José Saramago’s “The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis” follows the story of Ricardo Reis, a doctor and poet, who returns to Lisbon in 1936 after spending years in Brazil.
The city is tense, with political unrest hanging over it, as Reis navigates both his personal life and his thoughts on mortality. He is visited by the ghost of Fernando Pessoa, the famous poet, and their conversations touch on philosophy, loss, and the passage of time.
Against the backdrop of a city shadowed by Salazar’s regime, Reis moves through places and encounters that reflect a world caught between the old and the new.
“Cousin Bazilio” by José Maria de Eça de Queiroz tells the story of Luísa, a bored housewife in Lisbon, who starts an affair with her charming cousin Bazilio when her husband is away.
The novel explores the consequences of this relationship as she becomes entangled in lies and manipulation, especially when her maid, Juliana, discovers her secret and uses it against her.
Set in 19th-century Lisbon, the book captures the city’s social dynamics and moral hypocrisy.
The novel “Pereira Maintains” by Antonio Tabucchi follows Pereira, an aging journalist in 1930s Lisbon, as he edits the culture section of a small newspaper.
Set during a time of political unrest, Pereira encounters a young writer and his fiancée, who pull him into the dangerous realities of resistance against fascism.
Through quiet moments and moral dilemmas, the story shows how an ordinary man begins to question his passive stance in the face of oppression.
The novel “Requiem: A Hallucination” by Antonio Tabucchi follows a narrator who spends a surreal summer day in Lisbon meeting people, visiting places, and reflecting on loss and memory.
The story unfolds over a single day and is filled with dreamlike encounters, including a meeting with the ghost of Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. It blends reality and imagination, creating a vivid sense of the city and its melancholic beauty.
Robert Wilson wrote “A Small Death in Lisbon,” a crime novel that blends a modern murder investigation with events from World War II.
The story alternates between the present-day investigation of a young girl’s murder in Lisbon and the past experiences of a German soldier who becomes involved in Portugal’s wartime wolfram trade.
These two threads come together, revealing a dark connection between history and the crime.
David Leavitt’s “The Two Hotel Francforts” is set in Lisbon during the early days of World War II. It follows two couples, both seeking escape from Europe’s growing chaos, as they meet in the neutral city.
The story explores their intertwined relationships and the secrets that emerge. The backdrop of wartime Lisbon adds tension, with its atmosphere of uncertainty and people waiting for safe passage out of Europe.