Rui Zink was born in Lisbon in 1961. He is a writer, university lecturer and cultural commentator. As a writer he has published eight novels, including Hotel Lusitano (his debut, first published in 1987, re-released in 2011), Os Surfistas (The Surfers, published in 2001 as Portugal’s first ebook), Dádiva divina (Gift from God, which won him the 2005 Portuguese PEN Club prize) and O Destino Turístico(The Tourist Destination, which is his latest, published in 2008). He also writes children’s books, of which O bebé que …não gostava de televisão has been translated into English (2004, The boy who did not like television). His story ‘O bicho da escrita’ (The writing bug) was shortlisted for the Pushcart Prize. He will also be represented in Best European Fiction 2012 (Dalkey Archive Press).
He himself translates and has rendered Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Saul Bellow and Richard Zenith into Portuguese. On translation, he said: ‘Translation is the best form of reading. It’s a re-writing of the book. As plagiarism is illegal, or immoral at least, translating allows me to ride along on the words of the writers I most love, without being taken to court.’
In Portugal, Zink is a well-known television personality, having been part of the popular show Noites de Má Lingua (Back Stabbing Nights). He is a cartoon aficionado and has written a thesis on comic books as literature, appropriate given that the literature he writes is comical.
Featured Reading Group Title
O Destino Turístico (The Tourist Destination)
A man is going to spend a week in a war zone, with full board and lodging. There is a growing demand for this tourist industry, for paradises of horror. And the destination does not disappoint: there are bombs, kidnappings, attempted killings, surface-to-air missiles, mothers holding their children in their arms, executions, etc. There is even a leggy female journalist and a swimming pool full of piranhas. But this Western tourist is still not satisfied . . .
More Information
- O Destino Turístico is featured in our Portugese Reading Group for Autumn 2011
- Translation sample by Margaret Jull Costa here at Transcript
I truly enjoyed reading the translation sample. Now I need to find the book and finish it! Think this would be a great book to try and bring onto the UK market.