Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis

I gave this book 3 stars the first time I finished it but it was mostly due to the fact that i was sick during the holidays (what a shocker I know) and forcing myself through assigned reading as soon as physically possible. Ever since then I’ve reread many sections of the book and discussed various aspects regarding the characters and plot with my Portuguese teacher, which led me to see this book through a completely different set of lenses.

The idea behind this book is one that could have only been originated and brought forth by the mind of a literary genius and I’m seriously glad that I got to read not only Saramago but also Fernando Pessoa in their original form since many of the translations I’ve come in contact with do not measure to my expectations.

I’m not going to give you a summary or an in-depth analysis of this work (I have spent the last month doing projects and assignments on such matters, there’s a limit to what I am able to take) but what I can tell you is that this book simply isn’t for everyone, not in the sense that its true meaning can only be grasped by ‘superior minds’ but in the sense that you must have knowledge of Portuguese culture, history, literature and especially of Pessoa’s heteronyms and body of works to fully appreciate the work that was put into this masterpiece.

I’m not going to pretend this book was perfect, no matter how much I adore the themes and characters that Saramago develops I cannot bring myself to enjoy his writing style, and even though this is most probably a me problem it will forever affect my readings no matter how hard I try.

Throughout the book you can definitely create a parallel between the dynamics of Reis/Pessoa and Dante/Virgil, Pessoa in a way gives structure to Reis’s life and guides him in a spiritual manner through the city of Lisbon during the time period of the Estado Novo (Salazar's dictatorship) which was marked not only by the repression of the Portuguese people by an oppressive dictatorship but also by the rising of Fascism through most of Europe and the Spanish Civil War.

For those that are not aware Ricardo Reis, our main character, is inspired by Ricardo Reis the heteronym of Fernando Pessoa (i encourage you to learn more about it and in greater depth but to put it simply let’s say that Reis is one of Pessoa’s OC in his specific universe of heteronyms) and since at the end of the day Reis is nothing but a creation of Pessoa’s he will forever be connected to him even in death.

Am I going to leave this review underdeveloped?? of course, I am !! I have been forced to read more than 20 different essays on this book in the last 2 weeks, my brain is mush and my mind is slowly drifting away, the only positive side of it all is that I’m probably moving to Lisboa in some months which means I’ll be able to recreate the chemin that Reis undertakes during the book.