Depois de repetidas limonadas, Pereira pede um Porto seco.

Another classic in the totalitarian genre, this one follows overweight Pereira as he tries to establish a culture section for a Lisbon newspaper as the dictatorship of Portugal comes to bear. Surprisingly wonderful for a book full of Pereira asking for an omelette aux fines herbes and a lemonade. ( )

A concise and tense short story-like novel about several days in the life of a minor newspaper editor's life in prewar Portugal. I am looking for the 1995 movie Sostiene Pereira ( According to Pereira) with Marcello Mastroianni. ( )

Moving short novel, written as if it were notes from an interrogation - well oddly literary notes, anyway. Very concise carefully chosen language.. Written in Portuguese by an Italian writer and I think the translation must have been very good. Speaking of translators this reminds me of Lydia Davis's writing a little - sparse but full of meaning anyway. I read about this book in a book I'd read recently by Mohsin Hamid, he said it was one of his favorite books and I can see why. ( )

Not bad, like a mix of Death in Venice and Confederacy of Dunces. Short, not as dark as either of them. It's an interesting but brief slice of political and lazy-journalist mindset in 1930's Portugal. ( )