A review by ahalsnad
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier

5.0

The story is about a man, Gregorious, who walks out of his secure life on an impulse after meeting a mysterious Portuguese woman. As he wanders around a secondhand bookstore, he discovers a book that speaks to his soul. The rest of the story follows him as he travels to Portugal to get to know the author, Prado, of such powerful prose.

There were a couple of lines in the first few pages that decided the book for me.

"Given that we can live only a small part of what there is in us – what happens to the rest?"

"Do wrong to thyself, do wrong to thyself, my soul; but later thou wilt no longer have the opportunity of respecting and honouring thyself. For every man has but one life. But yours is nearly finished, though in it you had no regard for yourself but placed thy felicity in the souls of others … But those who do not observe the impulses of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy." - Marcus Aurelius

It is a thought-provoking and gripping novel that explores several facets of human thoughts and emotions. It makes one question the truth and deceptions of the self. Personally, it made me wonder, at times scared, how it would be to live a life of such self-scrutiny.

It was a slow, gripping, and not an easy read recommended for those who would like to go on such a trip.