Margaret Jull Costa

Lidia Jorge

With the grand sweep of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, a masterpiece saga about two clashing families in 1990s coastal Portugal. “Because of the magnitude of her work . . . marked by originality and independence of judgment” is how the jury for the FIL Prize in Romance Languages described their honoring of Portuguese writer Lídia Jorge for this most prestigious award. For the first time, American readers can embrace the novelist’s rivetingly human narratives that have heralded so much acclaim. Exquisitely translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Annie McDermott, The Wind Whistling in the Cranes tells the story of the landlords and tenants of a derelict canning factory outside of Lisbon: the wealthy, always-scheming Leandros, and the warm Matas from Cape Verde, who have made a new home amongst machinery untouched since the Carnation Revolution. When Leandro matriarch Regina is found dead outside the building, her peculiar granddaughter Milene investigates, ultimately—catastrophically—enmeshing herself with the Matas. Perpetuating a tradition established by Gabriel García Márquez, this enduring novel of innocence and prejudice announces Jorge as an international powerhouse.

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