«Pereira Maintains» by Antonio Tabucchi

Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi with great feeling and style who also read it for Radio 4's book at bedtime broadcast. Set in the sweltering summer of 1938 in Portugal, a country under the Fascist shadow of Spain, Pereira Maintains tells a tale of reluctant heroism. An editor at a second-rate Lisbon newspaper, Dr Pereira, wants nothing to do with European politics. Something of a recluse, his closest confidante is a photograph of his late wife, and he is happy to immerse himself in stories from nineteenth-century French literature. All this changes when he meets Francesco Monteiro Rossi, an oddly charismatic young man. Pereira gives Rossi work, even after discovering that he is using the money to recruit for the anti-Franco International Brigade. Pereira Maintains chronicles Pereira's ascent to consciousness, culminating in a devastating and reckless act of rebellion. An extraordinary novel from one of Italy's most acclaimed contemporary writers read by Sir Derek Jacobi, one of Britain's best-loved actors who recently appeared in The Kings Speech. Tabucci is the author of twenty novels, nine of which have been translated into English. He has been awareded many prestigious literary awards and prizes including the Premio Campiello, The Premio Viareggio and teh Aristeion Prize for this book.