The Duel: A Story About Peace

Against a shadowy, loosely painted landscape, two figures in top hats stand back to back, pistols raised. Viegas Oliveira, making her English-language debut, narrates in formal translated prose: “Your insults pierced and injured my ears, my eardrums, my heart.” The duo, both portrayed with pale skin, turn and begin pacing away from each other. But instead of turning around and firing, as in a duel, the book’s speaker keeps walking on and on, shown in front of a military formation, ahead of a brass band, traversing a great city, and more, painted in colorblock shapes that shift in saturation. Brooding lines survey the figure’s thoughts about the adversary, until, sitting among gigantic flowers in the countryside, the narrator writes a letter of reconciliation to the former enemy, inviting “my friend, my companion” to “put down your weapons and come on over to see me, would you?” On a round planet, hints this wry story about moving on from violence and toward peace, two warring parties who walk away from each other will inevitably meet again, perhaps after journeys that offer new perspective about the dispute. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones, some fanciful. Ages 4–7. (Nov.)