TAWOMG - Goodbye to Stockholm

Dear Friends,

On Monday last week I finished to write the novel. I started to write it in the extremely cold days of winter 95/96, when I moved from Barcelona to Germany. At that time I was living in Wuppertal (or Suppertal as I like to call it). At a certain point in time, on the terrace of the penthouse where I lived for four months there was more than 30 cms of snow. I then made a snowman and took a photo of it. I was feeling very unhappy after two very good years in Spain. The novel, located in Barcelona, was a way to put on paper things that I had seen or experienced there. It is not a biographical novel, but I must admit that I have witnessed some of the facts described on the book.

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Why did it take me twelve years to write it? The first good reason is because very soon I made new friends in Germany, moved to Cologne, participated in interesting projects at work and altogether the thirty months that I lived in Germany became the best of my life. It is easier to write when one is sad and alone and doesn't have an intense social life. As soon as my social life improved, I put the book on side.

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I more or less knew from the very beginning how the story would develop. However, I must admit that had I finished it in 96, it wouldn't be exactly the same as it is now. I knew how I wanted the story to finish, but I didn't know how to make it happen. The last two chapters were inspired by the trip to Australia earlier this year. This means that this book could not be written before that trip. During many years I planned to go there. In 2007 I even had bought the plane ticket for a short trip to Sydney, but had to cancel it due to work commitments. I only made this dream come true in 2008. So "Eu tenho que ir embora…" on its current version could only be finished now, not before.

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It was a pleasure to write "Fim" at the end of it. During many years this story and the characters in it only existed in my imagination. Now they exist outside me and independently of me. Soon I will travel to Brazil in order to look for an editor for the book. The day it will be published, the readers will have the last word about the characters and why they did what they did. They may like or dislike some of them. Their opinions, feelings and judgement will be the blow that will make these people come to life. The day this happens, my intentions or own opinions will just be irrelevant. The story will live its own life, until the day it dies because nobody reads it anymore.

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That same Monday night I invited my cousin Homero and his family for dinner. I was about to leave Stockholm and I wanted to say goodbye to them. At the apartment that they made available to me I could find the right place to sit down and write. After dinner they invited me to a cup of Champagne at their home. It was nice to celebrate with them that I had finished the novel. The next day I went to Uppsala for the last time and on Thursday I left Stockholm. I know that for a very long time I will warmly remember this summer. Sweden is a country that I deeply love. Stockholm is in my opinion one the most beautiful cities in the world. I can only hope that this was not my last trip there!

Wish you have a nice week,

Maurício