The Book of Disquiet

The very book to read when you wake at 3am and can’t get back to sleep - mysteries, misgivings, fears and dreams and wonderment. Like nothing else. – Philip PullmanIn a time which celebrates fame, success, stupidity, convenience and noise, here is the perfect antidote – John Lanchester * Daily Telegraph *A complete masterpiece, the sort of book one makes friends with and cannot bear to be parted with – Paul Bailey * Independent *A meandering, melancholic series of reveries and meditations … beguiling and mysterious – William BoydIt’s hard to explain how this modernist hymnal of boredom, fatigue, dejection and jadedness is so beautiful and life affirming – Mike McCormack * New Statesman Books of the Year *To read and then contemplate him is to be lifted a little bit above the earth in a floating bubble. One becomes both of the world and not of it. There’s no one like him, apart from all of us. – Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *An odd, occasionally exasperating and sometimes beautiful book and one that will be your friend at 3am on a sleepless night. – Sophia Martelli * Observer *Fernando Pessoa was simply one of the best 20th-century writers ever… captivating… a series of beautifully wistful reminiscences, diary entries and aphoristic snippets… we recommend it like crazy. Pick one up and open it anywhere and we promise you’ll be richly rewarded. – Stuart Hammond * Dazed and Confused *Gorgeous … utterly original * The New York Times *A reading experience unlike any other … you will never forget it, or stop waiting to return to it – Chris Power * New Statesman *

Fernando Pessoa was born in Lisbon in 1888. He grew up in Durban, South Africa, where his stepfather was Portuguese consul. He returned to Lisbon in 1905 and worked as a clerk in an import-export company until his death in 1935. Most of Pessoa’s writing was not published during his lifetime; The Book of Disquiet first came out in Portugal in 1982. Since its first publication, it has been hailed as a classic. The new edition was edited by Jeronimo Pizarro and translated by Margaret Jull Costa.