Night Train to Lisbon
New York: Grove Press, 2008. Uncorrected Proof. Trade Paperback. [10], 438 pages. Slight cover wear and soiling. Slightly cocked. This has been called one of the Great European Novels of the past few years. A huge international bestseller, Night Train to Lisbon is a stunning novel of a man in the present day exploring a mystery that illuminates a place and its past. Raimund Gregorius teaches classical languages at a Swiss Lycee, and lives a life of routine. One day, a chance encounter with an enigmatic Portuguese woman inspires him to question his life and leads him to an extraordinary book that will open the possibility of changing it. He takes the train to Lisbon that same night, and with him the words of Amadeu de Prado, a doctor whose principles led him into confrontation with Salazar's dictatorship, and a man whose intelligence and magnetism left a mark on everyone he met. As Gregorius becomes fascinated with the mystery of who Prado was--meeting Prado's eighty-year-old sister, who keeps his house like a museum; an elderly torture survivor confined to a nursing home; and Prado's childhood friend and eventual partner in the resistance--an extraordinary tale takes shape. Night Train to Lisbon is a haunting tale of repression, resistance, love, and the human struggle to connect. Reminiscent of The Shadow of the Wind and The House of Spirits, Night Train to Lisbon will be remembered for its soul, wit, universality, and resonant depth. This book is a haunting tale of repression, resistance, love, and the human struggle to connect. The book will be remembered for its soul, wit, universality, and resonant depth. More