The novel “The Seller of the Past” by the famous Angolan writer José Eduardo Agulaz (1960). Modern Angola - people, morals, recent political upheavals - through the eyes of a house gecko. Magic realism. Translation from Portuguese by Tatiana Rodimenko. The Republic of Angola is a state in Central Africa, bordered by Namibia in the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the northeast and north, Zambia in the east, and the Republic of Congo, washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Former Portuguese colony. The second largest oil-producing country in Africa after Nigeria, Angola is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Today, the country is still trying to recover from the consequences of a 27-year civil war between supporters of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and members of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which broke out in 1975 after the declaration of independence from Portugal. Angola fully characterizes that side of Africa that seems so mysterious and incomprehensible to Europeans. The hospitality of the local residents is combined with their unbridled thirst for profit, and strict laws are completely incompatible with the unbalanced organization of government. That's it... And we will see all this through the eyes of a gecko...