Pereira Maintains
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Product Description
Review
A masterpiece --Mohsin Hamid
The most impressive novel I've read for years --Philip Pullman
Close to being a perfect novel --John Carey
Tabucchi now takes his place alongside Irene Nemirovsky, Sandor Marai and Stefan Zweig as one of the great Continental rediscoveries for English-speaking readers in recent years --Daily Telegraph
It goes on getting better in one's head after one has stopped reading it
--Diana Athill
The most impressive novel I've read for years --Philip Pullman
Close to being a perfect novel --John Carey
Tabucchi now takes his place alongside Irene Nemirovsky, Sandor Marai and Stefan Zweig as one of the great Continental rediscoveries for English-speaking readers in recent years --Daily Telegraph
It goes on getting better in one's head after one has stopped reading it
--Diana Athill
Product Description
In the sweltering summer of 1938 in Portugal, a country under the fascist shadow of Spain, a mysterious young man arrives at the doorstep of Dr Pereira. So begins an unlikely alliance that will result in a devastating act of rebellion. This is Pereira's testimony.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This novel has been described as a literary page turner and having read it I agree totally with that statement. It is immediately obvious why the novel is called 'Pereira maintains' although the reason why this should be so is left ambiguous at the end of the story. Despite the lead character's apparent political naiveté, which seems odd given that he was a crime reporter for thirty years, you do empathise with his situation. In many ways Dr Peirera's own lack of poltical awareness is a reflection of wider Portuguese society in the late 1930s which was very much a dark period in the history of Portugal. This is a world you are drawn into because of the author's skilful writing - in terms of his prose style and storytelling. Both sad and uplifting this is undoubtedly one of the very best novels I've read in recent years.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This short novel by the Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi is set in Lisbon, Portugal in 1938. Salazar's government at the time was sympathetic to fascism, as represented by Mussolini's regime in Italy and General Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Pereira is a journalist working for a small evening paper and has been asked to set up a culture section. He does not think of himself as particularly political, just a man getting on with a rather dull, unsatisfying job and mourning his dead wife. Maybe he can promote the literature and values he loves without causing any trouble in his new position - he translates a 19th century Balzac story from French for inclusion in the paper.
Then he reads an article by a young man and offers him work, a decision which is going to shake up his life. Monteiro Rossi turns out to be totally set on writing unprintably subversive articles extolling the revolutionary political views of his heroes. Pereira is soon introduced to his attractive and fiercely opinionated girlfriend Marta.
Pereira quickly finds himself committed to supporting these young dissidents and their views, whatever the cost to him. The story is told using the phrase "Pereira maintains" several times on each page - he is trying to explain what happened, as if he was sucked in despite himself.
There is a lot to think about within this book, and it has made me want to find out more about Portuguese history, in the context of Europe in 1938 and the looming war for or against fascism. Pereira has been trying not to take sides, but in the story he feels compelled to take the side of what he feels is right, at any cost. Interestingly, when this book was first published in Italy in 1994, it was taken up enthusiastically by those campaigning against the right wing Berlusconi in the elections there.
I think I will probably try to reread it this year as I'm interested in the themes Tabucchi is exploring and I think I might have missed a lot on the first reading.
This English translation by Patrick Creagh was first published in 1995. This Canongate reissue is a compact and appealing hardback (now also available in paperback or for Kindle) with an introduction by Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, explaining why this is his favourite book.
Pereira is a journalist working for a small evening paper and has been asked to set up a culture section. He does not think of himself as particularly political, just a man getting on with a rather dull, unsatisfying job and mourning his dead wife. Maybe he can promote the literature and values he loves without causing any trouble in his new position - he translates a 19th century Balzac story from French for inclusion in the paper.
Then he reads an article by a young man and offers him work, a decision which is going to shake up his life. Monteiro Rossi turns out to be totally set on writing unprintably subversive articles extolling the revolutionary political views of his heroes. Pereira is soon introduced to his attractive and fiercely opinionated girlfriend Marta.
Pereira quickly finds himself committed to supporting these young dissidents and their views, whatever the cost to him. The story is told using the phrase "Pereira maintains" several times on each page - he is trying to explain what happened, as if he was sucked in despite himself.
There is a lot to think about within this book, and it has made me want to find out more about Portuguese history, in the context of Europe in 1938 and the looming war for or against fascism. Pereira has been trying not to take sides, but in the story he feels compelled to take the side of what he feels is right, at any cost. Interestingly, when this book was first published in Italy in 1994, it was taken up enthusiastically by those campaigning against the right wing Berlusconi in the elections there.
I think I will probably try to reread it this year as I'm interested in the themes Tabucchi is exploring and I think I might have missed a lot on the first reading.
This English translation by Patrick Creagh was first published in 1995. This Canongate reissue is a compact and appealing hardback (now also available in paperback or for Kindle) with an introduction by Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, explaining why this is his favourite book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a great novel, and quite unlike any other I have read. It relies on its very particular language to evoke the atmosphere of 1930's Lisbon, but is so beautiful to read that it seems totally effortless, and makes one reluctant to put it down. As such I strongly recommend putting aside enough time to read it in one hit; in retrospect I very much wish I had done this. It is not a long book; half a day should suffice, preferably a hot summer's afternoon. The experience will stay with you a long time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing
I had read very good reviews of this book but although I read it in a very short space of time, I am not enthusiastic about it. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Tissue
Pereira Maintains
Pereira Maintains is a quirky and yet very refreshing novel, that describes a time in Portugal's history which is not widely documented. Read more
Published 1 month ago by AndyD
Dull storyline but fairly well written
The story is dull. Nothing happens. It's a descriptive book but the plot fails to go anywhere. There is no tension to drive you forward.
Published 3 months ago by Steve
The maintenance of tension
I read this book over the Christmas holiday. It is a little book which packs a big punch. It is set in a time and place which is alien to us, the time of the Spanish Civil War as... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Noel
And then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out
This novel demonstrates why my previous policy of avoiding novels translated into English is a mistake. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Antenna
Pereira Maintains
Pereira makes an unlikely hero - a fat widower well past the bloom of youth, struggling with doubts about Catholic doctrine, and trying not to notice the growing oppression of the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by T. Brill
Great translation of a great novel
This short novel accomplishes so much it's quite hard to see how Tabucchi does it. Subtly observed and impeccably paced, this is a minor classic.
Published 6 months ago by Edward Matthews
Great novel
The best "new" novel I've read for at least 10 years. At first the repeated stylistically strange "Pereira maintains" seems like the result of poor translation, but slowly attains... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Gully Foyle
a wonderful, insightful, entertaining read
I finished reading this book a week ago and I still miss it. I hunger to read it again. The story is wonderful and the translation exceptional. Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. Dixon
disappointed - why the praise???
If I ever read the words 'Pereira maintains' one more time I think I'll lose it - well not quite, but if it wasn't written on every page then there was a sense of anticipation that... Read more
Published 7 months ago by aragorn17
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