Friday, October 05, 2007

Blogging Pessoa

At the instigation of Matthew Tiffany, of Condalmo, some of us will be writing about Fernando Pessoa's remarkable The Book of Disquiet. I received the book for Christmas, much to my delight, and have been reading it on and off for months. (For a taste, click on the Fernando Pessoa label below to read four passages I've posted at this blog.)

A few weeks ago, Matthew wrote that he was saving the book for when he "really need[ed] to be lost inside a book". I posted this comment in response:
Let me say that, in my opinion, it is NOT this kind of book. For me, it's perfect bedside reading, or perfect for when you want to read a few pages at a time, but in some respects it sort of resists getting "lost inside" of. I began reading it a few months ago and haven't finished it, but I have enjoyed it immensely and underlined many passages. There's not really a story to speak of, but there is a distinct consciousness, and it's wonderful.
Naturally, not everyone agrees, but this has (mostly) reflected my experience. I'll stop here; anything else I have to say about The Book of Disquiet will be posted at The Blog of Disquiet, which is now up and running. Please do drop by.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A good friend of mine had been raving about this crazy Portuguese poet who had dozens of literary personas for a couple years, and I'd always meant to but never did get around to reading some. Then I read a selection of Pessoa on Spurious' blog and immediately ordered The Book. I, like you, have simply been reading passages when a short, but thoughtful read is called for: on the bus, during a cigarette, etc.

That just to say, thanks for pointing me to the Pessoa blog...