Product Description

Lisbon. 1936. Ricardo Reis is a doctor, returning to his native Portugal from Brazil after 16 years away. But what kind of doctor is he? His companions include: the ghost of the poet Pessoa; a girl with a paralysed hand; and the hotel chambermaid, who slips into his bed at night.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #180598 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-17
• Original language: Portuguese
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
An introduction by the translator Pontiero will help readers to approach this somewhat daunting major novel by 1998's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Saramago himself suggested that his ambitious philosophical and political novel might be fully appreciated only by someone who is Portuguese. Ricardo Reis was one of the pseudonyms used by the poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), who believed that everybody possesses multiple personalities. A compelling alliance of wit and serious intention, the novel, which is set in the lively and colourful port of Lisbon in 1936, moves between philosophical abstraction and knockabout humour. This is a demanding but ultimately rewarding read exploring a rich pattern of interwoven themes at all levels of society. (Kirkus UK)

The US debut of Portuguese writer Saragamo: a novel written in the best classical European tradition, rich in allusions, occasionally surreal, and concerned with the human condition. Set in Lisbon, it's the story of the last year of Dr. Ricardo Reis, a man in his late 40s who has come back to Portugal to make a new life for himself. As the old year - 1934 - ends, Reis disembarks from the steamer that has brought him from Brazil, where he has spent the last 16 years. Unmarried, a poet as well as a doctor, Reis originally fled Portugal because of political upheaval, and a recent revolution in Brazil has in part precipitated his return. He stays first in a hotel, where he is attracted to a young woman guest who comes to Lisbon for medical treatment, and at the same time he takes the hotel maid, Lydia, as his mistress. Meanwhile, a friend and poet, recently dead, frequently accompanies Reis as he walks around Lisbon. There seems little point or purpose to Reis' life. He moves to an apartment, continues his relationship with Lydia, and asks the young hotel guest to marry him, but these seem more gestures of despair than acts of hope. Reis' politics are never really spelled out, but as the year progresses - and it is a significant year as the political situation in Europe and Portugal rapidly deteriorates - Reis finds it more difficult to remain aloof. When Lydia's brother dies in an antigovernment mutiny, Reis realizes that he can no longer be a bystander; but that admission is too much, and he goes off to join his dead friend, afraid to look back because if he does "he might let out finally his mighty howl." A compelling portrait of a man of great sensibilities and bleak vision, who, failing to escape the world in life, prefers death. And the Lisbon of the Thirties that Saragamo describes - gray, run-down, and filled with paupers - further increases this feeling of futility and moral decay. An accomplished debut. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

You don't need to know Pessoa or Lisbon to enjoy this book
I bought this book after reading Blindness which is a totally different style of novel. I expect I only had a superficial understanding of it though as I don't know Lisbon or Pessoa but I still enjoyed it. Please don't be put off because it was written in another language or you don't know Lisbon or Pessoa. I have learnt about Portuguese history, culture and poetry through reading this book which was an added bonus. Having said that, it is hard work at times but its worth sticking with it as the use of language is such a pleasure to read. I would say that it has translated wonderfully into English and there is a beautiful flow onto the page that I have not experienced with any other author.

Long, but rewarding
It has taken me a long time to finish this as it becomes quite hard to put it down and pick it up again. This is because Saramago's writing style is a unique one; he is often rambling, paragraphs continuing for pages upon end and seem to never really result in anything,which can make it hard to get into the mood for a Saramgo read.

But I found I got the most of this book by reading in sittings, rather than in short blocks, and it is thoroughly rewarding: poetic, philosophical, political. The atmosphere and scenes that Saramago creates is (are) fantastic. Only the fact that it is fairly unaccessible at first is why I can't give this 5 stars. Having read the Gospel According to Jesus Christ, I'd recommend that first.

Saramago's Best
This is my favourite of all Saramago's novels. First of all because I love the poetry of Fernando Pessoa and this book evolves around Pessoa and one of his famous heteronyms, Ricardo Reis. This is already a fantastic begining: the novel's main character is not a living person, but a fictionalized person made by some other author! This being Saramago, the set of the story has a strong social and ideological background. In this matter, this book is a metaphor of the rising of the portuguese fascist regime. Then there is Saramago's ironic sense of humour: this a very funny serious book!
As I read the book in portuguese, I don't know how well Saramago's rich and detailed speech translates in other languages, since some of the attraction of this book remains in the hedonistic plasure of reading a so wonderfully writen story!