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THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER INTRODUCED BY MOHSIN HAMID

‘The most impressive novel I’ve read for years’ PHILIP PULLMAN
‘Stunning’ DIANA ATHILL

In the sweltering summer of 1938, with Lisbon in the grip of Portugal’s fascist dictatorship, out of nowhere a young man arrives on an elderly widower’s doorstep. Lonely and overweight, Dr Pereira lives a quiet, monotonous existence. But when the charismatic Monteiro Rossi bursts into his life, everything changes. Seeing in him the son he never had, Pereira strikes up an unlikely alliance that will result in his political awakening and a devastating act of rebellion. This is his testimony.

Publisher Review

Pereira Maintains is small only in size. Its themes are great ones - courage, betrayal, fidelity, love, corruption; and its treatment of them is subtle, skilful, and clear. It's so clear, in fact, that you can see a very long way down, into the heart of a flawed but valiant human being, into the sickness of a nation, into the depths of political evil. It's the most impressive novel I've read for years, and one of the very few that feels truly necessary -- Philip Pullman A brilliant, profound book that also manages to be a thriller -- Roddy Doyle Brilliant . . . you'll go on thinking about the characters and the way it's written for weeks * * Guardian * * Every word of Mohsin Hamid's introduction is true: it's a stunningly good novel, and it goes on getting better in one's head after one has stopped reading it - it works as an experience - something that has happened to one, which is of course, the proof of great writing. -- Diana Athill Gripping and unexpected * * The Times * * Close to being a perfect novel - brief, tragic, inspiring -- John Carey, Chairman of the International Man Booker 2002 A masterpiece of compression. A political history of 1930s Portugal, a love story between a man and his dead wife, a gloriously successful formal experiment, and an irresistible thriller - and it can be read with enormous pleasure in a single afternoon. -- Mohsin Hamid Pereira is a marvelously complex creation. One of the most intriguing and appealing character studies in recent European fiction. * * Kirkus Reviews * * It grips from start to finish....a riveting political allegory * * Financial Times * * Tabucchi writes...with an agility of mind and an economy of narrative that pulls the reader along * * Observer * * Political but gorgeously artful, sad and then laugh out loud funny, pacy as a thriller ....This book is perfectly executed * * Dazed and Confused * * This novel...has been sensitively and intelligently translated revealing this understated masterpiece of love and courage. * * Good Book Guide * * Concise, intense and striking. * * Daily Telegraph * * Seemingly plain at first, the story becomes gripping as soon as you realize that the beauty of Tabucchi's narrative lies in between the lines, making the novel a thought-provoking and delightful read. -- Maria-Christina Marchi * * Time Out * * A powerfully concise story of heroism versus acquiescence which gains eloquence from its simplicity * * Sunday Telegraph * * Tabucchi's book (widely interpreted as a critique of Berlusconi) niggles away at the ambiguous space between aggrieved resistance and passive inaction * * Guardian * * In its quiet, brilliant way, this is a novel you will read carefully. It is subtle and powerful; it deserves to be a classic. * * Scotsman * * A moving intellectual thriller * * London Magazine * * subtle and powerful; it deserves to be a classic -- William Leith * * The Scotsman * * gripping * * Baby & Me * * A masterpiece . . . Romantic, devastating, thrilling and formally inventive -- Mohsin Hamid * * Esquire Magazine * * At once a thrilling mystery, a literary inquiry, and a meditation on politics and fascism, this novel about an overweight journalist in 1930s Portugal amazed me with its compression and use of the testimonial form. Close to perfection. -- Mohsin Hamid * * The Week * * Tabucchi now takes his place alongside Irene Nemirovsky, Sandor Marai and Stefan Zweig as one of the great Continental rediscoveries for English-speaking readers in recent years * * Daily Telegraph * * As engrossing as it is important * * Times Literary Supplement * * Charming and enjoyable. Short, languid and deceptively simple, it builds up an atmospheric portrait of 1930s Portugal, lovingly picking out picturesque scenery . . . It is funny, too * * Sunday Times * *