The boundless garden - Complete works of Lídia Jorge 7

Housed in an old guesthouse in Lisbon, a novelist observes the lives of the other residents – young people living in groups, entangled in the desire for independence and a thirst for prominence, with the central figure being Leonardo, the statue-man who wants to break records for stillness, the one whom all the others admire and try to follow in his example of overcoming and resistance. An urban novel, whose action takes place in recognisable spaces of Lisbon, such as the Baixa area and some central districts of the capital, O Jardim Sem Limites tells us about young people of our time, heroes without a homeland, children without a family, martyrs without God. In fact, Casa da Arara, this kind of experimental living den that the group inhabits, will end up being the stage where the metaphor of dispersion occurs. But this book is not limited to putting the paths of estrangement into action. Leonardo's long performances, motionless on Rua Augusta, in an attempt to beat the immobility record and enter the Guinness Book, are accompanied by moments of great humour and keen observation of habits and customs.