In Love With Lisbon

Author: Lily

  • 10 Novels Set in Lisbon

    Requiem: A Hallucination by Antonio Tabucchi

    Written by an Italian author, this novel is a dreamlike journey through Lisbon. Written as a tribute to the Portuguese poet Fenando Pessoa, this beautiful short novel centres on the quest of the narrator to meet the ghosts of the past whilst giving the reader a fascinating and surreal taste of Lisbon.

     

     

    A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson

    This thriller follows centres on the unfolding of two stories – the investigation into the murder of a young girl in Lisbon and the tale of Klaus Felsen, a Nazi officer sent to Lisbon to gain supplies to support the war effort. The two stories seem seperate at first but over time begin to weave together in a fascinating, brutal unrelenting plot that earned it the prestigious Gold Dagger Award for the best mystery written in 1999.

     

    The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimler

    Essentially a murder mystery story that takes place in 1506, this seething drama is set against a backdrop of Christian against Jew. As Christianity sweeps Portugal, the Jews continue to practice their faith in secret whilst atrocities occur all around them. The narrator of the novel is Berekiah Zarco, a young manuscript illuminator. After finding his uncle murdered he embarks on a journey to reveal the murderer. Said to be factually based, this novel is powerful, gruesome and utterly absorbing.

     

    The Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon by Henry Fielding

    In real life Henry Fielding sailed to Portugal in an attempt to search for a cure for his rapidly deterioting health. Sadly he died in Lisbon two months after his arrival. This novel is his personal narrative of his last journey.

     

     

     

    The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Jose Saramago

    Considered to be one of Saramego’s greatest novels and winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis follows the title characters torment on his return to Lisbon after living in Brazil. Ricardo Reis was one of the pseudonyms used by the great Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. In this novel, Ricardo Reis meets the ghost of Pessoa and is taken on a philosophcal journey exploring the idea of life and death. Much of the time the reader is given little indication of what is real and what is fantasy along the way but the novel becomes all the more intriguing and compelling  because of this.

     

    The Lisbon Crossing by Tom Gabbay

    Forced to leave Hollywood with a hit man trailing him after an affair with a directors wife, Jack Teller makes his way to Lisbon on the arm of fallen German filmstar Lili Sterne. Lili is trying to trace her friend Eva but detective Eddie Grimes winds up dead on her trail. Teller suddenly finds himself caught up in a dangerous world of political intrigue in the early years of World War Two. A novel packed full of suspense.

     

    Escape to Lisbon by Bill Coulton

    After a harsh brush with cancer, elderly Lily Fuller decides to head for Lisbon on a journey of personal exploration. She asks old friend Hank to accompany her and he in turn is joined by his son and daughter-in-law. This is a gentle novel that follows Lily’s new appreciation of life in the face of death.

     

     

    An Explanation of the Birds by Antonion Lobo Antunes

    Rui S. is a political historian with a history of a failure. He failed in school, failed in politics and failed in marriage. Now in the later years of his life and witnessing the breakdown of his second marriage Rui is also breaking down mentally. He realises he must change his life somehow and decides to take his wife on holiday to Lisbon. Sadly Rui once again seems destined to be the loser of the tale.

     

     

    The Dream Merchant of Lisbon by Gene Coyle

    Based on the true life experiences of the author, this novel weaves the tale of CIA officer Shawn Reilly who in his later years has found himself in living in Lisbon working for a boss he doesn’t like and watching his marriage disintegrate. As a spy for the United States he is targetted by the Russian Intelligence Service. The suspense gathers pace as he begins a forbidden affair with a beautiful Russian woman.

     

    The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom

    The hero of the novel is Herman Musset, a quiet man living in Amsterdam who teaches Classics and spends most of his life reading. It seems he has lived an unremarkable life until one morning Herman wakes up to find himelf in Lisbon twenty years earlier in a room where he once made love to a married woman. This bizarre but touching novel will keep you guessing right up to the end. It is gloriously poetic and insighteful and full of literary references. Nooteboom has that rare ability to show wit whilst at the same time tugging on your heart-strings

  • Vegetarian in Lisbon – MegaVega Review

    Azulejo 14If you’re a strict vegetarian or vegan you might find that Lisbon is not one of the easiest places to eat out. Most menus are full of the nation’s favourites which means lots of fish and meat. However, over the past few years, several establishments have opened which means you’ll far from starve.

    As my travelling companion was vegan I made a list of places we could potentially go for food, one of which was MegaVega.

    Finding it was the first hurdle, tucked away off Rua dos Sapateiros we managed to walk past it twice before finally the wind blew in the right direct and we smelt food.

    Inside the decor is quite sparse – minimalist I guess would be the best term to use. There are bright pictures of healthy food and a variety of menus over the main counter. Everywhere is extremely clean. At first glance I wasn’t too sure how it all worked but it turned out that there are a variety of set options at a range of prices. The food is laid out under glass right along the counter like a buffet.

    The next main hurdle was figuring out what was vegan and what was vegetarian. Note that it isn’t strictly veggie so make sure you have learned the words and phrases you might need to determine whether what catches your eye is suitable for your diet. I’m planning a future post on this. My sense was that although vegan food was served, veganism is an extremely new concept.

    As we were ravenous from our Lisbon wanderings, we plumped for the €8.50 menu which included a main, 3 vegetable or salad servings, a desert and a huge glass of fresh juice. I’m a bit of a salad girl myself but there was both hot and cold dishes available.

    The food was delicious. I chose a wrap that contained a gorgeous rice and vegetable centre plus 3 salads. One general green salad, a bean salad and a red salad similar to colslew with beetroot, red cabbage and seeds. It was all tasty, satisfying and obviously made fresh that morning. Desert was a tempting sweet mango compote. I believe there may have been a hint of peach and apple in there too and it was decorated with cinnomon stick. The juice was carrot and apple – not one of my favourites but again very fresh and using good quality ingredients.

    The food was certainly excellent and good value as the portions were generous. We had to walk a good few hours after that before we needed to even think about supper. Personally I felt the only thing lacking was atmosphere. It feels quite austere with it’s bright lime green walls and light wood furniture. I tend to prefer a cosier environment where I can relax and watch the world go by.

    All in all however, if you are looking for a good vegetarian place to eat in Lisbon I would definately recommend this as a quick lunchtime stop.

    Address
    Rua dos Sapateiros, 113, Baixa/Downtown, Phone: 21 346 8063
    Opening Hours
    Mon – Fri 8.30-23.00; Sat 10.00-23.00. Closed on Sundays.