The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis

The book chronicles the final year in the life of the title character, Ricardo Reis, one of the many heteronyms used by the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa.In the novel, Ricardo Reis returns to Lisbon from Brazil, upon catching wind of Pessoa's death. While there, he chooses not to resume practicing medicine, but rather takes up residence in a hotel, where he spends his days reading newspapers and wandering the streets of Lisbon.The novel addresses several powerful literary themes, though mostly indirectly. For instance, Reis reads of the events leading to the Spanish Civil War, and he sees floods of Spanish immigrants arrive in Lisbon seeking refuge, but he never expresses strong feelings or even a cogent understanding of the meaning of the conflict.Reis also carries on a lackluster love affair, but even in what seems to be his most intimate relationships, he is continually and voluntarily alienated from society.The most revealing glimpse of Reis is through a series of conversations with the spirit of Fernando Pessoa, over the course of which Reis loses a clear concept of the nature of life and death and the difference between the two.In the novel's final scene, Reis "dies" by calmly putting on his jacket and following Pessoa into the graveyard. Ultimately, the novel is a story of one man's attempt to resist any sort of cultural contextualization and reject any place in society whatsoever. From the Nobel Prize-winning author: “A capacious, funny, threatening novel” of wandering souls and political upheaval in 1930s Portugal (The New York Times Book Review). The year is 1936, and the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is establishing himself in Portugal, edging his country toward civil war. At the same time, Dr. Ricardo Reis has returned home to Lisbon after a long sojourn in Brazil. What's brought him back is word that the great poet, Fernando Pessoa, has died. With no intention of resuming his practice, Reis now dabbles in his own poetry, wastes his days strolling the boulevards and back streets, engages in affairs with two different women—and is followed through each excursion by Pessoa's ghost. As a fascist revolution roils, and as Reis's path intersects with three relative strangers—two living, one dead—Reis may finally discover the reality of his own chimerical existence. “A rich story about human relationships and dreams.”—The New York Times Called “a magnificent tour-de-force, perhaps one of the best novels published in Europe since World War II” (The Bloomsbury Review) and “altogether remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal), The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis is a PEN Award winner and stands among the finest works by the author of Blindness.Translated by Giovanni Pontiero From Publishers Weekly Ricardo Reis meets dead Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and encounters two women who may be figments of Pessoa's poetry in this extraordinarily nuanced novel. (Mar.) See boxed review, p. 76, for book by Pessoa. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Language Notes Text: English (translation) Original Language: Portugese [The author] portraits an imaginary encounter between Fernando Pessoa and Ricardo Reis, who venture back to Portugal after the establishment of the dictatorship of general Salazar. "The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis" describes the country during dictatorship and highlights views using Pessoa's poetic aspect which have long been forgotten in history Lisbon Circa 1935 Comes To Life In This Story Of A Doctor Who Forsakes Medicine To Recite Poetry In The Streets, The Women In His Life, And The Ghost Who Occasionally Accompanies Him. José Saramago ; Translated By Giovanni Pontiero. Translation Of: O Ano Da Morte De Ricardo Reis. A story set in 1930s Lisbon tells of a doctor forsaking medicine to recite poetry in the streets, the women in his life, and the ghost who occasionally accompanies him