This is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in a long time. One of my rare six-star selections. There's a consistency of quality from cover to cover, owing to the perfect marriage of fine writing and graceful editing.

Rob J. Cole is a man who feels called to be a healer. He stays true to that calling, even when surrounded by other physicians who are motivated by greed and glory. He risks and sacrifices all for the chance to study in Persia with Ibn Sina, the greatest physician of the 11th century.

The story is especially fulfilling because it comes full circle. Rob returns to London after many years in foreign lands. Through comparison with those who have never left home, he realizes how he has grown in compassion, tolerance, and critical thinking. He's so far ahead of the doctors around him that he doesn't fit in, but he does finally find a place where he can put down roots and be surrounded by a loving family and community. This is a sweet relief for him after having been an orphan and an outsider since the age of nine.

I read the final paragraph of the book three times in a row with tears in my eyes. There are no spoilers in it, so here is that paragraph:

"As the seasons slipped by, only one thing was constant. The extra sense, the healer's sensitivity, never abandoned him. Whether he was called lonely in the night to a bedside or hurried of a morning into the crowded dispensary, he could always feel their pain. Hastening to struggle with it, he never failed to know--as he had known from the first day in the maristan--a rush of wondering gratitude that he was chosen, that it was he whom God's hand had reached out and touched, and that such an opportunity to minister and serve should have been given to Barber's boy."

That sense of duty, of being one chosen to ease suffering, has completely disappeared from the practice of modern medicine. That is a tragedy beyond reckoning. all-fiction europe-and-british-isles five-star-fiction ...more165 s Ahmad Sharabiani9,564 1 follower

The Physician (Cole Family Trilogy #1), Noah Gordon

The Physician is a novel by Noah Gordon. It is about the life of a Christian English boy in the 11th century who journeys across Europe in order to study medicine among the Persians.

Part One: Barber's Boy: It is the year 1020. Rob Cole is the eldest of many children. His father is a Joiner in the Guild of Carpenters in London. His mother, Agnes Cole, is his father's wife. Robert has a particular Gift: he can sense when someone is going to die. When his mother and father both die, the Cole household is parceled out to various neighbors and friends. The Cole children are parceled out wise. ...

Part Two: The Long Journey: Rob travels, as a Christian, from London throughout Europe to Constantinople. Here he becomes Jewish in appearance, and travels eastwards with a group of Jewish merchants, learning their ways as best he can. ...

Part Three: Isfahan Rob arrives in the city of Isfahan, in the heart of the Abbasid Caliphate (in present-day Iran), and tries to enter into the school of physicians there. He is not allowed access. He struggles to survive in the city, homeless, while searching for a way to enter the school.

Part Four: The Maristan: A chance encounter with the Shah of Persia opens for Rob the door to the school of physicians (Bimaristan). Here he begins the study of medicine—the first formal study he has ever had in his life. At the same time he immerses himself in the life of a Persian Jew.

Part Five: The War Surgeon: Comparable to a surgical residency or similar term of practicum, Rob goes to a war-torn (and plague-torn) land to practice his medical knowledge. His journeys with the Shah's armies take him as far as India, where he encounters elephants, spices, and Wootz steel. He makes friends among the Muslim students of the school. ...

Part Six: Hakim: He is passed as a physician and helps to instruct new physicians in the school. Rob and Mary's son is named Robert James Cole. She, at one point, is visited by Ibn Sina, who tells her that the Shah requested her presence, otherwise he'd kill Rob. Mary understood that it meant that the Shah intended to have sex with her, and goes to him. After having sex with Shah, she gets pregnant. When the child, named Thomas Scott, is born, the Shah sends him a rug, and Rob realizes that Thomas is not his son. Mary, however, tells him that she kept them both alive, and leaves his bedroom. However, when Mary beats him for thinking that he had been with prostitutes, the two are able to tell the truth and reconcile themselves.

Part Seven: The Returned: Rob struggles to locate his lost brothers and sisters, wise to make his place amongst the terribly ignorant physicians of London. Despairing, he returns with his wife and family to Scotland, where he acts as physician to his wife's people high in the hills.

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????? ??????: ???1020?????? ???? «??? ???» ???????? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? «????»? ? ??? ????? «???? ???» ???? «?????» ?? ????? ????: ?? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ???????? ??????? «???» ??? ????????? ? ?????? ????? ??????? «????? ????? ???» ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? «????????» ??? ??? ??? ???????? ? ????????? ???????? ?? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ????? ? «???????» ???? ?????? «??????» ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? «????????» ????????? ?? ??????? «?????? ?????» ????? ????? ? ?? «???????» ?? ????? ? ?????? ?? ??????? «??????» ?? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? «?????» ????????? ? ??? «???? ??? ???????» ?? ?????????? ?? «?????» ?????? ? ???? ??? ? ????? «??????» ???? ??????? ? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ? «??? ??» ????????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????????? ? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? «????» ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? «?????»? «??????»? ? «??????» ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?? «??????» ??????? ? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? «??? ??????»? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? «?????» ?????? ?? ????? ?? «????» ??????????? ? ??????? ?? ?? «????????» ??????? ? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? «????? ???» ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??????

????? ?????? ????? 23/03/1400???? ???????? 28/12/1400???? ???????? ?. ??????? TXGAL1304 43

Rated: 4
Autor del comentario:
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"A labyrinth, my friend, a veritable labyrinth, just think of all the surprises in a labyrinth, there were even tree roots in the tunnels, trees are even worse than teeth, which reach through our gums to our ears and neck, as we all know, but we look at a tree and never dream how far it goes in search of the deceased and the world's silence that sprouts as fruit on its branches."- António Lobo Antunes, The Natural Order of Things

"Labyrinth" is the perfect word to describe this book's structure and storyline. Antunes is an amazing writer and I've already made a vow to read more of his books. He's not an easy read; he definitely requires your full attention but it's so worth it.

I'm always excited to come across a writer who writes in a style that I'm not familiar with, and this book fit the bill. It has a dream quality and it's a story that reveals itself over time. It was definitely reminiscent of Proust due to its stream of consciousness style, and also its focus is on memory. Structurally, this book is very different; its very long sentences are further complicated by surrealism and sentences being divided up, the first half of the sentence being the thoughts of one person in one time and place, and the second half by another in another time and place, and you get an idea of how tricky this book might be to read.

The book's focus is also on history: personal history and world history, communism in Portugal, mining in South Africa, things happening in the former Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola. There's a lot of travelling back and forth between time and place, and it's very clear that for many, their past and present are intertwined:

"There are those who fly in the air and those who fly under the earth, although they're not yet dead, and I, daughter, belong to the latter group, having flown at a depth of a thousand feet with a lamp on my forehead, surrounded by blacks, in the tunnels of the Johannesburg mines..."

I do wish I had some Portuguese history knowledge, at least as much as I do of Portuguese influence in Southern Africa. What I did pick up on was the discussion on colonialism, communism, war, migration, and how people in general are often pawns and are never really were appreciated for their sacrifices:

"Look around and all you see is indifference and selfishness, the way people have treated me, for instance, assaulting me on the street, insulting me, calling me a murderer and a scoundrel, spitting in my face, kicking me out wherever I go, leaving me homeless, penniless, friendless..."

Beautiful writing and imagery throughout, interesting and unique characters, very melancholy too. Ironically, in this book "The natural order of things" doesn't exist. Highly recommended!portugal56 s João Carlos646 302


António Lobo Antunes - 86º Feira do Livro - Lisboa - Portugal (2016-05-28)
Next Portuguese Nobel Prize!

”A Ordem Natural das Coisas” (1992) do escritor português António Lobo Antunes (n. 1942) é um romance fragmentado em cinco "livros" – “Doces odores, doces mortos”, ”Os Argonautas”, ”A viagem à China”, ”A vida contigo” e ”A Representação Alucinatória do Desejo” - com dez narradores.
Os narradores – dois por cada “livro” – vão construindo a narrativa num relato com saltos abruptos – no mesmo parágrafo – no espaço e no tempo, num emaranhado de histórias, que se vão desfiando, onde as várias personagens vão descrevendo as recordações do passado e as vivências do presente, através do diálogo entre os diferentes intervenientes ou através de monólogos interiores, numa explanação apresentada, quase sempre, sob o ponto de vista de uma das personagens.
As temáticas abordadas são inúmeras: desde logo, a morte (a ordem natural das coisas), a decadência física (associada à velhice) e a doença, o desprezo, directamente relacionado com o amor e o ódio, a loucura, a insurreição, a repressão e a denúncia, o rancor e a vergonha; destacando-se a incompreensão e a solidão de quase todas as personagens, em relacionamentos conflituosos e conturbados.
A prosa de António Lobo Antunes é labiríntica, genuinamente, sombria e perturbante, construindo uma atmosfera angustiante, quase sempre assente na subjectividade dos pensamentos e da linguagem.
”A Ordem Natural das Coisas” é um livro de leitura obrigatória para os leitores incondicionais de António Lobo Antunes, para quem valoriza a complexidade e a subjectividade dos enredos, para quem aprecia as informações incoerentes e caóticas ao longo da narrativa, mas que, no fim, acabam por se conjugar e relacionar; e, finalmente, para os que preferem completar as omissões e as lacunas – os espaços em branco no texto – com a leitura interventiva e a releitura…

antonio-lobo-antunes l2016 lusófonos ...more21 s Noe herbookss237 147

He estado pensando cómo hablaros de él y me resulta difícil porque Antunes tiene una forma de escribir muy peculiar. La historia no tiene la típica estructura a la que estamos acostumbrados, cada capítulo es una especie de monólogo interno de un personaje mezclando pensamientos, recuerdos, deseos... hasta alucinaciones. Me costó un poco entrar en la narración porque solo me transmitía desorden, era un sinsentido. Pero poco a poco me fui dando cuenta de que todo es una misma historia, solo cambia el narrador, y cada uno lo cuenta desde su posición y su punto de vista. Así se forma una novela coral a 10 voces brutales, con personalidades muy marcadas, personajes excéntricos, trastornados, derrotados, perdidos... Muy conseguido. Es una lectura bastante exigente pero una vez que entras vale mucho la pena.

Estuve buscando un poco de info sobre el autor y descubrí que era psiquiatra y luchó con el ejército portugués en Angola, dos hechos que creo que han influido muchísimo en su obra, ya que tanto la guerra como las enfermedades mentales están muy presentes en el libro. Si queréis leer algo diferente, con un toque orínico y sorprendente os lo recomiendo. Aunque cueste un poco.18 s jeremy1,152 273

born in lisbon in 1942, antónio lobo antunes is widely considered to be a strong contender for the nobel prize. a psychiatrist by trade, antunes partly gave up his practice in the early 1980's to focus on writing, following the success of his early novels. antunes's style is often compared to that of faulkner, joyce, and céline, and has already won him over a half dozen international literary awards. the natural order of things, set in his native portugal (as are most of his novels), is the surreal tale of two families and the enigmatic relations that adhere them to one another throughout the passing generations. at once complex and evocative, the story's fantastical narrative exhibits antunes's magnificent command of prose and his thorough discernment of the human subconscious. beautifully told, yet terribly tragic, the natural order of things is an urgent and illuminating book from one of modern literature's most underrated masters.fiction translation9 s Fernando214 18

Yo leí este libro, me llego muy hondo, e incluso llegué a pensar que nunca había leido nada parecido, y de ahí en adelante he sido un seguidor adicto de este extraordinario escritor.8 s Héctor Genta368 78

"Ognuno vola come può."

Secondo romanzo del "ciclo di Benfica" ed ennesima prova di bravura di uno dei due Dioscuri (l'altro è Saramago) della letteratura lusitana moderna. Lobo Antunes è una specie di Omero contemporaneo e la trilogia della quale questo libro fa parte una sorta di racconto epico delle trasformazioni del Portogallo novecentesco (paese «dove tutto ristagna e s'immobilizza nel tempo»), narrato con la consueta scrittura rigogliosa e ricca di metafore, qui arricchita da venature quasi surreali.
La Lisbona che emerge è lontana dalle immagini da cartolina, è una città grigia nella quale i protagonisti del libro galleggiano tra indifferenza ed egoismo. La trama scorre con un ritmo lento, intrecciando tra loro le esistenze di uomini e donne che vivono di espedienti (c'è anche un venditore di corsi di ipnotismo per corrispondenza), travolti dal corso della storia, incapaci di vivere nei tempi mutati e costretti a trascinarsi per le «strade dell'amarezza» nelle vie del quartiere di Alcântara sotto la cappa di un'atmosfera rarefatta, sospesa tra realtà ed invenzione («sospesi in una specie di limbo, a parlare di niente, circondati da tetti e alberi e gente immateriale, in una Lisbona immaginaria che digrada verso il fiume in un confuso affastellamento di vicoli inventati»).
La trama si snoda come la tela di un ragno: discorsi diversi si intrecciano, ogni personaggio nel raccontarsi aggiunge qualcosa alla storia dell'altro, parole, musica (ma non comprensione), voci che tessono la storia del Portogallo del secolo trascorso e si organizzano in un romanzo polifonico caratterizzato da quei salti spazio-temporali e dai cambi di prospettiva a cui Lobo Antunes ci ha abituato.
Si vive di disincanto, di amori non ricambiati, figli del bisogno e costruiti sull'acqua, si vive di ricordi che continuano a tornare a galla rifiutando di perdersi nelle nebbie della memoria. «Ognuno vola come può», dice uno dei protagonisti, ognuno è perso dentro la propria storia: chi continuando a credere di essere in miniera a Johannesburg, chi isolandosi nel silenzio in manicomio, chi dentro la malattia, chi cercando di costruirsi un progetto di vita zoppicante e provvisorio… si vive soli. I personaggi che incontriamo nel libro sono uomini e donne chiusi in un passato che non è mai passato davvero e che cercano di vivere come possono, chi immaginando di essere sottoterra e chi in cielo, perché l'importante è volare, non restare costretti dentro ad un presente angusto.
Il passato è come l'onda lunga che torna sempre ad accarezzare la riva: l'Africa coloniale, la Polizia Politica i tentativi di golpe… ricordi, che come nel Trattato delle passioni dell'animacostituiscono la sola certezza, l'unica cosa che ci resta, da custodire per non farli morire, e poco importa se siano belli o brutti.
L'ordine naturale delle cose è una lenta elegia, un lungo addio alla vita, al tempo passato che era il tempo dei personaggi di questo libro, quel tempo nel quale erano vivi, lontanissimo da un presente confuso che scivola via senza lasciare segno di sé.
«Così come cadono gli alberi io cado e cadendo cado come cadono lentamente e lievi le foglie e le ombre e io le sento piangere e parlare con me e non posso rispondere mentre cado perché se rispondessi cosa direi se non che sto crollando come crollarono un tempo mio padre mia madre mio marito improvvisamente silenziosi e immobili e bianchi come la luce in questa casa tanto bianca sui mobili bianchi gli specchi restituiscono il silenzio e le loro lacrime e domani saliranno con me lassù in cima e senza parole oltre a quelle del prete volgeranno il mio viso verso il sole.
portoghesi8 s Luísa56 30

This book is a wonderful and beautiful story.

Has an ending that leaves one thinking and feeling and wondering on the characters history and how life is a living being besides one choices.
Masterfully written where spoken words mingle with thoughts and the lack of punctuation becomes a fluid and feverish narrative, reluctantly I would stop reading it.

Amazing how Lobo Antunes is able to create dense characters with great history.

*~*~*~*
Este foi um daqueles livros lidos num fôlego só, em muito ajudado pela escrita fluxo de consciência tal semelhante aos pensamentos erráticos que povoam um cérebro.
Este livro conta uma história trágica mas bonita e até maravilhosa, que interliga o passado e o presente. As personagens são caricatas e desajustadas na sociedade, algumas sofridas ou com um fado do qual não conseguem fugir.

A história decorre em Portugal e o passado tem as suas raízes no período do Estado Novo, e o lado negro deste período não é descartado na história. O passado que tem as suas repercussões no presente e nos descendentes.
Contudo, não foi o fluxo de consciência que me conquistou, foi o final inesperado que me deixou a ponderar sobre as personagens, a sua história e como a vida é um ser vivo, independentemente das escolhas que se façam. É mais incontrolável do que gostamos de admitir.

Magistralmente escrito, António Lobo Antunes criou na Ordem Natural das Coisas uma história interessante com personagens complexas.
european-literature portuguese-literature snifolinhasdelivros8 s Eddie WatkinsAuthor 6 books5,499

Antunes is one of those authors whose books are so feverish and dense and, if you're spellbound by him, so stylistically compelling that you read one after another so fast that after you're done it's hard to distinguish one book from the next.

I will have to go back and read the books of his I've read and others I haven't slowly and soberly (if that's possible) so that I can at least feel capable of separating his books in my mind.

I have not come across a Latin author (is a Portuguese author considered a Latin author?) who has so completely carried on Faulkner's lushly diseased southern gothic stream of consciousness, but Antunes is more cerebral, more of a sophisticate.portuguese-fiction8 s Marc NashAuthor 18 books393

Video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsE4t...6 s Domenico Fina278 86

"Giacché non mi andava né un libro né il film alla televisione, ingoiai uno dei sonniferi che prendeva mio marito, mi misi a letto e dopo un attimo avevo vent’anni e giocavo a tennis a Sintra con le mie cugine, in un campo circondato da cactus e abeti, aureolato dalla mattina di settembre. Da lontano si distingueva l’oceano, una delle palline saltò al di là della rete e sparì fra gli abeti, un amico delle mie cugine andò a cercarla, e io mi sarei sposata di lì a poche settimane e non mi sentivo felice né infelice, mi sentivo strana." (Pag. 276)

Qualche pagina superflua e troppo calcata in modo grottesco, nella parte centrale, ma si riscatta con la parte finale; bella e toccante. Antunes fa quello che vuole con le parole, anche troppo, talvolta. 6 s Patsylina68 11

La estructura del libro está talentosamente armada.. A través de una serie de incidentes históricos de un personaje y sus relaciones familiares, el relato va siendo construido caleidoscopicamente en tiempo y espacio. Visiones que en rompecabezass nos llevan a armar una época muy dolorosa y cruel en la Historia de Portugal.6 s Nan73 3

Incredible non-linear story that wallops you with rich, sensuous writing on every page. A gorgeous book that weaves 7 or 8 narratives (you're never quite sure) loosely together, the story takes you through a couple of decades and a couple of families who are linked sometimes closely, sometimes not so much. For me, the main question was in a world gone insane (Salazar's dictatorship, South African diamond mines, and the Portuguese occupation of Mozambique are all referenced, mostly obliquely), "insanity" is a legitimate and possibly poorly titled response.

The different voices are unique and moving, always surprising. Read this one slowly to let it soak in. Lobos Altunes is truly a master. Extraordinary.6 s Joana13

António Lobo Antunes = génio. 2015-reading-challenge favourites five-stars ...more5 s Filip1 review5

[…]I, who watched him step on a porch, push a door, and disappear a caramel when you get to the end of it, kept asking myself why it is that you, a writer, a man who sells novels, who appears on TV, and whose name is in magazines, are interested in a loser that, a guy who lives on Rua #8 in a crappy building undermined by vapors from the river and by the sewer stench that peers through the holed in the wall an animal with nowhere to go. A dump on Rua #8, for Christ’s sake, a hovel for pensioners and housemaids, with crumbling plaster and leaky plumbing, the gate off the hinges, a couple of honeysuckle bushes crying out for help to the ocean’s indifference, miniscule windows, a washbasin where the water comes out in spurts, what do you want, young man, with a trash heap that, are you sure your mind’s working all right, what kind of book can you make out of a story that when squalor’s what this city already has too much of?

Prirodni red stvari je veoma ambiciozan, kompleksan roman koji peva kako jezikom, tako i samom strukturom romana i tehnikama koje Antuneš koristi kako bi oživeo se?anja svojih likova – tok svesti, ponavljanja i preplitanje sadašnjosti i prošlosti, i ?ak razli?itih likova.
Roman prati dve lisabonske porodice, ljude u njima i oko njih koji su pripoveda?i romana raspore?eni u parovima u pet glava ili knjiga. Svaki pripoveda? ima nekoliko poglavlja u kojima pripoveda pri?u svog života i okruženja i gradi kolaž koji predstavlja sliku Portugala u drugoj polovini dvadesetog veka, vremena velikih pometnji i promena u Portugalu. Kao i u svom prvom romanu Iza Božjih le?a, Antuneš ni ovde ne dozvoljava svojim sunarodnicima da zaborave više od ?etiri decenije fašisti?ke vlasti, kao što svojim likovima ne dozvoljava da pobegnu iz prošlosti, niti da se prilagode sadašnjosti, oni su zarobljeni u njoj poput lisice u kavezu, koja se provla?i kroz ?itav roman – bedni službenik u nacionalnoj turisti?koj agenciji koji pokušava da vrati mladost spavanjem sa srednjoškolkom trideset godina mla?om, koja ga mrzi, major koji pokušava da pokrene pu? protiv Salazarove vlade, njegov brat koji pokušava da pridobije ljubav svog oca, ali zauzvrat dobija jednu re?enicu koja ?e ga pratiti kroz ?itav život, „?ime sam zaslužio tako glupog sina?“,

[…]persecuted by my father’s voice,
“What did I do to deserve such a stupid son?”
the same voice that bullied me at my job, on the streetcar, and in the movie theaters that colored my dreams, my father’s voice that for forty years had been making fun of me, punctuated by sighs from my mother and snickers from Jorge, who came home on weekends from officer training school,
“What did I do to deserve such a stupid son?”
the voices that persecuted me everywhere, the screams of my sister in the attic and the eyes in the photos,
“What did I do to deserve such a stupid grandson?”
My own voice, choked by lather during my morning shave,
“What did I do to deserve being so stupid?”



Antunešova medicinska prošlost se jasno pokazuje u romanu, njegovi likovi su dijabeti?ari koji trunu iznutra,starci s rakom plu?a, zubima koji otpadaju, koji gutaju pilule za reumatizam, srce, bešiku, jetru, le?a, kašalj, gorišicu. Likovi zatvoreni na tavanu, u rudnicima, mu?eni u zatvorima gube razum, lete pomo?u hipnoze, ili pod zemljom. „Znate li vi kako da letite pod zemljom, prijatelju?“, pita Dominguš, rudar iz Johanesburga koji nazad u Lisabonu pokušava da se vrati svojim rudnicima kopaju?i po dvorištima (usput zatrpavši ?itav Lisabon izmetom kada naleti na cev kanalizacije) ne bi li ponovo leteo po rudnicima koje za njega predstavljaju ono što za druge likove predstavlja prošlost kojoj se vra?aju ma koliko ona ružna bila, prošlost koja se prepli?e, ili koju, zapravo, Antuneš tako maestralno prepli?e sa sadašnjosti.

Nema prirodnog reda stvari u Antunešovom romanu, ništa se ne?e rasplesti, svaka glava ?e doneti još slojeva na pri?u, a ona poslednja ?e baciti novo svetlo na ?itav roman i zahtevati novo ?itanje, ne i poslednje.


4 s Nuno Martins111 21

E com este já são 9 os livros que li de Lobo Antunes, e mais uma vez, a sua escrita não me desiludio.
Desta vez a estória deste livro centra-se numa família, e Lobo Antunes faz-nos o retrato da sociedade portuguesa com o seu olhar tão crítico e melancólico em saltos de tempo que vão da altura em que o livro foi escrito (princípios dos anos 90) e com flashbacks dos anos 50, altura em que as personagens eram jovens.
Lobo Antunes com este livro traz também alguns episódios cómicos e uma pitada de realismo mágico, com pessoas hipnotizadas a voarem nos céus de Lisboa.
Tudo junto proporciona-nos uma leitura agradável e maravilhosa. portuguese-authors-and-books romance4 s dannymac55 4

He is currently my favorite, he is the master, the one to aspire to, poetic yet linear, I could get lost in his prose forever and not miss a thing. He should be much more well known than he is, it's almost criminal this neglect.5 s Gabriela Solis118 53

Tener ídolos literarios es un vicio emocional muy nocivo. Es imposible no deslumbrarse ante el talento de alguien que sabe ponerle palabras a aquello inefable que sentimos: queremos repetir ese asombro y por eso buscamos todo lo que aquella persona haya escrito antes. Así llegué a “El orden natural de las cosas”, por el hueco que “Acerca de los pájaros” dejó en mí. Ya desde el primer libro advertía que Lobo Antunes no es un autor al cual sea sencillo acercarse, pero que su lentitud y densidad terminan por valer la pena. En este libro no sé si la ecuación final es tan afortunada. Se trata de los monólogos de 10 personajes que están cercanos a la muerte, ya sea por vejez, enfermedad o locura. Acaso hay tres realmente interesantes. Uno, el viejo que está dolorosamente enamorado de la joven diabética. La ama “con la extasiada piedad de la pasión” y la contempla con la solemnidad triste del amante a quien sólo le es permitido dormir al lado de la mujer amada, pero no tocarla, besarla, conversar, ni intimar de ninguna otra manera. Dos, Iolanda, la diabética que va por la vida llena de hostilidad por estar condenada a no gozar de la juventud y a padecer una enfermedad de olor dulzón que repele a todos. Tres, Jorge, el militar que conspiró para derrocar la dictadura en Portugal y que se enloquece por la sospecha de haber delatado a sus compañeros en el delirio de la tortura. Las otras siete historias navegan entre lo insustancial, las vueltas en círculos, la incapacidad de elucidarlas o de plano la rendición ante una complejidad que parece impenetrable. Pero como no es fácil enterrar a un ídolo, ya estoy por ir a comprar el siguiente libro de Lobo Antunes para ver si me reconcilio con este viejo portugués amargo.3 s Jim2,199 715

There are some writers about whom, although I them from the outset, I feel I need to read more before I can pass fair judgment. Antunes, who reads something the Faulkner of The Sound and the Fury is one of these authors. Picture to yourself two dysfunctional families from a working class suburb of Lisbon. Each character has his or her own chapter, including one from the trees that used to grow outside one of the family homes. There is a kind of desire for justice by giving a poetic voice to everything. The result has a curious flow that is fun to read. All takes place in a Portugal that has seen better days and is beginning to sink into decay, with remnants still surviving of the former Salazar dictatorship.3 s Marcia LetawAuthor 1 book38

"All this happened a long time ago, because everything happened a long time ago, including what just now happened, which was that I turned the crank on the gramophone to listen to an aria of La Boheme . . ."

Reading Antunes' impressive novel reminds me of of listening to a capella performances by Roomful of Teeth, performances of such music as Caroline Shaw's Partita for 8 Voices in which the voices intertwine even as Antunes' memory voices intertwine to produce a truly unforgettable experience. 3 s Rosa Ramôa1,570 75

*
Se eu não te amar mais me
Caia o mar nos ombros
Me caia
Este silêncio pelos ossos dentro
Me cegue os olhos esta sombra
Me cerre
Esta noite num escuro mais profundo
Do que a chuva de ti de mãos tão leves
A figueira do meu sangue se emudeça
De pássaros à espera dos teus passos
De outra voz por sobre a minha
Morta
E as ruas do teu corpo eu desaprenda
Como desaprendi os dedos que em tocam
E se eu não te amar mais me caia a casa
De costa no teu peito como o vento
*3 s Aida55 1 followerRead

'When I was a child I d the month of February. I d the sweet melancholy of its flus and fevers.'

--This novel warrants a reread someday.3 s Nikos79201 36

4.5 powerful stars for this one. Grand book, grand writer. If you ask me if this is a good start to meet his work, I would say I have no idea being just the second one I tried by him. But what I can safely say is that this man is highly charismatic in words. However, if you decide to give it a try, I would prompt you to choose the quietest time of your day, switch off everything that can produce sound around you, have a very clear mind, read slowly and keep concentrated. Give time to this book 50 pages or so and it will start rewarding you.

Its style is very challenging yet so intriguing. Multiple narrators, sometimes even In the same sentence, jumps in time and place, its structure quickly reminded me of the great book of Llosa, Conversation in the Cathedral. After a couple of pages, I was sure I 'd love it. What is magic in this reading is that each voice is so unique, so interesting, so perfectly given to the reader. Writing down what this book is about is really difficult, anyone who happened to try it would agree with this. It is a complex story mostly of two-three families whose destinies and lives are connected powerfully or more lightly some times over a big part of the 20th-century history of Portugal mostly and partly some of its colonials. So through the multiple voices of their members, including 2-3 generations, we follow their destinies over difficult, hard, weird times which more or less lead them all to the natural order of someone's life- death through a quite melancholic tempo.

Impressive reading and highly addictive for my taste, Antunes is a genius and makes me want to read more and more. As for the missing half star in my rating, this is because in my humble opinion, and even I think its language is super, it is not so masterfully written as The Land at the End of the World which is an art in language terms, and secondly, because I d love the political and historical background to be a bit more strong (perhaps of my epidermal knowledge on Portugal history). All in all, definitely a great reading, a unique experience. Excited.4 s René Hernández35

Una obra genial que refeleciona sobre las enfermedades mentales y que tiene un lado biografíco del autor muy interesante quien es psiquiatra y trabajo para el ejercito portugues durante la guerra en Angola, todo esto ambientado durante la dictadura portuguesa a finales de los años 70'slibros-mayo-20211 Cordula70 3

I feel I need to explain this comparatively low rating or feel a philistine. I can see the value of this novel and why it is widely considered a modern classic. But I felt overwhelmed by the rambling prose, the difficulty in establishing the identities of the different narrators, and, ultimately, piecing together a coherent narrative. The writing is incredibly atmospheric - capturing loneliness, longing, stagnation, melancholy, the confusion of memories. But the writing style with its surrealism just isn't for me. I don't mind a challenging read, but reading this book felt a chore that I somehow failed.2 s Susan KatzAuthor 28 books4

I cannot remember a thing about this book. It doesn't sound even vaguely familiar. Perhaps I should just start reading the same books over and over so I can remember them! I have now started to read it again (August 2016). And I've read about 40 pages, and I STILL don't remember having read it before. Well, now I have given it 110 pages to engage me, but I just find it confusing and dense and difficult. I quit! There are too many books I want to read to spend more time on one I'm not enjoying.contemporary-literature2 s Travellinckx Author 2 books22

They, who are defeated by their past and struggling to survive their present life.

I just realized, there are common subjects in all Antunes book: a dysfunctional family, a retarded child/girl, and a broken cuckoo clockfiction literature novel1 Luísa Freitas48

esquecer, jamais!2 s Ana Lúcia223

Verdadeiramente labiríntico, perturbador e fascinante!
2 s Victor Sengo24 2

TALVEZ A RELER.
POSSIVELMENTE ENCONTRAREI OUTRA ORDEM NATURAL2 s Apostolis H33 7

This is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in a long time. One of my rare six-star selections. There's a consistency of quality from cover to cover, owing to the perfect marriage of fine writing and graceful editing.

Rob J. Cole is a man who feels called to be a healer. He stays true to that calling, even when surrounded by other physicians who are motivated by greed and glory. He risks and sacrifices all for the chance to study in Persia with Ibn Sina, the greatest physician of the 11th century.

The story is especially fulfilling because it comes full circle. Rob returns to London after many years in foreign lands. Through comparison with those who have never left home, he realizes how he has grown in compassion, tolerance, and critical thinking. He's so far ahead of the doctors around him that he doesn't fit in, but he does finally find a place where he can put down roots and be surrounded by a loving family and community. This is a sweet relief for him after having been an orphan and an outsider since the age of nine.

I read the final paragraph of the book three times in a row with tears in my eyes. There are no spoilers in it, so here is that paragraph:

"As the seasons slipped by, only one thing was constant. The extra sense, the healer's sensitivity, never abandoned him. Whether he was called lonely in the night to a bedside or hurried of a morning into the crowded dispensary, he could always feel their pain. Hastening to struggle with it, he never failed to know--as he had known from the first day in the maristan--a rush of wondering gratitude that he was chosen, that it was he whom God's hand had reached out and touched, and that such an opportunity to minister and serve should have been given to Barber's boy."

That sense of duty, of being one chosen to ease suffering, has completely disappeared from the practice of modern medicine. That is a tragedy beyond reckoning. all-fiction europe-and-british-isles five-star-fiction ...more166 s Ahmad Sharabiani9,564 149

The Physician (Cole Family Trilogy #1), Noah Gordon

The Physician is a novel by Noah Gordon. It is about the life of a Christian English boy in the 11th century who journeys across Europe in order to study medicine among the Persians.

Part One: Barber's Boy: It is the year 1020. Rob Cole is the eldest of many children. His father is a Joiner in the Guild of Carpenters in London. His mother, Agnes Cole, is his father's wife. Robert has a particular Gift: he can sense when someone is going to die. When his mother and father both die, the Cole household is parceled out to various neighbors and friends. The Cole children are parceled out wise. ...

Part Two: The Long Journey: Rob travels, as a Christian, from London throughout Europe to Constantinople. Here he becomes Jewish in appearance, and travels eastwards with a group of Jewish merchants, learning their ways as best he can. ...

Part Three: Isfahan Rob arrives in the city of Isfahan, in the heart of the Abbasid Caliphate (in present-day Iran), and tries to enter into the school of physicians there. He is not allowed access. He struggles to survive in the city, homeless, while searching for a way to enter the school.

Part Four: The Maristan: A chance encounter with the Shah of Persia opens for Rob the door to the school of physicians (Bimaristan). Here he begins the study of medicine—the first formal study he has ever had in his life. At the same time he immerses himself in the life of a Persian Jew.

Part Five: The War Surgeon: Comparable to a surgical residency or similar term of practicum, Rob goes to a war-torn (and plague-torn) land to practice his medical knowledge. His journeys with the Shah's armies take him as far as India, where he encounters elephants, spices, and Wootz steel. He makes friends among the Muslim students of the school. ...

Part Six: Hakim: He is passed as a physician and helps to instruct new physicians in the school. Rob and Mary's son is named Robert James Cole. She, at one point, is visited by Ibn Sina, who tells her that the Shah requested her presence, otherwise he'd kill Rob. Mary understood that it meant that the Shah intended to have sex with her, and goes to him. After having sex with Shah, she gets pregnant. When the child, named Thomas Scott, is born, the Shah sends him a rug, and Rob realizes that Thomas is not his son. Mary, however, tells him that she kept them both alive, and leaves his bedroom. However, when Mary beats him for thinking that he had been with prostitutes, the two are able to tell the truth and reconcile themselves.

Part Seven: The Returned: Rob struggles to locate his lost brothers and sisters, wise to make his place amongst the terribly ignorant physicians of London. Despairing, he returns with his wife and family to Scotland, where he acts as physician to his wife's people high in the hills.

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Rated: 4
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