The mermaid's other foot History[s] in the post-coloniality

This article discusses Mia Couto's novel O outro pé da sereia (2006) in terms of the novel's significant readings of Mozambican history, tradition and cultural context. Postcolonial theory provides a critical framework for the study of questions that appear in the novel and represent a set of issues that are central to both Mia Couto's work and to the broader context of Mozambican culture and politics. This study accordingly emphasizes particular writing and literary strategies that are crucial to Couto's work, the consideration of which enables a counterpoint to be established between postcolonial theoretical categories, cultural paradigms and literary interventions in a globalized world.