Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
This is easily the best book I've read in years; and that list includes many recent favorites of mine.
Its extremely slim -- could be read in an afternoon -- but I found myself savoring each sentence, and purposefully spent weeks poring over it. Now that I've finished it, I'm probably going to go back and re-read it quickly.
Pereira Declares is a "political" novel of sorts, but an extremely magical and dreamlike one. The story can best be described as an old man in late 1930s Portugal who becomes "woke" (as millennials would say -- and a phrase I dislike, but one that describes this perfectly). His slow spiritual and moral awakening to the political landscape is both heartfelt and magical. The book itself is meditative, dreamlike, human, heartening, philosophical, funny, emotional, literary, and humble. Its stylistically masterful. And its a rare book where sentimental emotions come across as strong and real, instead of forced or cheesy. My description of it doesn't do it justice. Its like a psychological hero's journey.
I read about this writer through someone named Sergio Pitol, and I'm thrilled I now know about him.
In the current administration, this should be considered required, vital reading.
Small note -- I haven't found an edition with good cover art, which is too bad, because its publisher normally has great designs (example: their newest Sebald designs are insane). I'm not sure what happened with this one. They announced a reissue which had an appropriately minimal and dreamlike image, but they replaced that with one even worse than the image on my earlier, used copy (pictured). The new one looks like some PBS afternoon soap opera about tea; and this old one isn't much better. But anyway, don't let that fool you. The book feels alive in a way that many don't.
Its extremely slim -- could be read in an afternoon -- but I found myself savoring each sentence, and purposefully spent weeks poring over it. Now that I've finished it, I'm probably going to go back and re-read it quickly.
Pereira Declares is a "political" novel of sorts, but an extremely magical and dreamlike one. The story can best be described as an old man in late 1930s Portugal who becomes "woke" (as millennials would say -- and a phrase I dislike, but one that describes this perfectly). His slow spiritual and moral awakening to the political landscape is both heartfelt and magical. The book itself is meditative, dreamlike, human, heartening, philosophical, funny, emotional, literary, and humble. Its stylistically masterful. And its a rare book where sentimental emotions come across as strong and real, instead of forced or cheesy. My description of it doesn't do it justice. Its like a psychological hero's journey.
I read about this writer through someone named Sergio Pitol, and I'm thrilled I now know about him.
In the current administration, this should be considered required, vital reading.
Small note -- I haven't found an edition with good cover art, which is too bad, because its publisher normally has great designs (example: their newest Sebald designs are insane). I'm not sure what happened with this one. They announced a reissue which had an appropriately minimal and dreamlike image, but they replaced that with one even worse than the image on my earlier, used copy (pictured). The new one looks like some PBS afternoon soap opera about tea; and this old one isn't much better. But anyway, don't let that fool you. The book feels alive in a way that many don't.
Tabucchi disegna un ottimo ritratto sulla situazione politica in Portogallo tra le due guerre, ambientando un romanzo abbastanza classico nella trama ma interessante nella sua semplicita'. Niente di eclatante, ma una lettura decisamente piacevole e istruttiva, su fatti storici poco noti anche al resto d'Europa.
'Pereira Maintains' by Antonio Tabucchi
When it comes to the year 1938 we know a lot about what happened in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States. However, we hardly ever looked at the history of Portugal at that time. As many other european countries Portugal was under a dictator, namely António de Oliveira Salazar. This book tells the story of Doctor Pereira, the director of the cultural page of the "Lisboà", an afternoon newspaper. Pereira is a good catholic, obese, suffering from a bad heart and a widower. His life takes an unexpected turn when he decides to hire an intern, Monteiro Rossi, who is a revolutionist. Challenged by the way Rossi thinks, Pereira starts to question his life and what he had done with it so far.
'Pereira Maintains' provides revealing insight into the life of a journalist under a dictator that encourages censorship. The character of Doctor Pereira has an incredible depth to it and captivated me from the first page. One particular strength is the mixture of fiction and reality. While we learn a lot of historical facts about Portugal in 1938 the book is not boring because it has enough fiction to absorb us into the story. The book also includes rather philosophical discussions between characters. Those discussions animate the reader to think about this book and not just read through it. I found that this is not a book you read while on a beach vacation or just for fun.
On the other hand, I found that the plot sometimes moved too slowly and almost came to a standstill, due to the philosophical aspects of the book and the inner monologues. Another thing I found rather annoying, were the parts where Pereira would touch a subject, but then say that he is not going to talk about it any further because it is not of any importance to the story.
I definitely recommend this book to readers that enjoy reading not only for fun but like books that challenge their opinions of life and the world. If you speak Italian I strongly encourage you to read it in Italian, I did so and rather enjoyed it.
When it comes to the year 1938 we know a lot about what happened in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States. However, we hardly ever looked at the history of Portugal at that time. As many other european countries Portugal was under a dictator, namely António de Oliveira Salazar. This book tells the story of Doctor Pereira, the director of the cultural page of the "Lisboà", an afternoon newspaper. Pereira is a good catholic, obese, suffering from a bad heart and a widower. His life takes an unexpected turn when he decides to hire an intern, Monteiro Rossi, who is a revolutionist. Challenged by the way Rossi thinks, Pereira starts to question his life and what he had done with it so far.
'Pereira Maintains' provides revealing insight into the life of a journalist under a dictator that encourages censorship. The character of Doctor Pereira has an incredible depth to it and captivated me from the first page. One particular strength is the mixture of fiction and reality. While we learn a lot of historical facts about Portugal in 1938 the book is not boring because it has enough fiction to absorb us into the story. The book also includes rather philosophical discussions between characters. Those discussions animate the reader to think about this book and not just read through it. I found that this is not a book you read while on a beach vacation or just for fun.
On the other hand, I found that the plot sometimes moved too slowly and almost came to a standstill, due to the philosophical aspects of the book and the inner monologues. Another thing I found rather annoying, were the parts where Pereira would touch a subject, but then say that he is not going to talk about it any further because it is not of any importance to the story.
I definitely recommend this book to readers that enjoy reading not only for fun but like books that challenge their opinions of life and the world. If you speak Italian I strongly encourage you to read it in Italian, I did so and rather enjoyed it.
This was a book set for our book group, and not something I would normally have picked up, but I'm very glad that I did. I, to my surprise, greatly enjoyed it and my lack of historical knowledge wasn't a problem. It was first published in 1994, but I believe it was set in the 1940s in Portugal.
Pereira is an ageing, sagging, sad and lifeless old man, obsessed with death, particularly the death of his wife. It's a very clever book in its subtlety. At the start he appears to be entirely politically unaware, but I think there was something in there all along. All in all, this is a book that explores his political birth, and realisation that standing by and doing nothing is as culpable as doing a deed yourself.
It's very odd, unlike in modern times: he's a journalist (writing obituaries, aptly), but the news he gets of the world is not from newspapers, it's from a bartender or the priest. Nothing is in print that might be controversial. Although Portugal was nominally 'free', they were basically held under the grip of fascist Spain.
The refrain of 'Pereira Maintains' comes back and back throughout the book. Some people have said they found it irritating, but I enjoyed it. It added intrigue. Is this a testimony? What actually happened at the end? Is he talking to the police, or has he escaped? There's also an English translation using 'Pereira Sustains' and the original Italian was 'Pereira Sustains.' This nuances of language are fascinating, as they all conjure up slightly different things.
Pereira hires a young man called Rossi to work for him, but he writes terribly, and soon Pereira realises he is involved in the politic upheaval he has tried to stay apart from. Will he continue to ignore the background of violence and covering things up, or will he change and become a revolutionary himself? That is to be found from reading the novel...
Very good book: engaging, subtle and humorous at times.
Pereira is an ageing, sagging, sad and lifeless old man, obsessed with death, particularly the death of his wife. It's a very clever book in its subtlety. At the start he appears to be entirely politically unaware, but I think there was something in there all along. All in all, this is a book that explores his political birth, and realisation that standing by and doing nothing is as culpable as doing a deed yourself.
It's very odd, unlike in modern times: he's a journalist (writing obituaries, aptly), but the news he gets of the world is not from newspapers, it's from a bartender or the priest. Nothing is in print that might be controversial. Although Portugal was nominally 'free', they were basically held under the grip of fascist Spain.
The refrain of 'Pereira Maintains' comes back and back throughout the book. Some people have said they found it irritating, but I enjoyed it. It added intrigue. Is this a testimony? What actually happened at the end? Is he talking to the police, or has he escaped? There's also an English translation using 'Pereira Sustains' and the original Italian was 'Pereira Sustains.' This nuances of language are fascinating, as they all conjure up slightly different things.
Pereira hires a young man called Rossi to work for him, but he writes terribly, and soon Pereira realises he is involved in the politic upheaval he has tried to stay apart from. Will he continue to ignore the background of violence and covering things up, or will he change and become a revolutionary himself? That is to be found from reading the novel...
Very good book: engaging, subtle and humorous at times.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really quite enjoyed this. It is a quick read set in Salazar's Lisbon. Delighted to have discovered a new writer.
Describe la historia de un periodista portugues amante de la literatura encargado de la página cultural de un pequeño diario de Lisboa. A medida que transcurre la historia comienza a darse cuenta que la patria en la que vive no es lo que él cree ser. Las garas del fascismo y la censura entrañan una increíble historia de periodismo y suspenso. Al principio a uno le resulta incómodo el estilo en que está narrada la historia, pero luego uno lo incorpora y le sigue el juego.
I found this book strangely irresistible. The way that it is written is for me kind of novelty. I have never read a book where the narration is neither in third person nor in first person before. When we read it we have an impression that the main character is being interrogated , but we have no proof of that. I really liked that because even though we are concentrated on numerous things that are happening in the plot some part of our consciousness is still thinking about the meaning of constant interjections of the phrase 'Pereira maintains'. This made me want to get to the end really fast, but when I read the book I found it impossible to skip any part of it,every sentence had its purpose. Even though the book isn't long it contains a lot of meaning . Despite serious subjects being broached the novel has some kind of lightness in it, its reader friendly. Every character that is introduced to the plot is well rounded. Every hero is different, we find a variety of people who represent different values.
The book is excellent.
The book is excellent.