Gonçalo Manuel de Albuquerque Tavares (born August 1970) is a Portuguese writer and professor of Theory of Science in Lisbon. He published his first work in 2001 and since then has been awarded several prizes. His books have been published in more than 30 countries and the book Jerusalém has been included in the European edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.
Nobel Laureate José Saramago stated: "In thirty years' time, if not before, Tavares will win the Nobel Prize, and I'm sure my prediction will come true... Tavares has no right to be writing so well at the age of 35. One feels like punching him." Tavares published a great variety of books since 2001 and has been awarded several national and international literary prizes. In 2005, he won the José Saramago Prize for young writers under 35. In his speech at the award ceremony, Saramago commented: "JERUSALÉM is a great book, and truly deserves a place among the great works of Western literature."
Career Tavares is the author of a large body of work that has been translated in countries such as India, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, China, Cuba, South Africa, Indonesia, Iceland, Turkey, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Moldova, Estonia, Israel, Venezuela and the United States, in a total of seventy countries.
Saramago predicted that he would win the Nobel Prize. Vasco Graça Moura wrote that A Journey to India will still be talked about in a hundred years' time. The New Yorker said that, like Kafka and Beckett, Tavares showed that "logic can effectively serve madness as well as reason".
Tavares' language breaks with Portuguese lyrical traditions and his subversion of literary genres is innovative. Recently, Tavares' Le Quartier (The Quarter) received the prestigious Prix Laure-Bataillon 2021, awarded to the best book translated in France, succeeding Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk, who received this prize in 2019, and Catalan writer Miquel de Palol. Twenty-two of Tavares' works have won awards in different countries. He has been a finalist for the Oceanos Prize six times and has been awarded the prize three times. He was also twice a finalist for the Prix Médicis and twice a finalist for the Prix Femina, among other distinctions such as the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in 2010.
His books have been the basis for plays, art objects, art videos, and opera.
In 2025, he release "The End of the United States of America," an epic in his tradition of thinking about politics through fiction.
Works +YearEnglish titleOriginal titleLiterary universe/theme2001 ---A Temperatura do Corpo ---2001 ---Livro da Dança ---2002 ---Investigações ---2002Mr Valéry and LogicO Senhor Valéry e a LógicaThe Neighbourhood2003 ---A Colher de Samuel Beckett e Outros Textos (teatro) ---2003Mr Henri and the EncyclopaediaO Senhor Henri e a EnciclopédiaThe Neighbourhood2003Klaus Klump: A ManUm Homem: Klaus KlumpThe Kingdom2004Joseph Walser's MachineA Máquina de Joseph WalserThe Kingdom2004JerusalémJerusalémThe Kingdom200411 ---2004 ---Biblioteca ---2004 ---A Perna Esquerda de Paris Seguido de Roland Barthes e Robert Musil ---2004Mr Brecht and SuccessO Senhor Brecht e o SucessoThe Neighbourhood2004Mr Juarroz and the ThoughtO Senhor Juarroz e o PensamentoThe Neighbourhood2005Mr Kraus and PoliticsO Senhor Kraus e a PolíticaThe Neighbourhood2005Mr Calvin and the PromenadeO Senhor Calvino e o PasseioThe Neighbourhood2005 ---Investigações Geométricas ---2005 ---Histórias Falsas ---2006Brief Notes on ScienceBreves Notas sobre CiênciaEncyclopaedia2006 ---Água, Cão, Cavalo, Cabeça ---2006Mr Walser and the ForestO Senhor Walser e a FlorestaThe Neighbourhood2007Brief Notes on FearBreves Notas sobre o MedoEncyclopaedia2007Learning to Pray in the Age of TechnologyAprender a Rezar na Era da TécnicaThe Kingdom2008Mr Breton and the InterviewO Senhor Breton e a EntrevistaThe Neighbourhood2009Mr Swedenborg and the Geometrical InvestigationsO Senhor Swedenborg e as Investigações GeométricasThe Neighbourhood2009Brief Notes on ConnectionsBreves Notas sobre as LigaçõesEncyclopaedia2010A Voyage to IndiaUma Viagem à Índia ---2010Mr Eliot and the ConferencesO Senhor Eliot e as ConferênciasThe Neighbourhood2010Matteo Lost His JobMatteo Perdeu o Emprego ---2011Short MoviesShort Movies ---2011 ---Canções Mexicanas ---2013 ---Animalescos ---2013Atlas of the Body and the ImaginationAtlas do Corpo e da Imaginação ---2014Old People Want to Live TooOs Velhos Também Querem Viver ---2014A Girl is Lost in Her Century Looking for Her FatherUma Menina está Perdida no seu Século à Procura do Pai ---2015Brief Notes on MusicBreves Notas sobre MúsicaEncyclopaedia2015His Excellency, The CircumlucologistO Torcicologologista, Excelência ---2017The Woman-Without-a-Head and the Man-With-the-Evil-EyeA Mulher-Sem-Cabeça e o Homem-do-Mau-OlhadoMythologies2018Brief Notes on Bloom-LiteratureBreves Notas sobre Literatura-BloomEncyclopaedia2018Five Children, Five RatsCinco Meninos, Cinco RatosMythologies2019Bucarest-Budapest: Budapest-BucarestBucareste-Budapeste: Budapeste-Bucareste ---2019In America, Said JonathanNa América, disse Jonathan ---2020The Middle BoneO Osso do MeioThe Kingdom2021Plague DiaryDiário da Peste: O Ano de 2020 ---2021Dictionary of ArtistsDicionário de Artistas ---2022The Stone and the DrawingA Pedra e o Desenho ---2022The DevilO DiaboMythologies
Awards
Prix Laure Bataillon (2021, France, for the French translation of The Neighbourhood) Bellas Artes - MARGARITA MICHELENA Award for Best Translation (2019, Mexico, for A Girl is Lost in Her Century Looking for Her Father) University of Lisbon Prize (2019, Portugal) Vergílio Ferreira Literary Award (2017, Portugal) Prix Littéraire Européen, Étudiants Francophones (2011, France, for Mister Kraus and Politics) Special Price of the Jury of the Grand Prix Littéraire du Web Cultura (2010, France) Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (2010, France); This award has been given to authors such as Salmon Rushdie, Elias Canetti, Robert Musil, Orhan Pamuk, John Updike, Philip Roth, Gabriel García Márquez and Colm Tóibín, among others. Belgrade Poetry Award (2009, Serbia) International Prize of Trieste (2008, Italy) Prêmio Portugal Telecom (2007, Brazil) José Saramago Prize, 2005
References
External links
Translated Interview with Gonçalo Manuel Tavares from Bomb Review of A Man: Klaus Klump from The Millions Review of A Man: Klaus Klump from Words Without Borders