Pereira Maintains, By Antonio Tabbuci

The Fox and Badger, Wellow, Thursday 28th June.

Apologies from Chris B and Steve.

There was a reasonable level of appreciation of Tabuchi's novel about the creeping effects of fascism on pre-war Lisbon, with general disappointment that the book didn`t deliver as much as it promised.

Richard described the politics of Portugal and the Salazar government whose dictatorship had only ended in the 1970s. This regime was well known for its ruthless implementation of fascist ruleat home and overseas. The leadership of the Catholic church too was in cahoots with the fascists although local priests often tried to support the Republican cause when possible.

Richard enjoyed the book – he thought that it was well realised – it grabbed him more as it progressed. He thought that it was well written but not one of the greatest books he`d read. The story was about an old journalist hiding from reality. The young revolutionary Rossi brings him back into the real world. A lot of debate about whether Pereira's final act of rebellion followed by his decision to leave his friends and country was a difficult decision or was it in fact an act of liberation for Rossi? The idea of a confederation of souls – each one taking its turn to come to the fore – was appreciated by both Richard and Rob as an explanation for an individual's character and behaviour.

Mark like the imagery, which took him straight to the streets of Lisbon. Enjoyable but too short and it particularly irritated him every time the word “maintains” cropped up! Apparently the original Italian version was called Pereira “declares” and not “maintains”… but with Steve being absent there was no point arguing whether anything had been lost in translation. Mark thought the idea of Pereira talking to his wife's picture was interesting but then not explored deeply enough.

Rob thought this was a strange book – the story progressively drew him in with its subtle but effective style. A predictable, enjoyable easy read.

Ras was not very impressed with this book – found it difficult to read and it ended up being a damp squib.

Neil too was not very impressed with the book. The introduction at the beginning of the book spoilt it (should have been the back of the book so it could be read afterwards). A week after having read the book he had to reread the end of the book to remember the finale (such as it was…)! He also found the character of Pereira implausible. Would somebody who has worked as a journalist all his life really be so naive? He was depicted as a bit of a bumbling old idiot, which was not realistic.

Chris W was looking forward to reading one of Europe's best translated novels of the 20th century (as promised on the cover) but although the atmosphere and imagery of pre-war Lisbon was good, the book never really delivered. The finale was too brief and it was unlikely that as a journalist Pereira could not have foreseen the outcome of his harbouring Rossi in his apartment. Good that it had informed him about this period in Portugal's history.

Chris`s comments were emailed in from afar. He enjoyed reading about the experience of living ordinary lives under a progressively totalitarian regime, and the historical, cultural and political setting was well painted. The violent event at the end comes as a suitable shock to the “ordinary lives” of the characters. The contrast between the young and sexy revolutionaries and the washed up journalist worked well too. Chris liked the book so much he started to re read it – enjoyably.

So a mixed reception for Antonio Tabucchi in the end… – you can`t please everyone all of the time!