Barbara Harshav Boeken

A huge international best seller, this ambitious novel plumbs the depths of our shared humanity to offer up a breathtaking insight into life, love, and literature itself. A major hit in Germany that went on to become one of Europe’s biggest literary blockbusters in the last five years, Night Train to Lisbon is an astonishing novel, a compelling exploration of consciousness, the possibility of truly understanding another person, and the ability of language to define our very selves. Raimund Gregorius is a Latin teacher at a Swiss college who one day—after a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman—abandons his old life to start a new one. He takes the night train to Lisbon and carries with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, a (fictional) Portuguese doctor and essayist whose writings explore the ideas of loneliness, mortality, death, friendship, love, and loyalty. Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. His investigations lead him all over the city of Lisbon, as he speaks to those who were entangled in Prado’s life. Gradually, the picture of an extraordinary man emerges—a doctor and poet who rebelled against Salazar’s dictatorship.

An Israeli intelligence agent is torn between his feelings for a potential enemy, writer Daphna, and his loyalty to his country. As a combat specialist, he grapples with the morality of his actions, leading to a crisis of identity as he becomes deeply entangled in events, ultimately questioning which side he is on. He must make a choice in Limassol, Cyprus.

Exploring the concept of "Constructive Poetics," this collection of essays offers a comprehensive theory of literature that emphasizes the dynamic interaction between texts and readers. Rather than viewing literature as fixed narratives, the author argues that it invites readers to create interconnected meanings through various frames of reference. Topics include fictionality, metaphor, sound patterns in poetry, and the idea of "literariness." Developed in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s, these ideas resonate with contemporary literary criticism, reflecting a rich intellectual heritage.