Richard Zenith Knihy

For many readers, Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet serves as a way of life. This unclassifiable work is a masterpiece of one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic writers. Richard Zenith's biography of Pessoa allows us to appreciate this extraordinary figure. Eighty-five years after his untimely death in Lisbon, where he left over 25,000 manuscript sheets, Pessoa (1888-1935) is celebrated as a great modern poet. Zenith places Pessoa's life within the context of European history, exploring the depths of his imagination and literary genius. Much of Pessoa's allure stemmed from his use of various names, which allowed him to conceal his identity and write in diverse styles through imagined personalities. Zenith delves into the backgrounds of these 'heteronyms,' revealing them as projections or transformations of Pessoa himself. His monumental work underscores the relevance of Pessoa's words in addressing the disconnection of modern life. Additionally, it serves as a vivid portrayal of Lisbon, the city that Pessoa reimagined and where his multiple selves roamed. This biography was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Biography and was longlisted for the 2021 Plutarch Award. It also garnered recognition as one of the top books of 2021 by various publications, including the New York Times and Kirkus Reviews.

"Like Richard Ellmann's James Joyce, Richard Zenith's Pessoa immortalizes the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Eighty-five years after his wrenching death in a cramped Lisbon apartment, where he left more than 25,000 manuscript sheets in a wooden trunk, Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) remains one of the most enigmatic and underappreciated poets of the twentieth century. Celebrated for writing in dozens of different poetic voices, known as heteronyms, Pessoa has finally found his definitive biographer in renowned translator Richard Zenith. Setting the story of Pessoa's life against the nationalistic currents of early twentieth-century European history, Zenith charts the depths of Pessoa's explosive imagination and literary genius. Much as José Saramago brought one of Pessoa's heteronyms to life in The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, Zenith traces the backstories of virtually all of Pessoa's imagined personalities, demonstrating how they were projections, spin-offs, or metamorphoses of Pessoa himself. Nothing less than a literary masterpiece, Zenith's monumental work confirms the power of Pessoa's words to speak prophetically to the disconnectedness of modern life"-- Provided by publisher

Against a backdrop of rural Portuguese poverty, a handful of magical characters are living out their destiny- Jose, a shepherd, who is visited by a devil whispering violent words in his ear; Moises and Elias, Siamese twins joined at the tip of their little fingers; Gabriel, a wise man, who is over one hundred years old; and an unnamed character who sits writing alone in a windowless room. The characters are universal, and they are all at the mercy of fate - their lives are pulled in different directions and sometimes even suffocated and snuffed out ...