Abstract
In this paper, we reflect on approximations between what is conventionally called postmodern family novel and the novel Que cavalos são aqueles que fazem sombra no mar? (2009), by António Lobo Antunes. More precisely, we try to understand the dialogue between the Antunes’s narrative and the fictional constitution which have been shown sensitive to the transformations of contemporary familial structure. Making explicit the inclination of generation of Portuguese writers who emerged literarily with the April Revolution, the loss of the original function of the family pictures in the novel both through the formal fragmentation, and through the thematic problematization, revealing deep familial conflicts which imply extreme psychological wounds and therefore contest, definitely, the conservative morality and the patriarchal order.
Keywords
postmodern family novel; António Lobo Antunes; contemporary familial structure