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jaydeecepticon's review against another edition
I was reading it while I was traveling in Portugal! It was a beautiful book but I didn't finish it before the library took their ebook back because I was too busy traveling :(
decu777's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Man shouldn’t be able to see his own face--there’s nothing more sinister. Nature gave him the gift of not being able to see it, and of not being able to stare into his own eyes.
Only in the water of rivers and ponds could he look at his face. And the very posture he had to assume was symbolic. He had to bend over, stoop down, to commit the ignominy of beholding himself.
The inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart.”
This book is simply the single most compelling work of art I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Fernando Pessoa delves into the depths of the human soul to explore various different themes of worldly suffering, as well as outlining the good that could be extracted from them.
There is not one single way that The Book of Disquiet could be categorized. It is a collection of several hundred of Pessoa's short and long writings, all revolving around the terrible paradox of self awareness.
The book's page denomination is misleading, this is an entire lifetime worth of work condensed in 600 pages, which are consequentially densely packed with every single psychological and abstract philosophical question pertaining to self awareness.
You rarely happen to find a book about which you can say with full certainty that it would improve the entire world as a whole if everyone were to read it at least once. This is one of those works.
Comprehensively compelling, this book is an absolute must-read, through and through.
Only in the water of rivers and ponds could he look at his face. And the very posture he had to assume was symbolic. He had to bend over, stoop down, to commit the ignominy of beholding himself.
The inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart.”
This book is simply the single most compelling work of art I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Fernando Pessoa delves into the depths of the human soul to explore various different themes of worldly suffering, as well as outlining the good that could be extracted from them.
There is not one single way that The Book of Disquiet could be categorized. It is a collection of several hundred of Pessoa's short and long writings, all revolving around the terrible paradox of self awareness.
The book's page denomination is misleading, this is an entire lifetime worth of work condensed in 600 pages, which are consequentially densely packed with every single psychological and abstract philosophical question pertaining to self awareness.
You rarely happen to find a book about which you can say with full certainty that it would improve the entire world as a whole if everyone were to read it at least once. This is one of those works.
Comprehensively compelling, this book is an absolute must-read, through and through.
lyrabuttonnn's review against another edition
5.0
i feel if i were to cut open my heart i would find the words of pessoa there right on my very soul
steppenwolfie's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
maxt98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nathanielpr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Some great writing, some frustrating. I enjoyed many moments, many phrases. Taken altogether it's a bit of a tedious slog, though. Might have been better taken in smaller doses.
speranta's review against another edition
5.0
I fell in love with an author I might have completely disliked had I encountered him in real life. The beauty of expression, the optimistic nihilism presented in a poetic and metaphorical form totally enchanted me.
marc129's review against another edition
3.0
A very rich and diverse work, by Pessoa's heteronym Bernardo Soares. No real orderly story, rather a chaotic collection of impressions stumbling over each other. Philosophical message: there is no contact with reality possible. Definitely one of the most typical works of the 20th century!
stiansi's review against another edition
5.0
Every Monday evening I go to my chess club to play my weekly tournament game. It starts at 7, and is usually finished around 10 or 11. Every now and then, though, you'll show up to the tournament and it turns out your opponent is a no-show. Game adjourned.
This happened to me today. And so there I was, in the city centre. It's about 8 (I played a few blitz games against some other guy without an opponent before I left), and it's pitch dark outside already. It's also pretty damn cold. It's Norway. That's the way it is.
I walk to my bus stop, some 10 minutes away, listening to Gentle Giant's Isn't It Quiet and Cold on the way. Here's the thing: right next to my bus stop there is a fairly big and very alluring record shop, which also happens to have really decent books in it, and all the pocket books are 30% off. Every single time I go to this bus stop, and this store is open, I go in. A considerable portion of my scholarship money has gone to this store.
Today I walked in and as I was looking around the book section, I came across this book by Pessoa. I remember reading it last summer and really enjoying it. I picked it up and started reading, picking pages at random. I stood like this for 45 minutes, utterly captivated; smiling wryly whenever I came across a passage that I remembered reading last year. This is beautiful.
And then I suddenly remember, wait a minute, did I only give four stars to this masterpiece on goodreads? what the hell is wrong with me?
Then I take the bus home, listening to Radiohead's The Tourist, and I find it all very fitting...Hey man, slow down, slow down. Idiot, slow down, slow down...
This happened to me today. And so there I was, in the city centre. It's about 8 (I played a few blitz games against some other guy without an opponent before I left), and it's pitch dark outside already. It's also pretty damn cold. It's Norway. That's the way it is.
I walk to my bus stop, some 10 minutes away, listening to Gentle Giant's Isn't It Quiet and Cold on the way. Here's the thing: right next to my bus stop there is a fairly big and very alluring record shop, which also happens to have really decent books in it, and all the pocket books are 30% off. Every single time I go to this bus stop, and this store is open, I go in. A considerable portion of my scholarship money has gone to this store.
Today I walked in and as I was looking around the book section, I came across this book by Pessoa. I remember reading it last summer and really enjoying it. I picked it up and started reading, picking pages at random. I stood like this for 45 minutes, utterly captivated; smiling wryly whenever I came across a passage that I remembered reading last year. This is beautiful.
And then I suddenly remember, wait a minute, did I only give four stars to this masterpiece on goodreads? what the hell is wrong with me?
Then I take the bus home, listening to Radiohead's The Tourist, and I find it all very fitting...Hey man, slow down, slow down. Idiot, slow down, slow down...