The Book of Disquiet

By: Fernando Pessoa

Narrated by: Adam Sims

Assembled from notes and jottings left unpublished at the time of the author’s death, The Book of Disquiet is a collection of aphoristic prose-poetry musings on dreams, solitude, time and memory. Credited to Pessoa’s alter ego, Bernardo Soares, who chronicles his contemplations in this so-called "factless" autobiography, the work is a journey of one man’s soul and, by extension, of all human souls that allow their minds and hearts to roam far and free.

Though his outward life as an assistant bookkeeper in downtown Lisbon is a humdrum affair, Soares lives a rich and varied existence within the contours of his own mind, where he can be and do anything. Soares has no ambition, nor has he any friends; he is plagued with disquiet, and only imagination and dreams can conquer it.

Compiled by the translator Richard Zenith, Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet is a fulgent tribute to the imagination of man. Translation by Richard Zenith.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Assírio & Alvim / Grupo Porto Editora (P)2018 Naxos AudioBooks

Poetry

I love this work! Contemplative, soul searching. For anyone who loves literary prose and who looks for the strange.

a vitally important, and beautiful work

if you stick with it, you will get something out of this work, and just maybe be moved by it. It is beautifully introspective and must be taken both lightly and seriously. but, if you can’t keep an open mind then I seriously wouldn’t bother.

I didn’t want the book to ever end.

The definition of brilliance. I’ve never related so much to a piece of literature. I simply did not want the book to end.

Excellent

This has been on my TBR list for a while, and I am glad I got around to it. It is now one of my favorite works. There is plenty of food for thought.

An essential read

There's something that I absolutely adore about this beautiful book, but it's hard to put a name to. Eventually, Pessoas depressing and devistating prose about tedium and insignificance became tiring- and perhaps even a little annoying. So often it was clear that, had he been a little less self-concerned, he could've rescued himself from his indeterminate existential crisis-he was obviously completely aware of what was wrong, but..I dunno. He made of his suffering something of an artistic endevor, and as such, never really intended to better himself. It's hard to even say if he discovered any significant wisdom from essentially sacrificing his own life to spiritually rot- he set himself up to eternally fail, and still he complained as though he was some unfortunate victim of personhood. But he is undeniably brilliant- his ability to articulate human anguish is almost difficult to believe, It's amazing that someone would even devote themselves to something so fundamental, and in my opinion, the world is better for it. It's glaringly 'real' if that makes sense.