Like Sparrows

Look at the sleeping cat. Look at the tiger chasing a gazelle. Look at sparrows fighting about a piece of bread. Look at Sofia who cheats her boyfriend Júlio with Afonso for jewellery, expensive clothes, traveling and luxury dinners. Look at Júlio who wants to kill Afonso at his 60th birthday ... but in the end kills himself and not Afonso.

What distinguishes 'homo sapiens' from the other species on planet Earth? Suicide! Only human beings are able to commit suicide. No other animal ever will.

Last weekend I read Dulce Maria Cardoso's book 'O Chão dos Pardais' (2009). Translated in English its title is 'The Floor of Sparrows'. (Mark that this book can only be read in Portuguese. It's not translated in any other language, yet.) Lovely book. Full of wisdom. Dulce doesn't condemn or judge. She is registering. She records how people's lives evolve. Can evolve. Usually evolve. And could have evolved completely differently by a breeze. An almost-breeze.

This is one of those books you should read yourselves and not some book review. If not, you would not grasp the opening poem and more than 10 "philosophical" quotes which serve as chapter titles.

This book is not about Afonso who cheats his wife Alice with a girlfriend. This time her name is Sofia. It's not about his wife Alice who has many more reasons than Júlio to kill Afonso. But never found a good alibi to actually do it. It's not about their children Manuel and Clara. Nor about migrant, maid Elizaveta who falls in love with lesbian Clara. Nor about Manuel who after many months finally meets his online chat-lover Lilly.

This book is about the cruel art of desert (read: Mother Nature). The cruel art of human beings - the only species that is able to commit suicide - that fight like sparrows on the ground (read: planet Earth) for ...? Money? Beauty? Privileges? Intelligence? Bread? Or ...?

P.S. The blog above presents my interpretation of Dulce's message in her book. It's not my message ;)