André Letria: A Guerra


A guerra.
(The war)

Text by José Jorge Letria.
Pato Lógico 2018. 
German edition: Der Krieg.
Translated from the Portuguese by Katja Alves. 
Midas Collection 2022. 


The text and the imagery of this, in every sense of the word, dark book about war could also be read separately, independently of one another. Nonetheless, both levels touch and intertwine with one another at numerous points and together shape a disquieting whole. “War cannot tell stories, it is only able to destroy them,” reads one of the book’s lines. Indeed this book tells no story. Rather it offers timeless, profound, linguistically deep and visually striking thoughts about the reasons for war, its character, its power, its effects and its close connection to mankind. In sombre and breath-taking, but never cruel or bloody imagery, André Letria shows a world full of shadows into which war slowly diffuses itself – thus providing many access points for starting a conversation. In the face of the current events in the world, this book, which was originally published in 2018, fascinates with its painfully timeless topicality. (Age: 14+)