Sleepwalking Land is Mia Couto's debut novel, recognized as one of the "12 Greatest African Novels of the 20th Century," solidifying his international literary reputation. Set during the 1980s Mozambican civil war, it tells the story of a war refugee, an old man, and a boy who make a home out of a burned-out bus. They find a notebook belonging to a deceased passenger, which contains the story of that person's life. The boy reads these stories to the old man, blending them with their current reality. The novel serves as a metaphor for post-war Mozambique, illustrating how people search for identity and cultural belonging amid the ruins of Africa, while still harboring hopes for a better life. Dreams in the novel act as a bridge between the harsh physical world and a spiritual realm. Published in 1992, "Sleepwalking Land" powerfully condemns the profound suffering caused by war and creates a magical atmosphere intertwined with reality, using poetic and vivid language, marking it as a significant work in Portuguese literary history.