The Book of DisquietThe Book of Disquiet
Score Classic
What it's about
Bernardo Soares is an assistant bookkeeper in Lisbon who spends his days at a desk in an office on the Rua dos Douradores and his evenings alone in a rented room. In hundreds of short fragments, he records his dreams, boredom, sadness and strange insights about the city, the sky and the self. Fernando Pessoa wrote them over decades and left them in a trunk at his death in 1935. They weren't published until 1982.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books, and Pessoa is Portugal's greatest modern writer. It has an unusual, devoted following, and readers often keep it by the bed and dip in.
You'll love it if you liked
The Stranger
The Trial
FiccionesGood to know
It has no plot and is meant to be read in small doses, in any order. Translations vary a lot, since editors have arranged the fragments differently.
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller26 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is The Book of Disquiet worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books, and Pessoa is Portugal's greatest modern writer. It ranks #258 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 82.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Book of Disquiet about?
Bernardo Soares is an assistant bookkeeper in Lisbon who spends his days at a desk in an office on the Rua dos Douradores and his evenings alone in a rented room. In hundreds of short fragments, he records his dreams, boredom, sadness and strange insights about the city, the sky and the self. Fernando Pessoa wrote them over decades and left them in a trunk at his death in 1935. They weren't published until 1982.
How long does it take to read The Book of Disquiet?
About 23 hours (909 pages), or about 7 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Book of Disquiet?
If you liked it, try The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Trial by Franz Kafka or Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges.