The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition in Reading 1001

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The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition

Fernando Pessoa (Editor),

Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)

Start date: August 1, 2020

Finish date: August 31, 2020

Discussion: BOTM Discussions

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What Members Thought

Aug 24, 2020 Jessica Haider rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, fiction

Published posthumously, The Book of Disquiet is the fictional memoir of one of the author's alternate personas, Bernardo Soares. Bernardo lives in Lisbon and is not a happy guy. In short, poetic paragraphs, Bernardo philosophizes about life. The book doesn't so much has a plot as much as it is a collection of thoughts and vignettes. The writing is clearly wonderful and lyrical. It is deep and contemplative. ...more

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Aug 31, 2020 Kristel rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, 2020-botm

This is a slog for me. I did not enjoy it as a novel because it is not a novel. It is a collections of one man's thoughts. Fernando Pessoa is a Portuguese man and this so called book was published posthumously. Yes there are some interesting sentences, prose, but it is not a novel. It used up an entire month which I can only regret. This man may have been deeply depressed and I can only think that his family wants to make money off his writings. I am not sure the man would have wanted it publish ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2023 Andrew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is a unique and spell-binding collection of random meditations on the dreaminess of life; the impossibilities and possibilities of relating, communicating or understanding; the illusions and sensations of ordinary or extraordinary awareness; journeys of the imagination; and so on and so on. It could have gone on forever, and I'm glad it didn't - while I found it relaxing and intriguing and thought-provoking, I could only read it in small dollops, like tasting again and again a favourite ice ...more

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Jun 04, 2015 J_BlueFlower rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, 1001-read, norwegian-100

Bit and pieces about daydreams and pocket philosophy. Very well written and with some surprising insights (like about a perfectionist who finishes something because lacking the strength to fight any longer). But it was a long haul of dreaming.

I have been reading Gone with the Wind along this book (which mainly meant abandoning this one for long periods). I think this book is the book Ashley Wilkes could have written.
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