Night Train to Lisbon: A Novel (original 2004; edition 2008)

Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier, translated by Barbara Harshav, is about the paths we take in our lives, the regrets we carry, and the desire to connect with something or someone outside of ourselves. Raimund Gregorius is a Swiss classical languages teacher in Bern, who has cloistered himself among his texts and his classes to the detriment of his marriage and his social life. He’s governed by a routine existence that is abruptly changed one morning on the way to the lycée. His love of language and learning takes him on an unexpected journey into the language and heart of Lisbon as seen through the eyes of Amadeu de Prado, a young doctor caught up in a test of his principals like none other at the time of the Salazar dictatorship.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/05/night-train-to-lisbon-by-pascal-mercier-tran... ( )

I don't know what to think of this book. It is clearly a book for intellectuals: if you want action, or romance, look somewhere else. If you like long philosophical musings, you might like it. Or you might not, as I did.

I thought the structure was weird, and I don't see any reason for it being like that. It is as if the writer had a lot of ideas that he wanted to communicate, which he admittedly did quite well, and he did have some idea that people want a story with their ideas, but he did not know how to actually make a story apart from making a lot of different persons and letting them interact. I especially didn't like the story threads still hanging at the end, going quite a bit farther than just an "open ending".

Yet, this might be one of those books that grows on you after reading. I'll see. ( )

I read this a couple of years ago and realised that I left my thoughts in private comments rather than in the review field. But re-reading them I think they can stand as is:)

I'm trying to think of words to review this book and they just will not come. Nothing I can say can describe how I feel about this book. There are already plenty of reviews for this book and there has been a very mixed reaction. I'll just say that this might just go onto my list of all time favourites. So just a few brief comments will have to do..

This is a definite keeper, one I will want to re-read. There is something about this book that spoke to me. It is hard to say what makes this so relevant to me and to my life. Why it hit such a chord and will stay with me. I originally borrowed it from the library and while still reading it I spotted a copy in the local second-hand book shop which I immediately grabbed off the shelf. Maybe when I do reread it I will be able to find the words to explain my reaction. For now I can just say it might not be for everyone but I think it is well worth a read.. ( )

Action and technology are drained out of this novel about an aged Bernese classics teacher whose fleeting encounter with a Portuguese woman on one of Berne's majestic bridges leads him to research the life of a doctor from an upper class family during the Salazar regime prior to the carnation revolution of 1974. The book discusses the duties and responsibilities of government or near-government employees (teacher, judge, doctor) when the government is not acting in the general interest. How far does one have to be loyal to one's government (and one's class)? How much is just doing your job professionally a service for an evil government? As the Portuguese protagonist is acting mostly silently behind the scenes, what the novel is lacking is action. The reader is just following an old man researching a dead man's life, meeting a lot of old people.

The second missing element is technology. While one can take the train from Switzerland to Portugal, it is much more convenient and cheaper to fly. Ninety minutes from Berne to Geneva by train, then take a direct EasyJet flight to Lisbon. You even regain one time zone hour from the two and a half hours flight time. Mobile phones are missing too. While the Swiss roaming charges abroad are some of the most extortionist, the fairly rich protagonist wouldn't mind paying them. Instead he is constantly looking for fixed lines to make his calls. Naturally, the protagonist doesn't use the internet either. He phones one of his pupils in Switzerland to order a Portuguese grammar book in a local Bernese bookstore which in turn has to order the book which then has to be sent to Portugal. The large number of German tourists in Lisbon guarantees that finding a German Portuguese grammar book should not be too difficult a task (especially for a language teacher). In any case, Amazon would have been more than willing to ship him any book he wanted directly to Portugal. The ubiquity of communication technology creates a watershed moment in novels (and films) which authors have not yet fully accomplished to instill in their stories without opening giant plot holes.

I found I didn't learn much about Portugal, too much of it was generic, so the local flair of both Berne and Lisbon are underutilized. Overall, a good read for those who like to think with and about the protagonists. Just don't expect any action or plot turns. I wonder whether they can successfully adapt the story to the big screen. Jeremy Irons as stodgy classics teacher Gregorius seems miscast (as is the lack of actual Portuguese actors among the main protagonists). ( )

“Life is not what we live, it is what we imagine we are living.” “It takes divine courage & divine strength to live with oneself in perfect truth.” “Imagination is our last sanctuary.” These are a few quotes from the fictional author, A. Prado, in Night Train to Lisbon. He is referred to as, “the goldsmith of words”, by those who have known him. In truth, it is Pascal Mercier who forms these philosophically insightful words and shares them with us through Raimund Gregorius, a professor, who breaks from his routine life when introduced to a book of Prado’s writings. Gregorius takes a train to Lisbon to begin his journey. Ultimately, it is to learn about the life of Prado. Yet, in doing so, learns about himself, too. There are many spokes that radiate from this central theme. They take us through the map of the theoretical mind to look at and reconsider our inner (the soul) and outer (who we are perceived to be) lives. Mercier carries us through a passage of space and time we will reflect on for the remainder of our lives. This is not a kitsch novel (a little dry humor for those familiar with this book) with an excess of overbearing platitudes. It is a deeply experienced odyssey of the mind and soul. ( )