The Governor's Lover
After attacking Pearl Harbour and invading Hong Kong, the Japanese lay siege to Macau. With the enemy at the gates, Portuguese governor Artur Teixeira faces the biggest threat to the Portuguese empire during Second World War. Opposing him is colonel Sawa, head of the Kempeitai, who threatens to invade the Portuguese colony in China.
After attacking Pearl Harbour and invading Hong Kong, the Japanese lay siege to Macau. With the enemy at the gates, Portuguese governor Artur Teixeira faces the biggest threat to the Portuguese empire during Second World War. Opposing him is colonel Sawa, head of the Kempeitai, who threatens to invade the Portuguese colony in China.
To save Macau, the governor relies on his wits and the help of a handful of men and women - including the Chinese concubine of Colonel Sawa, Lian-hua. The plot thickens when Teixeira falls in love with her.
Love and war in a clash of empires
The Macau of junks and sampans, of casinos and opium, of Leal Senado and Praia Grande, of Fat Siu Lao, of the Military Club and the Club of Macau, of the Interior Port and Porta do Cerco, of the rickshaws, of Chinese smugglers and Russian dancers, of mah-jong and corruption, of the patois, of the songs of Art Carneiro and the hockey games at the Caixa Escolar.
The Macau of refugees, of bombings and of starvation.
Based on true events, The Governor’s Lover recalls the days when Macau was under siege by the Japanese and shows how Portugal kept the only Western flag flying in the Far East during the Second World War.
The great Portuguese novel is back, by José Rodrigues do Santos, the master of contemporary Portuguese fiction.
"It's not difficult to become glued to the story, such is the pace of the events taking place in it and the visual narrative style of José Rodrigues dos Santos (...) It reads like a movie (...) This book was written by someone who knows Macau very well and - probably this is no exaggeration - it could only be written by someone who had lived in Macau (...) Local readers cannot but feel intimate with the setting of the story. Yes, Macau is also a character in this book (...) The author excelled".
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October 14, 2018 Interview The Governor’s LoverInterview The Governor's Lover for Ponto Final Macau, October 2018 The years you lived in Macau were enough to get the background of the book (names, places, Cantonese dialogues) or did...
