A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson

In A Small Death in Lisbon, the narrative switches back and forth between 1941 and 1999, and Wilson's wide knowledge of history and keen sense of place make the eras equally vibrant. In 1941 Germany, Klaus Felsen, an industrialist, is approached by the SS high command in a none-too-friendly manner and is "persuaded" to go to Lisbon and oversee the sale--or smuggling--of wolfram (also known as tungsten, used in the manufacture of tanks and airplanes). World War II Portugal is neutral where business is concerned, and too much of the precious metal is being sold to Britain when Germany needs it to insure that Hitler's blitzkrieg is successful. Cut to 1999 Lisbon, where the daughter of a prominent lawyer has been found dead on a beach. Ze Coelho, a liberal police inspector who is a widower with a daughter of his own, must sift through the life of Catarina Oliviera and discover why she was so brutally murdered. Her father is enigmatic, her mother suicidal; her friends were rock musicians and drug addicts.

I have to admit I was a bit wary of trying something that is set so close to us in time. Although I do love to read about Portuguese history during the first and second world wars the revolution of 1974 seems still too close to us. However after reading so many good recommendations of this book, and knowing that it was a mystery which is one of my favourite genres, I finally decided to pick it up.

As mentioned in the blurb there are two story lines, one set during WWII and dealing with Portugal' role in providing wolfram for the Nazi war effort and another set in the 90's about the murder of a young girl in Cascais (a beach resort in the outskirts of Lisbon). The action set in the 90's is heavily influenced but the 1974 events and some of the characters are very much influenced by their role in the previous regime.

The problem that these types of books have is that, sometimes, one storyline is much more interesting than the other. And I have to say I was much more interested in what was happening in the girl's murder investigation than what was happening during the forties. That was mainly because I did like the character of Inspector Ze Coelho very much. Although Wilson doesn't get every detail right he does get a lot of the expressions we use, the food we eat, the times we spend at the cafe's and the personality a bit "saudosista", a bit living in the past, that we do have as nation.

I liked how well he draws the characters, even secondary characters that make small appearances, are given a lot of attention and makes for a richer story.  Wilson is excellent at keeping us interested and invested in finding out the culprit despite constantly jumping between periods. I think it was brilliant how he finally connected the dots – that is also what kept me turning the pages, to find out how the two storylines are related – but the ending did feel a bit rushed. Besides, Wilson manages to create some really disagreeable characters and when we finally unravel all that has happened I’ll admit that I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

In the end I thought that it was a good read. It did leave me curious to try more books by Wilson (there’s at least one more set in Portugal and others set in Seville that seem really interesting) and more books about WWII in Portugal.

 Grade: 4/5

Ana's Favourite HF set in Portugal

When I first thought about compiling this list I realised that most of the books that came to mind hadn't been translated to English. Although historical fiction is currently one of the most visible trends in  portuguese bookstores, most of it is written by portuguese authors with no expression abroad. Since this is an english speaking blog I decided to choose books that can be readily available to english readers. With that in mind I hope you enjoy my suggestions...

Mariana by Katherine Vaz

This novel is based upon the true story of Mariana Alcoforado, sent to a convent during Portugal's revolt against Spain in the seventeenth century, where she conducts an all-consuming love affair with a French cavalry officer. After being abandoned, she writes him a series of passionate love letters--translated and included here--that become famous throughout Europe during her lifetime, and thereafter. Artists from the poet Rilke and the novelist Stendhal to the painters Matisse and Modigliani have made her one of the world's great romantic icons. 

Mariana Alcoforado is, along with Inês de Castro, one of the most famous portuguese romantic heroines. Katherine Vaz retells her story and the story of Portugal in the second half of the 17th century.



Baltazar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago

When King and Church exercise absolute power what happens to the dreams of ordinary people? In early eighteenth century Lisbon, Baltasar, a soldier who has lost a hand in battle, falls in love with Blimunda, a young girl with visionary powers. From the day that he follows her home from the auto-da-fe where her mother is condemned and burned at the stake, the two are bound body and soul by a love of unassailable strength. A third party shares their supper that evening: Pardere Bartolemeu Lourenco, whose fantasy is to invent a flying machine. As the inquisition rages and royalty and religion clash, they pursue his impossible, not to mention heretical, dream of flight. 

 One of the best stories by our Nobel Peace Prize. Just the fact that it is set in my hometown would be a reason to pick it up but the truth is that it is also a very good story. It is set in early 18th century during the construction of one of Portugal's most famous monuments, Mafra's Monastery

The Maias by Eça de Queiroz

Our hero Carlos Maia, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Portugal, is rich, handsome, generous and intelligent: he means to do something for his country, something useful, something that will make his beloved grandfather proud. However, Carlos is also a bit of a dilettante. He drifts along, becoming a doctor and pottering about in his laboratory, but spends more and more time riding his splendid horses or visiting the theater, having affairs or reading novels. His best friend and chief partner in crime, Ega, is likewise engaged in a long summertime of witticisms and pleasure. Carlos however is set on a dead reckoning course with fate—with the love of his life and with a terrible, terrible secret... 

A mandatory read in high schools when I was growing up The Maias ended up being one of my favourite reads. I love Eça de Queiroz writing, a brilliant man writing about the social and political events of his time. In this book we also get many descriptions of Lisbon and places that still exist today.

Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi

Set in the sweltering summer of 1938 in Portugal, a country under the Fascist shadow of Spain, PEREIRA MAINTAINS tells a tale of reluctant heroism. Dr. Pereira, an editor at a second-rate Lisbon newspaper, wants nothing to do with European politics. He's happy to translate 19th-century French stories. His closest confidante is a photograph of his late wife. All this changes when he meets Francesco Monteiro Rossi, an oddly charismatic young man. Pereira gives Rossi work, and continues to pay him, even after discovering that he is using the money to recruit for the anti-Franco International Brigade. PEREIRA MAINTAINS chronicles Pereira's ascent to consciousness, culminating in a devastating and reckless act of rebellion.

The political awakening of an old journalist in the Lisbon under Salazar's opressive rule. Written by an Italian writer who chose Portugal as his adoptive country.


A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson

A Portuguese bank is founded on the back of Nazi wartime deals. Over half a century later a young girl is murdered in Lisbon. 1941. Klaus Felsen, SS, arrives in Lisbon and the strangest party in history where Nazis and Allies, refugees and entrepreneurs dance to the strains of opportunism and despair. Felsen's war takes him to the bleak mountains of the north where a brutal battle is being fought for an element vital to Hitler's blitzkrieg. Late 1990s, Lisbon. Inspector Ze Coelho is investigating the murder of a young girl with a disturbing sexual past. As Ze digs deeper he overturns the dark soil of history and unearths old bones. The 1974 revolution has left injustices of the old fascist regime unresolved. But there's an older, greater injustice for which this small death in Lisbon is horrific compensation, and in his final push for the truth, Ze must face the most chilling opposition.

The fact that Portugal was neutral during WWII meant that plenty of refugees ended up here, either to stay or to look for a way to continue their journey to America. Lisbon was also the meeting place of plenty or German and Allied spies. Robert Wilson's novel approaches that period and the post revolutionary decade in this intriguing murder mystery.

 After writing this post I realised that none of these books have been reviewed on HT and that maybe I should get to that. I would love to hear from you if you're read any of these and feel free to share your favourite portuguese HF if you have any!

Hunting Midnight - Richard Zimler

At the dawn of the nineteenth century in Portugal, John Zarco Stewart is an impish child of hotheaded emotions and playful inquisitiveness, the unwitting inheritor of a faith shrouded in three hundred years of secrecy--for the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula have been in hiding since the Inquisition. But a season of loss and bitter discovery brings his innocence to an abrupt end. It is only the ministrations of a magical stranger, brought to Porto by his seafaring father, that restore his safety: Midnight, an African healer and freed slave, the man who will become John's greatest friend and determine the course of his destiny.When Napoleon's armies invade Portugal, violence again intrudes on John's fragile peace, and seals his passage into adulthood with another devastating loss. But from the wreckage comes revelation as he uncovers truths and lies hidden by the people he loved and trusted most, and discovers the act of unspeakable betrayal that destroyed his family--and his faith. And so his shattering quest begins as he travels to America, to hunt for hope in a land shackled by unforgivable sin.

This was my first book by Richard Zimler and I must say he does approach interesting and original subjects.

Hunting Midnight tells the story of John Zarco Stewart, a Portuguese boy of Scottish and Portuguese descent and of Jewish heritage who was born in Porto where he grew up before travelling to England and America. Set in the 18th and 19th centuries it deals with such different subjects as the French invasions and slavery.

In the beginning, John meets Daniel and the two boys will soon become fast friends. Zimler is very good at describing evocative imagery and one can almost see the preacher, who John call necromancer, that scares him by calling him a Jew, and later the market where exotic birds are sold in miserable conditions and where the two make a rescue attempt replacing the real birds by wooden substitutes. In the aftermath of this event, they meet Violeta, who will become the third part in their friendship and while telling of their adventures Zimler tackles very different subjects like the hidden Jewish faith, the inquisition, Violeta’s abuse at the hands of her family and the difficult life conditions shared by many told.

John’s life changes drastically when Daniel dies and he falls ill believing himself guilty. To restore his health his father brings home Midnight, a black man knowledgeable in healing herbs but also with a very special life’s philosophy. He soon becomes John’s best friend and mentor.

When Midnight disappears after travelling with John’s father to England and John later finds out he has been sold as a slave, he starts a voyage that will take him from Porto to London and then to New York and the American south. The second half of the book introduces a second main character as it is partially narrated by Midnight’s daughter Morri. Morri tells of her life as a slave in a plantation in Charleston and of her father’s life there and disappearance and writes her observations on the differences between the black and the white man.

This is the story of John and his growth but also a story of love and tolerance. There is the love between friends, between family members, husband and wife and between fellow men. There is the respect and tolerance for different religions and beliefs and a reflexion on the status of women in society.

I did have some trouble getting into the story as it is a bit slow paced in the beginning but the second half was a page turner. Considering all the interesting themes and details included, the richness and the importance of themes focused I don’t hesitate to recommend this novel.

Grade: 4/5