The Duel - by Inês Viegas Oliveira (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An international award-winning picture book with increasingly detailed water-color art begins as a story about quarrels and conflicts, but is, above all, about making and finding peace.

Loosely based on the duel scene from War & Peace, this story will help spark conversations about what can happen when you turn away from violence.

Two men argue in a distant and cold country. Words pierce and injure their hearts. In order to resolve the problem once and for all, they decide to fight a duel. They start back to back, each one counting a hundred paces before turning to shoot.

1, 2, 3, 4 . . . There they go, walking away. So many steps separating them. 5, 6, 7, 8. . . .

One keeps walking, and walking, and walking some more, and his surroundings become more animated and vibrant, each page burgeoning with color and activity, circuses and marching bands. But what, he wonders, is the other one thinking? What lies ahead for them both? How far do you go before your anger dissipates and you crave the company of a friend? A story with a surprising turn of events, The Duel will help young readers see what can happen when you choose to turn away from violence and in the direction of curiosity and friendship and an open heart.

Review Quotes

""When two friends at odds in a wintry place stand back to back and embark on their paces, one keeps walking, into the warm colorful, collegial spring of Oliveira's dazzling picture book debut." --The New York Times Book Review

"This Portuguese import contemplates war and peace by upending a planned duel.
Two men decide to settle their disagreements by dueling. In a barren landscape, each begins the 100-pace walk away from the other, weapon in hand. Yet one, who narrates, simply walks on. He ambles through increasingly vibrant vistas in a pulsing city, witnessing a parade, a circus, and a puppet show. Skin tones, where discernible in the tiny figures, appear pale. With each page turn, the errant duelist encounters fewer people and more animals. In increasingly bucolic scenes, he trades his pistol for a walking stick. Narration--its meaning at times elusive--takes the form of a letter written to his dueling partner, the "Esteemed Mr Rodin Rostov." Oliveira's Klee-esque illustrations are stunning. Monochromatic early scenes metamorphose in successive palette shifts: saturated primary colors accented by neutrals for the cityscapes, then greens and ochers as the narrator treks through a village and a pasture. When he ponders his fate, constellations frame images of animals in an ink-blue sky. Over land and water, in fair weather and rain, he finally descends a mountain into a lush, flower-filled meadow. There, he pens his missive, posting it in his top hat. His note implores his friend to "put down your weapons and come on over / to see me, would you?" A migrating white bird takes up the envelope, even as the narrator himself seemingly metamorphoses, achieving unity with nature. Subtly beautiful, with a message of peace. (Picture book. 4-7)" --Kirkus

About the Author

Inês Viegas Oliveira was born in Tavira, Portugal, in 1995. She studied physics and math, before changing course and studying illustration. In 2020, 2022, and 2023 her work was selected for the Illustrators Exhibition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair. After participating in the Every Story Matters European project that promotes inclusion through stories and books, she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Duel (O Duelo), published in Portugal in 2022 by Planeta Tangerina, which went on to win Portugal's 2023 National Illustration Award. It was also selected for dPictus's 100 Outstanding Picture Books and was featured at the Bologna Children's Book Fair's 2023 BRAW Amazing Bookshelf.

Translator Rosa Churcher Clarke was born in Manchester (UK), in 1989. She studied Portuguese and Spanish at the University of Oxford, going on to do a Master's and PhD in comparative literature. She has been based in Lisbon since 2012, and works as an editorial assistant at Portuguese publisher Planeta Tangerina alongside her activity as a freelance literary translator.