“The Living and the Rest is a vivid, multifaceted narrative that offers vital discussion of what African literatures ought to be, about the literary craft, and on literature in general. It is both utopian and dystopian, eerily prescient of events the world has witnessed in the last two years. It is a gem of storytelling.”—Cristina Ferreira Pinto-Bailey, World Literature Today
“[In] Agualusa’s world . . . the boundaries between the real and imaginary are porous, and dreams become their own reality . . . [In The Living and the Rest] there is a creative renewal that Agualusa believes necessary, especially today.” —Anderson Tepper, The New York Times
“[The Living and the Rest] is concerned with why people write; what it means to be an “African writer” . . . It is loosely but precisely engaged in conversations on the workings of writing to perpetuate or interrupt colonial narratives . . . A writer writing writers (writing writers), the novel is a meditation on constructed worlds.” —Theodore Anderson, Newcity
“The Living and the Rest isn’t merely a literary festival-novel . . . the writers have a lot to deal with, in their various encounters, books they come across—and are trying to write—and the weight of past and present, neither of which can be escaped.” —M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review
“An impressively skilled and original storyteller, author José Eduardo Agualusa has elevated his original and deftly crafted novel, The Living and the Rest to an imposing level of literary excellence.” —Midwest Book Review
“Agualusa’s novel is much more inventive and outward-looking than your typical writers’ panel, devoting time to the peculiarities of perspective and the vagaries of contemporary history, with a particular focus on the dense interweaving of culture, religion and art that characterizes life on the island. . . [The Living and the Rest] successfully sublimates political, cultural and human concerns into daily life.” —Robert Rubsam, The Washington Post
“In José Eduardo Agualusa’s clever and appealing The Living and the Rest . . . disaster yields to the same contest of wills, domesticated intrigues, and creative urges going on around the world amid talk about book tours, festivals, workshops, residencies, panels, publishers, agents, how to become more visible on the Internet.” —Tom Wilhelmus, The Hudson Review
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