Pereira Maintains

Antonio Tabucchi · 1943–2012 · Italy

Originally Sostiene Pereira (Italian) · translated by Patrick Creagh

Why it matters

An aging, apolitical Lisbon journalist under Salazar's dictatorship is slowly radicalized by a young writer he takes under his wing. Quiet moral awakening rendered in exquisitely restrained, deposition-like prose.

At a glance

Clear, deposition-like repetition ('Pereira maintains') carries a simple surface.