in the mirror, he contrasts his own formative experiences – including childhood memories and growing pains – with the fertile territory of contradictions and promises of a country orphaned from its Atlantic fantasy and the territories that belonged to it, launched into the arms of a deep-pocketed European Union with – apparently – reasonable demands, eager to shake off the mold of five decades of dictatorship to finally reach the long-desired and mysterious modernity and, while we are at it and in the same breath, adulthood. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt a time when Marshall McLuhan's prophetic expression, according to which \"the medium is the message\", conforms even to the reality of poetic creation, bending the verse to a perfect Cartesianism in perpetual flux, Romão opts for the latitude of a composition incompatible with the milking of the contemporary like, where the effervescent teenager of the nineties gaming machine coexists with packs of fierce autists and the nightmare of a radical and irremediable tropicalization that ends up transforming the rectangle into a lesbian seaside resort and every Portuguese person into a curator of other people's memories.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão \u003c\/strong\u003ewas born in 1974, in France, but lived much of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator, and playwright, recognized for his intense approach and exploration of the darkest areas of the human experience. Author of novels, plays, and short stories. Among his most well-known books are \u003cem\u003eAutism\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eO da Joana\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCair para Dentro\u003c\/em\u003e. Valério Romão remains alive and active in the Portuguese literary scene, being considered one of the most singular voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abysmo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064909525258,"sku":null,"price":13.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/maisumadesilusao.jpg?v=1762169144"},{"product_id":"o-desfufador-vol-1-contagio","title":"The Deflator (Vol.1 Contagion)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA REMORSELESS SATIRE ON MASCULINITY, TOURISTIFICATION, CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CLIMATE, TECHNOLOGY, THE ACADEMIC WORLD AND A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO LIST\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein Abysmo: \"On the day Alejandro was born, in 1984, in Miami, the son of an unknown father and a sick mother who would die shortly afterwards, and even before being handed over to aunts who hate men and who will try to make him useless, we were far from imagining that he would survive, let alone have a role reserved for him in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFleeing his aunts and the frustration of not becoming a lighthouse keeper, Alejandro embarks on an almost supernatural cruise, landing by chance in Lisbon, in a post-Great Blackout world — a planetary cataclysm that turned off all electrical systems for half an hour and gave all women an immense orgasm —, and finds the paths that will lead him to cross paths with the remaining protagonists: Alex, the revolutionary dwarf with his beloved dolphin Pablo, the sociologist Hélder, prone to conspiracies and recolonization theories, and Catarina, a woman on a mysterious mission that forces her to hop between continents in search of a very special man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unprecedented epidemic with unpredictable consequences is coming, but the gears are already turning. Prepare yourselves for the contagion.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValério Romão\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas born in 1974, in France, but spent much of his life in Portugal. He is a writer, translator, and playwright, recognized for his intense approach and exploration of the darkest corners of the human experience. Author of novels, plays, and short stories. Among his best-known books are \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAutism\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eO da Joana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCair para Dentro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Valério Romão remains alive and active in the Portuguese literary scene, considered one of the most unique voices in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maldita Livraria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52064926892298,"sku":null,"price":19.9,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/files\/odesfufador.webp?v=1762169682"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0735\/2729\/6266\/collections\/Valerio-Romao-3-e1672323308533.jpg?v=1762256435","url":"https:\/\/www.malditalivraria.com\/en\/collections\/valerio-romao.oembed","provider":"Maldita Livraria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}