Odilia or the confused muses in the brain of Patrícia Portela

Caminho Publishing house, 2007

Odilia was a confused muse. When she was 7, 8, 9, almost 30 years old, she saw an advert in a newspaper for “inspiring jobs”: they were looking for pretty, young, energetic, sociable, photogenic, happy girls, preferably students, able to work full time for inspiring tasks! … and then, in very small print it was written: no fixed hours, any time, any day, to be paid next to nothing, no contract, but with good prospects of achieving great recognition in this area, one day, some time… later… Odilia must have been 12, 13, 14, almost 17 years old, around that, and not having a clue about what goes on in the world she thought it would be the perfect job for her. There were nine places available and the interviews started on the ninth day of the ninth month at nine o’clock in the morning.

Press

“No portuguese narrative has operated such subversion on the idea of representation of reality since the 70’s […], Patrícia Portela creates in Odilia a unique language, overwhelming, mesmerizing.”
Miguel Real in Jornal de Letras 5 12 2008