- Paperback
- Publisher: Atlantic Books (1 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843547120
- ISBN-13: 978-1843547129
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 245,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Night Train to Lisbon
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Product Description
Review
"'One reads this book almost breathlessly, can hardly put it down... A handbook for the soul, intellect, and heart.' Die Zeit (Germany) 'This excellent novel is a lesson in life and lucidity.' La Quinzaine Literaire (France) 'A sensation. The best book of the last ten years... A novel of incredible clarity and beauty.' Bucher (Germany) 'One of the great European novels of the past few years.' Page des libraires (France)"
Image magazine, February 2008
'If you liked carlos Ruiz Zafron's The Shadow of the Wind you'll love the international bestseller, Night Train to Lisbon.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gaia is absolutely right. I'm pretty sure this is a terrific book, and my impression is that it is quite poetically written. The translation, though, is lumpy and seems to rob the prose of the lyricism I'm sure is there. The typos and proof reading errors are just unforgivable, and again make the reading hard and annoying going (a simple spell check test would have picked up some of the many words which run together). If it weren't for the intriguing nature of the story, I'd say don't buy this at all until the publisher has sorted out the basics above.
However, if this is the only translation / version available to you, then persevere. The founding premise is beguiling: middle aged man has surprising experience and walks away from his comfortable life... and catches a train to pursue the thoughts of a troubled, enchanting, and long dead soul. He's not an absconder in the Stonehouse sense, so don't come to this looking for adventure. Come prepared to be provoked into thinking, sometimes slightly spooked and annoyed, and to remember that it wasn't so long ago that Portugal was not the holiday haven it is today.
Just don't buy it if rotten line-editing and makes you mad... you'll be frothing!
However, if this is the only translation / version available to you, then persevere. The founding premise is beguiling: middle aged man has surprising experience and walks away from his comfortable life... and catches a train to pursue the thoughts of a troubled, enchanting, and long dead soul. He's not an absconder in the Stonehouse sense, so don't come to this looking for adventure. Come prepared to be provoked into thinking, sometimes slightly spooked and annoyed, and to remember that it wasn't so long ago that Portugal was not the holiday haven it is today.
Just don't buy it if rotten line-editing and makes you mad... you'll be frothing!
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If Pascal Mercier ever had to read his book in 'English' HE'D be giving Atlantic a piece of his formidable mind. Ugly words like 'gotten' may be the norm in the USA but don't belong in a work like this, and like the other reviewers I feel that this poor translation does not do the book justice. And just when you're getting excited by one of the brilliantly thought-provoking passages, along comes another teeth-gnashing typo to take the edge off.
Having got that off my chest, I have to say that this book rises above the translator's poor endeavour, and if you're patient and prepared to 'read between the errors' provides a great deal of food for thought. It's certainly made me ask some pertinent questions of my own life.
Lucky German readers will have had a pretty amazing experience.
Having got that off my chest, I have to say that this book rises above the translator's poor endeavour, and if you're patient and prepared to 'read between the errors' provides a great deal of food for thought. It's certainly made me ask some pertinent questions of my own life.
Lucky German readers will have had a pretty amazing experience.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading this wonderful book, so linguistically fascinating, so rooted in language and its use. For me it was a very rich journey - but then I am 60 years old and a teacher of language and literature and so it speaks directly to my own experience.
I have seldom found a book to be as moving as this one. It is brilliantly constructed from a slender beginning - but then, one of its premises is that things happen by chance, just happen, for no particular reason. From what tenuous thread of chance do events in our own lives hang? Mundus's experiences turn out to be a development of that idea.
The book will sustain reading and reading time and time again, and I believe the most suited readers will be ones approaching retirement who will instinctively know what Mundus, and Pascal Mercier, mean and feel. The themes of the book are chance, possibilities, guilt, responsibility, communication, causality, life, death, justice, love, poetry, politics, the inhumanity of man.... the grand classics... They are so brilliantly dealt with, so expertly wrapped, so intriguingly told that I was kept as if anchored to my reading of the story and I felt like buying a ticket to Lisbon myself now, immediately.
The thing is : it's as easy as that : just go ahead : do it. You only live once. Experience the movement of life and get close to people. Engage.
I wept at the end of this book; I really did not want it to end.
There are some niggles about the translation, printing errors, words missed out etc.. but these are totally without any ultimate effect on the poetry and power of this book. Addtionally, its imagery and geographical accuracy are very powerful and you really feel you are in Bern, Lisbon and Salamanca.
The bottom line is : if you're near 60 or contemplating retirement, this book is a MUST READ. Five stars. Superb......
I have seldom found a book to be as moving as this one. It is brilliantly constructed from a slender beginning - but then, one of its premises is that things happen by chance, just happen, for no particular reason. From what tenuous thread of chance do events in our own lives hang? Mundus's experiences turn out to be a development of that idea.
The book will sustain reading and reading time and time again, and I believe the most suited readers will be ones approaching retirement who will instinctively know what Mundus, and Pascal Mercier, mean and feel. The themes of the book are chance, possibilities, guilt, responsibility, communication, causality, life, death, justice, love, poetry, politics, the inhumanity of man.... the grand classics... They are so brilliantly dealt with, so expertly wrapped, so intriguingly told that I was kept as if anchored to my reading of the story and I felt like buying a ticket to Lisbon myself now, immediately.
The thing is : it's as easy as that : just go ahead : do it. You only live once. Experience the movement of life and get close to people. Engage.
I wept at the end of this book; I really did not want it to end.
There are some niggles about the translation, printing errors, words missed out etc.. but these are totally without any ultimate effect on the poetry and power of this book. Addtionally, its imagery and geographical accuracy are very powerful and you really feel you are in Bern, Lisbon and Salamanca.
The bottom line is : if you're near 60 or contemplating retirement, this book is a MUST READ. Five stars. Superb......
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very slow and heavy going
I had high hopes for this book but, like other reviewers found it far too long and ponderous. I hate giving up on books but I'm afraid that I had to quit this one 300 pages in as,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Infogirl
Thought provoking and very readable...
This gentle novel is a thoughtful depiction of one man's journey of self-discovery through the writings of another. Read more
Published 5 months ago by FictionFan
Night Train To Lisbon
Brilliant book, very absorbing and really pulls you into Gregorius' life and thoughts. Many threads converging onto his life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by B. M. Crombie
interesting but too long
There is something attractive about this book; the central character is appealing and the slightly threatening and disturbing atmosphere is carefully evoked. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Amy J.
A life changing book. Excellent
I could not put this book down. It will join my list of books that I re read at least every 3 years. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Lorna Meier
Boring witha capital B!!!
A good friend recommended this book so i felt compelled to read it, but oh my, it was such a struggle!! Read more
Published 11 months ago by Princess72
POINTLESS WASTE OF TIME
Bought the book in an airport, swayed by the cover blurb and the 2M copies sold - and never was the wisdom of the old adage not to judge a book by its cover, more appropriate. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Cuffleyburgers
Brilliant book
This is one of the 4-5 best books I've ever read, a brilliant tale of friendship, inspiration and humanity.
It's not an easily read book, but SO rewarding. Read more
It's not an easily read book, but SO rewarding. Read more
Published 12 months ago by L. Kragh
Contemplative
The first book in 30 years that I have finished, and re-started the next day. Setting aside the minor irritations with the translation (how often can you squeeze the word "gotten"... Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. V. Wright
Incredible, thought provoking, but divisive
From looking at the reviews so far, this book seems to pretty equally divide people between love, hate and indifference. For me, I loved it. Read more
Published 13 months ago by senbonzakura
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