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Christopher's Reviews > Night Train to Lisbon
Night Train to Lisbon
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Apparently, Page des Libraires calls this 'One of the great European novels of the past few years'- compared to what? The SNCF Railway Timetable.
This book makes me incredibly angry. And after some thought I can honestly award it the 'worst book I have ever read' award. I could forgive it for being slow. I could forgive the missed opportunities of drawing what potentially could have been interesting characters in two dimensions. I could even forgive the shockingly bad translation (it has not even been properly proofed or sub-edited and some of the words are just wrongly translated).
But what I cannot forgive or forget are the pitiful attempts at philosophy the book espouses, particularly through the supposed writings of the dead Amadeu de Prado. They read like the ramblings of a conceited teenager.
I read this book to the end, out of spite and because I refused to let it defeat me. It was a battle of the wills and I won. But what a shocking, shameful, sham this piece of cod philosophy. Do not buy this book, even if you are intrigued to see how bad it is.
This book makes me incredibly angry. And after some thought I can honestly award it the 'worst book I have ever read' award. I could forgive it for being slow. I could forgive the missed opportunities of drawing what potentially could have been interesting characters in two dimensions. I could even forgive the shockingly bad translation (it has not even been properly proofed or sub-edited and some of the words are just wrongly translated).
But what I cannot forgive or forget are the pitiful attempts at philosophy the book espouses, particularly through the supposed writings of the dead Amadeu de Prado. They read like the ramblings of a conceited teenager.
I read this book to the end, out of spite and because I refused to let it defeat me. It was a battle of the wills and I won. But what a shocking, shameful, sham this piece of cod philosophy. Do not buy this book, even if you are intrigued to see how bad it is.
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Reading Progress
March 29, 2008
– Shelved
Started Reading
March 30, 2008
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 51 (51 new)
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Linda
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rated it 1 star
Jan 16, 2010 01:53AM
at first i thought your review was quite harsh but now having read 2/3rds of the book i couldn't agree more with what you've said.
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not sure i agree that it's as bad as all that but i do agree with you on nearly everything: there's something completely demagoguic in here that i can smell a mile away!
I'm glad it's not just me who finishes terrible books out of spite...
Thanks. It is today's Kindle Daily Deal for 99p and I was considering.. thanks for saving me 99p and a few a hours of my life.
Your review is a lot harsher than mine, but I can't help agreeing with you! I wasted 99p and several hours...
thank goodness you thought the translation abominable: I look forward to reading the book in the original. I enjoyed the film!
I have tried to read this book...twice, and gave up both times. It was slower than wading through treacle and I found myself uninterested in the outcome. I am an avid reader but this left me stone cold.
You may be my long lost brother. You are absolutely and completely correct.
I don't know that the point was that we were ever supposed to agree with Prado's pontificating. The main message I took from it was the folly of over-thinking life. It's a good antidote to an overly melancholic approach to life (in the sense of the 4 classical temperaments). I didn't mind it, but I read it only in short bursts over a couple of weeks, and didn't try to understand Prado when he became impenetrable - I just took it as a sign of his madness. I can fully get your point though - Prado was profoundly irritating and conceited.
I read the whole book thinking I would eventually understand what the fuss was about. Nope!
Thank you for your review. I hate it when I read hype like "Europe’s biggest literary blockbusters" only to end up reading a whole book and coming away frustrated. Thank you for your honesty. Also, thank you to the 52 people who liked your review which tells me you are not alone.--I'm not going to hit like as I have not read the book---nor after reading your review will I!!
I can’t believe that this book was popular. I couldn’t make it past the first over-written and pretentious 100 pages. That part about how one man read and wrote Greek perfectly and although he went to the theater often he didn’t really get Greek drama. As if scholarship is some hyper-elite club that only the select few can enter.
This review echoes my own experience entirely! Well said Sir!
Thank you for your review. I feel understood! :)
So relieved: I am not alone.
I bought this book a long long time ago and today I realized that I haven't finished it yet. Probably because I was so bored reading it so I thought I should read some reviews. I read urs and I think I can't force myself to finish it like u did. but I'm soo curious to know what happens in the end.
Nothing.Nothing at all.
The write is a philosophy teacher of Berlin University, so I guess he knows philosophy better than you...The book is slow because the trip inside ourselves is slow.
Laura wrote: "The write is a philosophy teacher of Berlin University, so I guess he knows philosophy better than you...The book is slow because the trip inside ourselves is slow."
Just because someone teaches philosophy doesn't mean they can create their own philosophy that's worth anything. Also, how do you know what Christopher does for a living?
Alas, thank you for this review that finally calls the book out for what it is. Professor Mercier needs a serious lesson on what makes a novel. Hint: it's not one-dimensional characters, pages after pages of ramblings that I purged out of my own journal by the time I hit age 25, and the obvious academician's daydream that everyone he encounters would find him the most interesting, compelling person ever). Seriously, Wikipedia's entry on Salazar was more interesting.
Just read this post again and it makes me smile. It is exactly my thoughts on this awful book.
You're wrong on one point - SNCF timetables are more interesting.
I so agree. I actually skipped chapters in order to save my sanity and compromise my goal to go till the end. It was almost the end of me. It certainly ended a possibility for a savory weekend. I could have gotten more out of a Norwegian murder mystery.
@laura corna, "The book is slow because the trip inside ourselves is slow." That might be so indeed, in that case, the writer is forigven a slighty dreary topic. However, what I never forgive is a horrid translation. If you've picked up the English translation you will no doubt agree: there is no metre, no flow, and (by god!) even a lack of interesting vocabulary. I have stranded at page 70-or-so and will not continue reading.
I agree with you. The difference is that I didn’t finish it.
thank you for the review and I could not agree more. I am almost finished and trying to read as fast as possible, so I can leave this tremendously boring and pseudo-philosophical book behind me. I really wonder, why so many people love it..
This was a book club read for me. I feel like I wasted 20 hrs of my life.
I really like this so far, but I've only read 60 pages. I left my occupation at 55, Gregorious leaves at 57. I moved to a strange city, he moved to a strange city. So perhaps, for me, I get the character more so than people who haven't retired, or haven't moved to a strange city. I get this character.
Thank you, Christopher. You made my day. The German original is just as bad.
I was forced to read this book for my book group. I am almost done with the Audible version and I am determined to finish it even though I am bored stiff. I had a dental appointment yesterday which I enjoyed more than this book. Truly torture. Christopher, your review nails it.
Love that I am not alone :)
I struggle to read it...I hate leave started book unfinished ,but this book...
You know I just realized, my first girlfriend told me to read this book, and I finished it this year. So that must have been 12 years ago that I started reading it. It took me three attempts.
Such is life, Sjoerd, women and disappointing Brooks!
I’ve written essays about why this book is pathetic.
I've tried so hard to digest the arrogant philosophical articles witten by the dead Amadeu but i couldn't so o skipped most of it. But decided to keep reading perhaps i find the storyline interesting but it was meaningless. Amadeu was too arragont and selfesh who blamed everyone arround him but not himself for being isolated , he kept his feelings and emotions for himself and didn't share with the people he grew up with execept his longlife friend Maria , all this led to irritating strugle which eventually made everyone arround him misrable.
This book is written by a EUROPEAN for most EUROPEANS. Many Americans should not even try to understand this book, we live, if I may say so, on different planets.I read the book twice, once in an excellent Dutch translation and once in its original language - German. Both times were a feast.
Yet my sister, who gave me the Dutch version, could not get through it. So I suppose this book is only liked by people who have a special love of philosophy (which I have, my sister has none).
Felt the same! Never been so annoyed by a character. Yes, life isn’t fair. Yes, it turns out different than we expected. Yes, that can hurt. But man, get ahold of yourself and take some ownership over your life. We all have our problems. Deal with it.
Not everybody has the mental capacity to 'get ahold of oneself'. If you can, you're lucky. Doesn't change anything to this book being a masterpiece. Even if it did not appeal to you, did I understand that correctly?
I have read most of the comments/reviews now (Feb 2021) and, my conclusion stands: this book is definitely NOT for people who do not like philopsophy (or have no clue what philosophy IS in fact...).For me, it is a masterpiece. For others, it is indigest. Such is life. We ALL are different, we ALL have different opinions, and that is what makes the world of the humans so interesting.
It seems that Americans have even more problems reading this book than Europeans. But, as I said, this is a book written by a European Philosophy Professor for, as it seems, Europeans.
Hahaha this makes my day.
What a load of crap - the words just ramble on and on and ooooooon and goes nowhere at a very slow pace. Can’t believe the rave reviews - what am I missing ?
Thank you Christopher! Such a relief to read your review. People should not think this is Pilosophy. Or a novel, for that matter.
I can only explain your reviews by guessing you read a translated version and the book didn't translate well into another language.
Ok, I wasn't sure why I wasn't able to keep reading this book. It seemed to have many things for me to enjoy it. I bought it while traveling in Switzerland, I'm Portuguese and I have a German speaking of partner who is fascinated by the Portuguese language and is learning it. The book started off with a somewhat intriguing beginning, but now... I can't understand why they think this sulking character would be of interest to the readers. I dunno. I might still finish it just to confirm this feeling.
Do You know that the Autor was å Philosoph. Peter Bier and I think this book is å great literary book.
Frankly, I am relieved to read that others feel similarly to how I did after having read this book. I thought I just wasn't getting it...
You had more fortitude than I, who only got to page 59.
