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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up after reading "Pereira Transforms" by Mohsin Hamid, a short essay fangirling over the novella, which was an apt endorsement. Loved reading about an apolitical guy who becomes compelled to take action. Despite being concerned with death and obituaries, it's a defiant and life-affirming read. Marta deserved more attention and nuance than she got though.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
بيريرا يدَّعي ..
" بيريرا يدَّعي "
جملة ترافقنا طوال الوقت في كل افتتاحية فصل وفي نهايته وعدة مرات خلاله ..
بيريرا رجل وحيد أرمل - صحفي ومدير القسم الثقافي بصحيفة برتغالية ناشئة عاشق للأدب وخاصة الأدب الفرنسي في القرن التاسع عشر ، يجد نفسه شيئاً فـ شيئاً في خضم الأجواء السياسية التي تجنبها طويلاً (الدكتاتورية البرتغالية الحاكمة - الحرب الأهلية الإسبانية ) بسبب شاب (يدعى مونتيرو روسي) أعجب بأطروحته حول الموت ووظفه لاحقاً كـ مساعد له في القسم الثقافي.
ما أحبه في شخصيات تابوكي هو لحظة التحول /أواليقظة : ترتستانو أخذَ على حين بغتة عندما أطلق جندي ألماني النار على المدنيين أمامه وحينها أخذ القرار الذي غيَر حياته (في تريستانو يحتضر) ، أما بيريرا ظل طوال الرواية يحاول أن يجد موقعه في الحياة وهو رجل عاش لوحده طويلا ، عاش في الماضي وذكرياته
مع زوجته المتوفاة ، في البداية هو ليس مع جانب ، لاحقاً يجرفه التيار بسبب تورطه مع الشاب (روسي والشابة مارتا) و أقدم على الإحتيار في اللحظة الأخيرة ..
رواية تقترب من الكمال ..
بعد روايتين أنطونيو تابوكي يحتل قمة قراءاتي هذا العام .
" بيريرا يدَّعي "
جملة ترافقنا طوال الوقت في كل افتتاحية فصل وفي نهايته وعدة مرات خلاله ..
بيريرا رجل وحيد أرمل - صحفي ومدير القسم الثقافي بصحيفة برتغالية ناشئة عاشق للأدب وخاصة الأدب الفرنسي في القرن التاسع عشر ، يجد نفسه شيئاً فـ شيئاً في خضم الأجواء السياسية التي تجنبها طويلاً (الدكتاتورية البرتغالية الحاكمة - الحرب الأهلية الإسبانية ) بسبب شاب (يدعى مونتيرو روسي) أعجب بأطروحته حول الموت ووظفه لاحقاً كـ مساعد له في القسم الثقافي.
ما أحبه في شخصيات تابوكي هو لحظة التحول /أواليقظة : ترتستانو أخذَ على حين بغتة عندما أطلق جندي ألماني النار على المدنيين أمامه وحينها أخذ القرار الذي غيَر حياته (في تريستانو يحتضر) ، أما بيريرا ظل طوال الرواية يحاول أن يجد موقعه في الحياة وهو رجل عاش لوحده طويلا ، عاش في الماضي وذكرياته
مع زوجته المتوفاة ، في البداية هو ليس مع جانب ، لاحقاً يجرفه التيار بسبب تورطه مع الشاب (روسي والشابة مارتا) و أقدم على الإحتيار في اللحظة الأخيرة ..
رواية تقترب من الكمال ..
بعد روايتين أنطونيو تابوكي يحتل قمة قراءاتي هذا العام .
We are in the Portugal of Salazar at roughly the time of the Spanish Civil War across the border. The shadow of fascism is marching, jack-booted, across Western Europe and the people of Portugal are coming to realise they are living in a dictatorship. Our central character, Pereira, is a literary man, a doctor who writes a culture section for a newspaper, The Lisboa, whose owner is part of the ruling, intolerant elite. His desire is to write nothing more than a series of features on recent European writers with the occasional obituary and anniversary feature; his passion is for French literary heroes such as the anti-fascist Bernanos or the human rights expert Maritain, while his editor wants him to focus on Portuguese nationalist authors, who, Pereira maintains, have neither the style, grace nor literary acumen for a serious literary publication.
Pereira has failing health, a creeping paranoia about his acquaintances and a penchant for talking to his dead wife’s photograph on the mantelpiece. Into his life stumbles Rossi, an Italian/Portuguese youth whose radicalism, along with his Girlfriend Marta’s, at once terrifies and excites Pereira. Pereira doesn’t know why he can’t get these people out of his life and live in the safe, warm bosom of literature and culture which his professional life holds dear. It is through a doctor, whom we meet as Pereira takes a few days at a spa for health reasons who gives us some insight into the human condition under intolerance. Doctor Costa, whose specialty lies in psychology, informs him of the ego and super-ego which dominates a series of personalities within us.
During this episode the book takes on a Hegelian, almost Lacanian sphere as a certain modernist psychoanalysis of humanity indicates the trajectory of our central character, which he finds to be in direct conflict with his Catholic faith. He is changing, changing as a response to the despotism that has come to colour and shape his life, and the life of those people around him he once or has come to care for. As the book heads to a conclusion we know a single act will mark the completion of the change and it is not until the very end of the book that we find out what that act is. Is it brave, is it folly, is it heroism on a Homeric level, a realisation that complacency is not an option or the desperate lashing out of a man, representing a fair society that has not long to live? Whichever it is, the book leads us to this point majestically and gives a real sense of the desperation of pre-fascist Europe without the unremittingly bleak sense of forboding as those immediate pre-war years.
We do not know what happens to Pereira upon committing his act of rebellion, but given that the novel is written in the third person, almost as a testimony on behalf of an accused, it may be safe to assume that he is in custody of some political authority, as so many were who rebelled against the totalitarian onslaught. This book is a wonderfully concentrated and generously framed portrait of Portugal in the 1930s, at once condensed and wide open, heavily stylised and with a sharp philosophical curve, unsurprisingly it was written during the reign, if that is the right word, of Silvio Berlusconi in the author’s native Italy. Tabucchi has been compared to Italo Calvino, which probably does both authors a disservice and comes mainly from the fact that they share a translator. There is nothing post-modern, fantastical or avant-garde in Pereira Maintains but is a very real portrait of creeping autocracy, and all the better for that. A terrific, short and engaging book.
Pereira has failing health, a creeping paranoia about his acquaintances and a penchant for talking to his dead wife’s photograph on the mantelpiece. Into his life stumbles Rossi, an Italian/Portuguese youth whose radicalism, along with his Girlfriend Marta’s, at once terrifies and excites Pereira. Pereira doesn’t know why he can’t get these people out of his life and live in the safe, warm bosom of literature and culture which his professional life holds dear. It is through a doctor, whom we meet as Pereira takes a few days at a spa for health reasons who gives us some insight into the human condition under intolerance. Doctor Costa, whose specialty lies in psychology, informs him of the ego and super-ego which dominates a series of personalities within us.
During this episode the book takes on a Hegelian, almost Lacanian sphere as a certain modernist psychoanalysis of humanity indicates the trajectory of our central character, which he finds to be in direct conflict with his Catholic faith. He is changing, changing as a response to the despotism that has come to colour and shape his life, and the life of those people around him he once or has come to care for. As the book heads to a conclusion we know a single act will mark the completion of the change and it is not until the very end of the book that we find out what that act is. Is it brave, is it folly, is it heroism on a Homeric level, a realisation that complacency is not an option or the desperate lashing out of a man, representing a fair society that has not long to live? Whichever it is, the book leads us to this point majestically and gives a real sense of the desperation of pre-fascist Europe without the unremittingly bleak sense of forboding as those immediate pre-war years.
We do not know what happens to Pereira upon committing his act of rebellion, but given that the novel is written in the third person, almost as a testimony on behalf of an accused, it may be safe to assume that he is in custody of some political authority, as so many were who rebelled against the totalitarian onslaught. This book is a wonderfully concentrated and generously framed portrait of Portugal in the 1930s, at once condensed and wide open, heavily stylised and with a sharp philosophical curve, unsurprisingly it was written during the reign, if that is the right word, of Silvio Berlusconi in the author’s native Italy. Tabucchi has been compared to Italo Calvino, which probably does both authors a disservice and comes mainly from the fact that they share a translator. There is nothing post-modern, fantastical or avant-garde in Pereira Maintains but is a very real portrait of creeping autocracy, and all the better for that. A terrific, short and engaging book.
I will leave this unrated as I feel quite confused finishing this, and considerably uncultured because of the politics involved. I love the dialogues regarding the ruling ego and a cohort of souls.
And obviously this quote:
"Philosophy appears to concern itself only with the truth, but perhaps expresses only fantasies, while literature appears to concern itself only with fantasies, but perhaps it expresses the truth."
Have a long way to go, and many yet to learn.
And obviously this quote:
"Philosophy appears to concern itself only with the truth, but perhaps expresses only fantasies, while literature appears to concern itself only with fantasies, but perhaps it expresses the truth."
Have a long way to go, and many yet to learn.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
reflective
medium-paced
querría darle 4 estrellas, pero me costó cogerle el gusto hasta pasada la primera mitad, así que se queda en 3.5.
Pereira es un vivo retrato de las decisiones que pueden tomar las "personas respetables" durante la radicalización de un país, incluso sin ser conscientes de por qué las toman. La vida desde el prisma de Pereira es mayoritariamente tranquila, estando el protagonista medio ausente, viviendo (comprensiblemente) en el pasado.
A medida que avanza la historia, Pereira empieza a darse cuenta de la situación política que vive y de la importancia de sus decisiones. Me ha llamado la atención el papel positivo, me atrevo a decir revolucionario, que juega la fe católica — encarnada en el padre António. Era algo que no me esperaba. En conclusión, lectura bastante recomendada si os interesa la Europa, y particularmente el Portugal, de 1938.
Pereira es un vivo retrato de las decisiones que pueden tomar las "personas respetables" durante la radicalización de un país, incluso sin ser conscientes de por qué las toman. La vida desde el prisma de Pereira es mayoritariamente tranquila, estando el protagonista medio ausente, viviendo (comprensiblemente) en el pasado.
A medida que avanza la historia, Pereira empieza a darse cuenta de la situación política que vive y de la importancia de sus decisiones. Me ha llamado la atención el papel positivo, me atrevo a decir revolucionario, que juega la fe católica — encarnada en el padre António. Era algo que no me esperaba. En conclusión, lectura bastante recomendada si os interesa la Europa, y particularmente el Portugal, de 1938.