The Balance of the Pendulum

The Balance of the Pendulum, originally published in Portuguese as O movimento pendular by Alberto Mussa, follows a narrator who sets out with the monumental task of cataloging every single theoretically possible variation of a love triangle across human history. However, in the very first chapter, he admits that this task is humanly impossible.

Instead of a simple list, he pivots to present a universal theory of the love triangle built upon six core postulates, each with a foot in the absurd and human history. To prove his universal theory, Mussa weaves together diverse stories spanning across every continent and era, ranging from high prehistory to the 20th century. Though it is an anthropological and philosophical meditation on love, Mussa writes the individual vignettes using the gripping structure of detective and mystery fiction. The piece is also highly interdiscipinary in nature, as the narrative heavily intersects with real-world disciplines, integrating elements of mythology, mathematics, archaeology, linguistics, and philosophy to back up its self-proclaimed fictional science.

It’s most recent translation into English by João Gado F. Costa will debut with Zeytin in the spring 2027.