The Midwife Of Torment
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The Midwife of Torment & Other Stories by Paulo da Costa
Book Review in Prairie Fire Jul 25, 2018 The author’s subtitle, “60 Sudden Fictions,” illuminates much of what a reader experiences in delving into Midwife of Torment: having entire life-narratives sprung fully grown upon the sensibilities, like Athena’s delivery from her father Zeus’s head to relieve a massive migraine. Spread out among six sections, da Costa’s fictions vary from mere flashes of life, mostly as tormented as the title suggests, to fleshed-out nightmare conflicts. These fictions never occupy more than three or four pages of the collection, yet some require days of mulling to decipher their word-codes. Luckily, the undertaking yields deep-seated surprises and sometimes sheer delights, and turns out…
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Canadian Writers Abroad – reviews Midwife of Torment
The Midwife of Torment & Other Stories, Guernica Editions: 2017, 202 pages. Reviewed by Irene Marques Calling Us into Seeing and Being More: “Me” and the World The Midwife of Torment & Other Stories by paulo da costa is a book of short stories, or sudden fictions [under 1,000 words], divided into six parts: “Affections,” “Slowness,” “Aqua Libera,” “Beneath Our Beds,” “Force” and “Fathers.” In this collection, we find provoking thoughts unveiled slowly in an incantatory, lyrical language, revealing our deepest yearnings, frustrations, losses, insufficiencies, and happiness(es), too. His work makes us see, feel and be more: to have profound insights into our lives and the world; to understand…
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Focus On Victoria – Magazine – w/ author paulo da costa
By Amy Reiswig An out-of-the-box thinker, writer, editor and translator believes in daring to be different for the social good. http://www.focusonvictoria.ca/julyaugust-2017/paulo-da-costa-the-midwife-of-torment-other-stories-r5/
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On Writing – Open Book interview with paulo da costa
Interview on Open Book: The idiom “small is beautiful” is often true in fiction – from short stories to microfiction, sometimes the briefest glimpses into an imagined world are the most arresting. The Midwife of Torment & Other Stories (Guernica Editions) by paulo da costa is a perfect proving ground for the potential of the short and sweet – or in da costa’s case, short and beautifully bizarre, experimental, and creative. Referred to as “sudden fiction”, these sub-1000 word stories have a fable-like feeling, pushing the boundaries between traditional and speculative fiction. The pieces are complemented by a series of original black and white drawings by Portuguese artist, João Ventura. We’re pleased to welcome…
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All Lit Up – Flash Interview
This Short Story Month, we’re interviewing short story writers every Wednesday, here on the All Lit Up blog. paulo da costa’s latest short story collection The Midwife of Torment & Other Stories (Guernica Editions) is exclusively made up of “sudden fiction” – that is, stories under 1,000 words apiece. With stories like “Roses, Lilacs, and Chrysanthemums” (excerpted below) that manage to be succinct yet utterly evocative of their settings and characters, paulo likens Midwife to a “literary tapas” and shares some of his own influences, below. Read Interview
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The Midwife of Torment – forthcoming book
The Midwife of Torment (sudden fictions) to be published in 2017 by Guernica Editions Meanwhile, enjoy two story excerpts from this forthcoming book: Pleasant Troubles The Midwife of Torment
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The Midwife of Torment
(…) Felismina, the town curandeira, a woman accustomed to probing the depths of the psyche, a midwife of torment, heard about Florindo’s condition. She believed him. “If the boy says he stinks, he stinks. Who are we? Do we wear his skin, smell his nightmares?” Florindo Ramos sought her intercession in the matter. After consulting her wrinkled manuals, brushing the dust off her skirt, Felismina declared, “I dug up one antidote, boy. Only one. But, for it to work you must be willing to look the nightmare in the face.” Florindo shuddered, scrubbed his face with the handkerchief in his hand. “Unless you want to live with things as…
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Pleasant Troubles
A sudden, involuntary flaring of his tongue, a hideous contortion of his face; and apart from this peculiar affliction, Bonifácio Careta remained an ordinary child. The villagers believed everyone entered life with unique, God-given graces—some born to nose-picking, others to continuous spitting, others to limping. They never spent a second thought on Bonifácio. Bonifácio Careta’s life would have proceeded without remarkable attention if misfortune had not brought his peculiar condition to public notice. Bonifácio’s fortunes changed irrevocably on the occasion of the long-awaited Papal tour of the country with the Pontiff’s brief, unscheduled bathroom stop in Bonifácio’s forgotten village. While the Pontiff bestowed upon the gathering crowd his holy blessing,…
