''The Book of Disquiet'' () is a work by the Portuguese author

Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...

(1888–1935). Published posthumously, ''The Book of Disquiet'' is a fragmentary lifetime project, left unedited by the author, who introduced it as a "factless autobiography." The publication was credited to Bernardo Soares, one of the author's alternate writing names, which he called semi-heteronyms, and had a preface attributed to Fernando Pessoa, another alternate writing name or

orthonym Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''wikt:orthonym, orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in ...

Editions

Much studied by "Pessoan" critics, who have different interpretations regarding the book's proper organization, ''The Book of Disquiet'' was first published in Portuguese in 1982, 47 years after Pessoa's death (the author died at age 47 in 1935). The book has seen publication in Spanish (1984), German (1985), Italian (1986), French (1988), English (1991), and Dutch (1990 (selection) and 1998 (full)). The ''Book'' in 1991 had four English editions by different translators:

Richard Zenith Richard Zenith (born 23 February 1956, Washington, D.C.) is an American-Portuguese writer and translator, winner of the Prémio Pessoa, Pessoa Prize in 2012. Life Richard Zenith graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979. He has lived in ...

(editor and translator), Iain Watson, Alfred MacAdam and

Margaret Jull Costa Margaret Elisabeth Jull Costa OBE, OIH (born 2 May 1949) is a British translator of Portuguese- and Spanish-language fiction and poetry, including the works of Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, Eça de Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa, Paulo Coelho, B ...

. The ''Book'' is a bestseller, especially in Spanish, Italian and German (from different translators and publishers). The book appeared on the Norwegian Book Club's list of the all-time 100 best works of literature, based on the responses of 100 authors from 54 countries.

Interpretations

Teresa Sobral Cunha considers there to be two versions of ''The Book of Disquiet''. According to Cunha, who edited the first version with Jacinto do Prado Coelho and Maria Aliete Galhoz in 1982, there are two authors of the book: Vicente Guedes in a first phase (in the 1910s and 20s), and the aforementioned Bernardo Soares (late 1920s and 30s). Pessoacopo

However, António Quadros considers the first phase of the book to belong to Pessoa himself. The second phase, more personal and diary-like, is the one credited to Bernardo Soares. Richard Zenith, editor of a new Portuguese edition in 1998, took the option of presenting a single volume, as in his English translation of 1991. In his introduction, he writes that "if Bernardo Soares does not measure up to the full Pessoa, neither are his diary writings the sum total of ''Disquietude'', to which he was after all a johnny-come-lately. ''The Book of Disquietude'' was various books (yet ultimately one book), with various authors (yet ultimately one author), and even the word ''disquietude'' changes meaning as time passes."PESSOA, Fernando, ''The Book of Disquietude'', tr. Richard Zenith, Carcanet Press, 1991, p. xi.

Translations into English

* ''The Book of Disquietude'', tr. Richard Zenith (Manchester: Carcanet Press, 1991, 323 p., ). Based on the 1982 Edições Ática edition, edited by Jacinto do Prado Coelho. * ''The Book of Disquiet: A Selection'', tr. Iain Watson (London: Quartet Books, 1991, 195 p., ). * ''The Book of Disquiet'', tr. Alfred Mac Adam (New York: Pantheon Books, 1991, 276 p., ). * ''The Book of Disquiet'', tr. Margaret Jull Costa (London, New York: Serpent's Tail, 1991, 262 p., ). Based on the 1986 Feltrinelli edition, edited by Maria José de Lancastre. * ''The Book of Disquiet'', tr. Richard Zenith (London: Allen Lane, 2001, 508 p., ). Based on the 1998 Assírio & Alvim edition, edited by Richard Zenith. *''The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition'', tr. Margaret Jull Costa (New York: New Directions, 2017, 488 p., ). Based on the 2013 Tinta-da-china edition, edited by Jerónimo Pizarro.

References

Videos

Two Month Review s06e01: Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet with Declan Spring!
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The Book of Disquiet - Fernando Pessoa - Book Review
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The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa - Book Chat
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The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa - Book Chat
08:58 {{DEFAULTSORT:Book of Disquiet 1982 books Works published under a pseudonym Portuguese books Books published posthumously Books about emotions Modernist novels Fernando Pessoa

Editions

Interpretations

Translations into English

References

Further reading

Videos