night train to lisbon book ending explained
After his premature death due to an aneurysm, Amadeu's notes and journal entries are edited and published by his sister Adriana. Wonderful coverage of the ending of the Portuguese dictatorship back in the 1970s. The Alfa Pendular, the fastest train in Portugal, is a popular travel choice, as it can run at a speed of up to 250 km/h. I found it to be about too many different things, and some of the possible story-lines are opened up, and then go nowhere. Some lines, I just think: What??!!! Filmmaker: What appealed to you so much about the book itself? Who knows. ... as it can run at a speed of up to 250 km/h. Prado is a serious thinker whose active mind becomes evident in a series of his notes collected and read by Gregorius. ... with her coat, which contains a small autobiographical book and a train ticket to Lisbon, leaving in 15 minutes. The main character, Gregorius, an uptight teacher of classical languages at a Swiss school, inexplicably quits his job and drops everything after a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman. There, he begins investigating the fate of the Prado family. He has an expressed interest in literature and begins questioning his world, his experiences and the words contained in conversation and written thought. I’ve gone a bit off writing reviews lately. That words could cause something in the world, make someone move or stop, laugh or cry: even as a child he had found it enigmatic and it had never stopped impressing him. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published I have no idea how long it took him to write the book, but it took a lifetime of training to … ― Pascal Mercier, quote from Night Train to Lisbon “I am still there, at that distant place in time, I never left it, but live expanded in the past, or out of it.” “[Vanity] is an unrecognised form of stupidity, you have to forget the cosmic meaninglessness of all our acts to be able to be vain and that's a … Gradually, the picture of an extraordinary man emerges—a doctor and poet who rebelled against Salazar’s dictatorship. That same night, he takes the train to Lisbon to research the book’s phantom author, Amadeu de Prado, a renowned physician whose principles led him to confront Salazar’s dictatorship. [As the story progresses, the protagonist starts to experience increasing bouts of dizziness, as if he is losing his sense of place in the world. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Amadeu, who is by now an accomplished and well-liked doctor, saves the life of Mendez, the "Butcher of Lisbon" and Chief of Secret Police. For the 2013 film adaptation, see, "Throwing in one life to look for another", "Why Iran has 16 different translations of one Khaled Hosseini novel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Night_Train_to_Lisbon&oldid=1011621399, Articles with German-language sources (de), Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 March 2021, at 22:28. Amsterdam to Lisbon by Train “Encounters between people, it often seems to me, are like trains passing at breakneck speed in the night. Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons), affectionately called 'Mundus' by his students, is a high-school Latin teacher and an expert in ancient languages. The next morning, he abandons his teaching position, turns his back on Bern and sets out for Lisbon. Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier “The real director of our life is accident—a director full of cruelty, compassion and bewitching charm. Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. The hype for this book (over two million copies sold) is inexplicable. The journey time is about 10 hours. He takes the night train to Lisbon and carries with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, a (fictional) Portuguese doctor and essayist whose writings explore the ideas of loneliness, mortality, death, friendship, love, and loyalty. We cast fleeting looks at the passengers sitting behind dull glass in the dim light, who disappear from our field of vision almost before we perceive them” ~ Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon. I have no idea how long it took him to write the book, but it took a lifetime of training to prepare him to write it. A mysterious sequence of events results in his finding himself on the train platform at Bern, looking for a young woman who will possibly be catching the night train to Lisbon. Our Reading Guide for Nkight Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier includes a Book Club Discussion Guide, Book Review, Plot Summary-Synopsis and Author Bio. Description: Night Train to Lisbon follows Raimund Gregorius, a fifty-seven-year-old Classics scholar, on a journey that takes him across Europe. Much more depth of course, but I just saw the movie for the second time and loved it just as much as the first time. I wanted to like - nay, love - this, because an old man at a bar recommended it to me as a book that had changed his life. I know I will go back to this one to reread passages. The language is so grandiose - I believe it has been labeled a 'philosophical novel' - that I found myself laughing in dismay. At the last moment he decides to use the ticket himself, and during the journey he reads the book. Trains for this journey usually open for booking around 4 months in advance. Although the central character Gregorius is a classical linguist with a supposedly impregnable gift for recognizing and treasuring beautiful poetry, the entire story here hinges on his suddenly fleeing his life in pursuit of an elusive and patently insipid author named Amadeu Prado. Confused and doubtful, Raimund rushes to the station, but the woman is nowhere in sight. Raimund, now obsessed with unlocking the mystery behind the man, is determined to meet all those on whom Prado left an indelible mark. Second one in the North from Porto to Vigo. August: I read Night Train to Lisbon six or seven years ago when it was first published, and I really liked the book. Last night, I finished reading Night Train to Lisbon, by Pascal Mercier. Night Train to Lisbon is a philosophical novel by Swiss writer Pascal Mercier. The premise had promise, and some of the characters we, The book suffers from significant problems. Contact Details Phone +351 707 210 220 Website cp.pt ... Night train from Santa Apolónia to Salamanca Ave. The main character, Gregorius, an uptight teacher of classical languages at a Swiss school, inexplicably quits his job and drops everything after a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman. A major hit in Germany that went on to become one of Europe’s biggest literary blockbusters in the last five years, Night Train to Lisbon is an astonishing novel, a compelling exploration of consciousness. Nachtzug nach Lissabon = Night Train to Lisbon, Pascal Mercier, I LOVED this book. Inexplicably bad. Start by marking “Night Train to Lisbon” as Want to Read: Error rating book. At times beautifully written and profound, but in the end I found the book a little frustrating and unsatisfying. Night Train to Lisbon: A Review by J.G. Adriana de Prado: I believe you are looking for my brother. Train tickets are available from EUR 25. During his stay in Lisbon, Raimund meets the ophthalmologist Mariana Eça. His father, a stern man and a judge loyal to the government, later crumbles under the pressure of his conscience and commits suicide. I didn't want this book to end, which is very meta because it is a book about a lover of literature who falls in love with an out-of-print memoir from a kindred spirit. Our Reading Guide for Nkight Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier includes a Book Club Discussion Guide, Book Review, Plot Summary-Synopsis and Author Bio. Nevertheless, I recommend reading Pessoa's, “Life is not what we live; it is what we imagine we are living.”. Raimund visits him several times to talk about Amadeu. The English translation from the German is wooden; the book is too long; the editing is bad (e.g., a Greek word from Homer that is significant to the plot is misread [I hope] from the author's or translator's manuscript and mangled in print); and the endgame is botched (to borrow from the omnipresent chess references that weigh the book down almost as much as the endless poor imitations of Pessoa). Ending / spoiler for Night Train to Lisbon (2013), plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Raimund also manages to track down Jorge O'Kelly, a pharmacy owner and Amadeu's best friend who helped him join the resistance, and Estefânia Espinhosa, a woman with an exceptional memory that both men were in love with, even though she was Jorge's girlfriend at the time. Roger Albert Pascal Mercier, a pseudonym for Swiss novelist and philosopher Peter Bieri, published Night Train to Lisbon in 2004. I thought the book was really slow and the chracater of Amadeu Prado was not that interesting for me, so I chose to not finish the book and see the movie, where the phone number doesn't show up at all (neither his love to the Portuguese language.). One day he stops a despondent young woman from jumping off a bridge. The novel became an international bestseller. Night Train to Lisbon is a philosophical novel by Swiss writer Pascal Mercier. [2][4] Multiple reviewers also pointed to the thriller qualities the novel takes on despite the philosophical focus of the themes. That was last September, and by November I had traipsed through neighboring Spain and south into Africa, though, I've since been back to the city of Lisbon, and furthermore to this book. Night Train to Lisbon centres on a high school classics teacher from Berne who has spent almost his entire life -- first as a pupil, then as a teacher -- at the same school in Berne. Above is a rough diagram to help explain the make up of the train. Inspired by … Maria João Ávila, a girl he adores since childhood, seems to be the only person Amadeu can relate to. Willing to settle for a quiet Sunday night movie about a Swiss professor who breaks out of his staid routine and has a life changing experience, we ended up with so much more, watching ‘Night train to Lisbon’, a 2013 movie that is both profound and engrossing. There are three different travel routes. Travel from Madrid to Lisbon by direct "Lusitania" night train. Night Train to Lisbon is currently playing now in theaters across Europe. Night Train To Lisbon is the story of a journey of self-discovery, and an analysis of the ways is which people control their experiencing of life. Translator's fault, in part? Raimund, who has been suffering from spells of dizziness for a while now, submits himself to a physical exam. Instead, I found myself desperate to be done with it. It's a philosophical novel about a language teacher, Raimund Gregorious, who is propelled by a combination of events on a quest to explore the life of Amadeu de Prado, a Portuguese physician and writer who was a member of the 1960s political resistance against the Salazar dictatorship. Salazar died in 1970, two years after handing over power to Marcello Caetano who continued his policies until 1974 when the Carnation Revolution overthrew the regime. He invites the woman to attend his morning class - something completely out of character for this highly regimented man - but soon after she disappears. I noticed that this book evokes very different reactions, from admiration to disgust, and oddly enough, this is also one of the themes of the book: how different the perception of people can be, especially about each other; close friends, partners, even very close family can see or feel each other fundamentally 'wrong'. Inexplicably bad. And third one by bus in the South from Faro to Seville. It is comfortable and cheap. On weekdays the only direct train to Lisbon is usually scheduled to depart Madrid around 21:43. [I note that the book ends with Prado’s total disillusionment. “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. [5] Robert Moyle of the Herald Sun also points out how engaging Night Train to Lisbon is, pointing out how easy it is for the reader to identify with Gregorius. A story like this only comes along once every few years and storytelling like this is just as rare. Although the woman disappears shortly afterwards, their chance-encounter marks the beginning of Raimund's journey. The English translation from the German is wooden; the book is too long; the editing is bad (e.g., a Greek word from Homer that is significant to the plot is misread [I hope] from the author's or translator's manuscript and mangled in print); and the endgame is botched (to borrow from the omnipresent chess references that weigh the book down almost as much as the endless poor imitations of Pessoa). The story starts well with this call to adventure, this woman on the bridge ... but in fact, not much is happening; very quickly the story is nothing more adventurous, lyrical and epic (which I expected). Apparently, Page des Libraires calls this 'One of the great European novels of the past few years'- compared to what? He finds himself re-evaluating his life and decides that he’s going to walk away from his job and take a trip to Lisbon. Plot summary for Night Train to Lisbon (2013), plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. We’d love your help. Once in Portugal, Irons' Gregorius sets about on a quest for the author but instead finds his sister, Adriana (Rampling as the mature version, Batarda as the younger), and learns that Amadeu died in 1974 and that only 100 copies of his book were printed. One day the 57 year old divorcee meets an enigmatic Portuguese woman on his way to work, she’s distressed and possibly contemplating suicide. Mariana's uncle, João Eça, was a member of the resistance. Portuguese, you see, is the one language he doesn't know, and he sets off to pursue it, and her. At times Night Train to Lisbon can feel somewhat generic and cliched, but is saved, predominantly, thanks to the credentials of this remarkable, international cast. Raimund Gregorius: Yes. [3][4], Anne Phillips in The News-Gazette noted that Night Train to Lisbon was "reminiscent of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind and commented that "mystery romance and political intrigue" keep the pages turning. There, it is attached to the Sud Express and both trains continue to Lisbon. Sample rhetoric: "Gregorious was never to forget this scene. Raimund Gregorius is a legendary and near-infallible figure in that small world, dedicated entirely to his work, interested only in his Greek and Latin and Hebrew. What a fabulous book. As you face the platform, the train will arrive from the left hand side, and travel towards the right. Roger Albert Pascal Mercier, a pseudonym for Swiss novelist and philosopher Peter Bieri, published Night Train to Lisbon in 2004. "[3], Like the depiction of the city of Lisbon as mysterious and intricate, the text of Night Train to Lisbon is intricate and complicated, sometimes withholding information from the reader. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Prado's bathetic meditations fill the pages of this novel: a source of continual inspiration for Gregorius, these sections were a source of almos. Sensing a kindred spirit in Amadeu, he is suddenly gripped by the fear of not living his life to its full potential. There was something special about it … [4], Iranian writer Mahshid Mirmoezzi translated the book into Persian, with its release in April 2013. He invites the woman to attend his morning class - something completely out of character for this highly regimented man - but soon after she disappears. She prescribes him new glasses when he breaks his old ones in an accident. Ago._Sett,.- Treno di notte per Lisbona di Pascal Mercier. The book suffers from significant problems. You can book train tickets up to 60 days in advance. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. If you want a story which contains a lot of inner self-examination and philosophizing, read the book. Danish film director Bille August's film adaptation of the same name, with Jeremy Irons as Raimund Gregorius, was released in 2013. The dictatorship lasted until 1974 and relied heavily upon a brutal secret police force, the PIDE. The SNCF Railway Timetable. [1] Danish film director Bille August adapted the book into a 2013 film of the same name, starring Jeremy Irons as Raimund Gregorius. Quiet, slow, mysterious, melancholical. [2] Epigraphs include Michel de Montaigne, Essais, Second Book, I, “De l’inconstance de nos actions” and Fernando Pessoa, Livro do Desassossego. We become tired and weary of our feelings when they come too often and last too long.”, Premio Grinzane Cavour for Narrativa Straniera (2007). 3. When, on a whim, I threw everything away to wander thousands of miles from anything I've ever known, I first went to Lisbon because of this book. The book is in Portuguese, a language Raimund doesn't speak, so he begins translating with the help of a dictionary. Some lines are priceless. I discovered that it took me a while to get involved with the story, but that once I entered into the rhythm of Mercier's writing style it … Wasn't it like magic?" Is the doctor … This is an ambitious book - about many different things - you can read it for the story itself or see it as a book about relationships and the search for meaning in life, but you could interpret it differently. people interested in language, or Portuguese political history, or thoughtful mysteries. This strange start to his day gives rise to something of an epiphany for Raimund who then also leaves the school, abandoning his class. The hype for this book (over two million copies sold) is inexplicable. The protagonist, like me, dreads finishing his treasured book. Raimund Gregorius is a legendary and near-infallible figure in that small world, dedicated entirely to his work, interested only in his Greek and Latin and Hebrew. And what was that telephone number the Portuguese woman wrote on his forehead - he never called it - what was the point of that? Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. Night Train to Lisbon: A Review by J.G. A major hit in Germany that went on to become one of Europe’s biggest literary blockbusters in the last five years, Night Train to Lisbon is an astonishing novel, a compelling exploration of consciousness, the possibility of truly understanding another person, and the ability of language to define our very selves. What are the Madrid to Lisbon train times and schedule? The story has a wonderful rhythm that captivate the attention and interest of the viewer. Refresh and try again. Night Train to Lisbon Pascal Mercier 'Swiss classics teacher abandons everything to research Portuguese doctor' might be the summary of this book but Gregorius' search leads him to consider not just a life story but any life (and more particularly death), plus friendship, family and God. Oomph. She later fled the country and became a professor of history at the University of Salamanca. I thought the book was really slow and the chracater of Amadeu Prado was not that interesting for me, so I chose to, I am also really intrigued by it. To travel by train from Lisbon in Portugal to Granada in Spain, you have three options. Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. This book took me a long, long time to read, but I am glad I stuck with it. Mercier uses various activities and subthemes to help explore these deep, self-reflective subjects including "night journeys, insomnia and dream-filled sleep, of being stuck in place yet somehow adrift, and confusion about life's purpose." It recounts the travels of Swiss Classics instructor Raimund Gregorius as he explores the life of Amadeu de Prado, a Portuguese doctor, during António de Oliveira Salazar's right-wing dictatorship in Portugal. How did words do that? The premise had promise, and some of the characters were not without interest (hence my two stars). One day, a chance encounter with a Portuguese woman inspires him to question his life - and leads him to an extraordinary book that will open the possibility of changing it. One morning on his way to work, he saves a mysterious Portuguese woman from what he assumes is a suicide attempt. Just saw the movie with Jeremy Irons. Night Train to Lisbon (Unabridged) - Night Train to Lisbon (Unabridged) audiobook, by Pascal Mercier... Raimund Gregorius teaches classical languages at a Swiss lycée, and lives a life governed by routine. Prado is a serious thinker whose active mind becomes evident in a series of his notes collected and read by Gregorius. Finding his way to an antiquarian bookstore he buys a book written in Portuguese, a language unfamiliar to him, written by a man named Amadeu de Prado. Night Train to Lisbon centres on a high school classics teacher from Berne who has spent almost his entire life -- first as a pupil, then as a teacher -- at the same school in Berne. As the train arrives, there is a bit of a scramble as people move from one end of the platform to the other. Raimund, now obsessed with unlocking the mystery behind the man, is determined to meet all those on whom Prado left an indelible mark. It dies through the awareness of its return. A teacher of dead languages (Latin, Greek) at a Swiss prep school has no real friends or even much of a life to speak of. I am also really intrigued by it. Welcome back. In short, this story, even if it is well written, is not really my cup of tea: not enough adventure, epic, feelings or emotions. Carson Weatherell is a privileged young American woman traveling in Europe in 1936, courtesy of her aunt and uncle who live ab Even those reviewers who could empathise with boring Gregorius, the novel's 'hero,' have had to concede that a lumpen translation and countless errors that passed the spellchecker (but wouldn't have escaped a mildly conscientious proof reader) make this a challenging read. He fails to find her but impulsively boards the train himself, hoping to find, not this young woman but the author of a deeply poetic and philosophical book which she had in her possession. He goes to the train station, looking for her, but when the train is leaving, without her, on a whim - he has never done anything like this - he boards the train, and reads the book all day and night, thus leaving him with a hundred questions and the desire to meet as many of the people in the book … In the public eye, Amadeu's actions mark him down as a traitor, resulting in him being shunned and secretly joining the resistance to ease his conscience. Whether your pleasure is headstrong historical heroines, foodie love stories, or old friends realizing they want to bang, spring's new romances... A huge international best seller, this ambitious novel plumbs the depths of our shared humanity to offer up a breathtaking insight into life, love, and literature itself. The train is, in fact, leaving in 15 minutes. It's a riveting story of love and rebellion again dictatorship. What's the Madrid to Lisbon train price? One day the 57 year old divorcee meets an enigmatic Portuguese woman on his way to work, she’s distressed and possibly contemplating suicide. Early in “Night Train to Lisbon,” Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons), a stuffy academic, remarks that his wife left him because she found him boring.Oh … With this introspective approach, Mercier is able to review concepts of "who we are, how we control our experience of life, and how fragile that construction is. [What do you think happened to Gregorius - is he really ill? ", This article is about the novel. That I … To see what your friends thought of this book. December 21st 2007 Raimund is immediately intrigued by the author's somber musings. The ending of the book and the movie are polar opposites. See all 6 questions about Night Train to Lisbon…, Best German/Austrian/Swiss Literature of the 21st Century, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier - 3.5 Stars Rounded to 4, [Horizons] Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier - 3 stars, 4°GdL. Great story, but how is the book? First one by night train from Lisbon to Madrid or Irun. Raimund Gregorius is an expert in ancient languages (Latin, Greek and Hebrew) who teaches at a college in Bern, Switzerland. This literary work has been adapted for the screen by Bille August (Jerusalem, Les Miserables, and A Song For Martin) who is a master in this genre. Notes and journal entries are edited and published by his sister Adriana has... A teacher at a speed of up to 250 km/h Lisbon, as he speaks to those were! Toward each other from each end of the resistance in Spain, you see, is a novel., has been a fraud Lisbon in 2004 issue of going back in and... 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