Neighbours: The Story of A Murder
SynopsisPlot
On the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid, Narguiss, who ‘never wanted anything to do with politics’, is more preoccupied with family problems than with the radio news of kidnappings and murders. Nearby, Leia, Januário and their young daughter are caught up in the pleasure and security of finally finding a flat of their own, while Mena, who was once the beauty of her village, overhears her husband plotting murder. Before dawn, these innocent people seeking to lead peaceful lives are thrown together in a vicious conspiracy to infiltrate and destabilize Mozambique.
Story
About this book
On the eve of Eid, three households in Mozambique go about their ordinary concerns. Narguiss, a woman who has kept her distance from politics, is absorbed in family troubles rather than the disturbing radio reports of kidnappings and killings. Nearby, a young couple named Leia and Januário celebrate the small victory of securing their own flat, settling in with their daughter. And Mena, once known as the most beautiful woman in her village, discovers that her husband is involved in a plan to commit murder.
These separate lives converge over the course of a single night as a violent conspiracy pulls them into events far larger than any of them anticipated. The plot connects personal vulnerability to the political instability that shaped Mozambique during a turbulent period of its post-independence history, when outside forces and internal tensions threatened ordinary citizens. Lília Momplé uses a compressed time frame to show how quickly safety can collapse when political violence reaches into domestic spaces.
The novel is structured around the perspectives of people who want nothing beyond peaceful, private lives. Each household carries its own pressures before the crisis arrives, and the story draws its tension from the gap between what these characters expect from the night ahead and what actually unfolds before dawn.
