“The Healer of Death”, the second book by the Islander author Diogo Ferreira, will be presented on May 11th at Café Amizade, Aveiro, at 6:30 pm. Before that, at 5:30 pm, the Aveiro electronic music project Lvx Obscvra will perform inspired by the book’s universe.
After the first horror story “this house is for sale” was published in October 2023, Diogo Ferreira now launches the novel “O Curandeiro da Morte”, which takes place in a village forgotten by maps, where an honest and hard-working man is attacked by an inexplicable illness that not even doctors or priests can solve. In a subservient, fearful and gossipy community, this man’s wife decides, in desperation, to send her two children in search of a certain healer.
Regarding what to expect from this new development, Diogo Ferreira sums it up by saying that «we will discover an entire rural supernaturality that operates in secret, that opposes the free will of some and the sorcery of others to religion and good customs».
Asked if he continues to be involved in the theme of horror, the author reveals that «although this book contains dark and probably offensive moments, the theme is more related to the fantastic and the dark supernatural than to the so-called traditional horror. However, I continue with what gives me the most pleasure in writing, which is the exploration and description of suffering, which makes the narrative sad and agonizing at almost every moment».
Regarding the creation of a novel, Diogo Ferreira confesses that this “wasn’t on purpose”, stating that “I started writing with the intention of publishing another short story, but suddenly I found myself with more pages, more characters with greater depth and character, and more actions taking place at the same time in different locations, so I had a soap opera in my hands and not a short story».
Edgar Allan Poe for horror, Franz Kafka and Voltaire for social commentary continue to be Diogo Ferreira’s biggest influences. However, he says that, «unintentionally, Miguel Torga ended up being an initial compass, especially when it comes to scenarios and the creation of the healer himself. From this spark, a story is born with my vocabulary, ways of writing sentences, comic expressions that no one is expecting and all the suffering that I idolize when writing. Hardly anyone will match Miguel Torga in the art of the rural tale and in the combination of laughter-inducing humor and tear-inducing sadness».
The photography and cover design were by Soraia Martins, the pagination was in charge of Inês de Carvalho and the illustrations were signed by Débora Pereira and Sérgio Marques.
