The Duel

A Story about Peace

by Inês Viegas Oliveira, translated by Rosa Churcher Clarke

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, two men 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 and more. 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 suprising 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.

Buying options

Hardback

$17.06

$18.95

Publish Date: 2024-11-12

ISBN: 9781644214022

Pages: 64

Not available

Ebook

Publish Date: 2024-11-12

ISBN: 9781644214039

Pages: 64

“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. . . Subtly beautiful, with a message of peace.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“In this curious and memorable translated picture book (imported from Portugal), peace is explored through the narration of one duelist who, rather than turning to shoot, just keeps walking. The first image, small and black and white, is striking: two men, back to back, are so close together that they appear to be one figure, before they take their first step apart. As the unnamed narrator walks rightward, he then begins an internal monologue to the other duelist, Mr. Rostov. His contemplation quickly turns from the insults that sparked the challenge and on to philosophical musings about empathy, forgiveness, and the courage required to upend expectations and just choose peace in a world that rarely does. The use of color is spectacular as the man continues walking away, with stark grays replaced by vivid, saturated watercolor- like textures. The joy builds in the increasingly detailed images as page turns reveal a bright city, a tranquil countryside, and finally a mountain, where the man sits alone, surrounded by jewel-tone flowers, sending an invitation out into the world (via a letter carried away by a bird) for the other duelist to set down his gun, turn around, and choose a dramatically different future There is significant subtlety in the illustrations and text, with vibes sometimes replacing clarity, but that is a comfortable space. Readers are unlikely to be stopped by any single (sometimes opaque) phrase, as the perpetual march to the right encourages steady progress through the book until the end, when the man stops at the edge of a panel, intentionally faces left, and waits patiently as he hopes to see Rostov. This book will resonate long after the final page—a glowing spark of peace in an increasingly dark world.”

– The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

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.