Portugal declares national mourning for writer Antonio Lobo Antunes, a Nobel contender known for his novels on colonial trauma and social ills.

LISBON: Portugal has declared a day of national mourning for acclaimed writer Antonio Lobo Antunes (pic) following his death at the age of 83.

The government ordered the national mourning for Saturday in honour of the internationally renowned novelist.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa paid tribute, stating that Antunes wrote “in a register of incisive tenderness, placing side by side the pain and failure of ordinary lives with political tragedies, excess and empathy.”

A trained psychiatrist, Lobo Antunes authored more than 30 novels exploring Portugal’s colonial wars, its former dictatorship, and social issues like drug addiction.

He described his elaborate, metaphorical style as “controlled delirium.”

His literary career took off after the 1979 publication of his second novel, translated as “The Land At The End Of The World.”

Lobo Antunes won several awards, including the prestigious 2007 Camoes Prize, and was frequently cited as a potential Nobel laureate.

He served as an army doctor in Angola from 1971 to 1973 before working in psychiatry.

The writer devoted himself fully to novels, poetry, and commentaries from 1985 onwards.

Despite battling cancer three times, he maintained a prolific output, writing roughly one novel per year until recently.

A journalist who conducted a series of interviews with him reported he had been suffering from a form of dementia.

 The Sun Malaysia