Europe through literature discussion

In the first two months of 2023 we will be reading literature from Portugal.

Titles for all three categories (classic, contemporary and short story/essay) can be nominated in this thread.

Feel free to discuss availability here as well, i.e. let us know beforehand if a nominated title is unavailable for you before we put up the polls. The polls will be set up at the end of December.

I'll nominate Lídia Jorge's The Wind Whistling in the Cranes for our contemporary read.

Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares for contemporary read. Available online.

Jax wrote: "Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares for contemporary read. Available online."

I second this nomination. I have had this book on my tbr for quite some time now.

Jax wrote: "Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares for contemporary read. Available online."

This is so good.

I would also like to nominate The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago.

Orgeluse wrote: "I'll nominate Lídia Jorge's The Wind Whistling in the Cranes for our contemporary read."

This looks so interesting. I'm going to try and listen to the audio version.

Carolien wrote: "Orgeluse wrote: "I'll nominate Lídia Jorge's The Wind Whistling in the Cranes for our contemporary read."

This looks so interesting."

I thought so, too! This seems to be her latest, i.e. most widely available but her The Migrant Painter of Birds also sounds good, though I'm not sure about availability.

If a short story collection is okay, I nominate Tales From The Mountain by Miguel Torga. (It would also qualify as a classic, first published in 1941).

From The Guardian: "Published in 1941, Miguel Torga’s tautly constructed short stories of life in the barren hills of Portugal’s Trás-os-Montes (literally Over-the-Mountains) region became an instant classic. Ostensibly, life has changed considerably since Torga’s day, the dirt-poor villages of his youth are now blessed with electricity, the internet, running water and paved roads. Yet, as my Portuguese friends are all quick to tell me, the soul of this rustic corner of the country’s hinterland remains much the same. Written in the spare, thrifty prose for which Torga was famous (he was twice nominated for the Nobel prize), Tales from the Mountain offers an unflinching, up-close view of a Portugal where outsiders rarely tread."

Carol wrote: "If a short story collection is okay, I nominate Tales From The Mountain by Miguel Torga. (It would also qualify as a classic, first published in 1941).

From The Guar..."

A short story collection is indeed okay, thanks for the nomination! I will check on availability.

For a classic read I would like to nominate The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers by Eça de Queirós.

I would like to nominate The Anarchist Banker by Fernando Pessoa for the classic category.

I would also like to nominate The Scent of a Lie by Paulo da Costa. It's 14 interconnected stories that could fall into the category of short stories but that could also be read as a fragmented novel.

Valerie wrote: "I would like to nominate The Anarchist Banker by Fernando Pessoa for the classic category."

Another great title! And it seems to be available on Kindle and in paper form.

Hi all,
nominations will still be possible till tomorrow. The polls will be activated on 26th Dec.

I would like to nominate "Blindness" by José Saramago. I read some pages and found the writing style quite intimidating.

Madhu wrote: "I would like to nominate "Blindness" by José Saramago. I read some pages and found the writing style quite intimidating."

I have added Blindness to our shelf and to the poll, thanks for the nomination, Madhu!

Nominations are closed and polls are up:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

There are still 8 hours left (Brussels time) to vote in the polls for our Jan/Feb reads, so those who would like to join the group read and have not yet voted, do it now :))