The year of the death of Ricardo Reis - Jose Saramago

We say: *****

Having read the book in its original language, i can't guarantee the translation does it justice.
I certainly hope so as it is on my top 5 favourite books of all times.

Set in Lisbon in the late 30s it goes on to tell the story of a retired doctor returning to Portugal after 16 years in Brazil.
Throughout the book he re-discovers the city and engages with several characters mainly around the hotel where he is staying until he finds a more permanent abode.

Or so you think.
Like in Gillespie and I, once you get into the story, you start seeing through that narrative to a different one all together. It details the dictatorship Portugal was living under at the time in a tangled web of light and shadow.

One of those books one tries to pace out because you just don't want it to end.