"La comparsa" (the companion) is the title of the most reccent work by the Mozambican writer Amilca Ismael. This is the fourth work, recently released in Italy, where the writer has lived since 1986.

According to the writer, the novel's inspiration is based on how certain women feel in their relationships, "when their husbands become distant treat them like figurines and don't even notice when they buy a new dress."

"It's a situation I've heard in many parts, it's a demand from women, who want the same attention they had when they were young," says the Mozambican writer.

The women, think that "at a certain point, it seems that husbands cheat with work, soccer or political debate."

She hopes that men who read the book will realize that "women need to be wooed."

Amilca Ismael, who writes in Italian, was born on June 25, 1963, in Maputo. She hopes that her work "La comparsa" will be translated into Portuguese.