A partir de la figura de un ministro del dictador portugués Salazar, el escritor Lobo Antunes recorre minuciosamente los síntomas de disgregación de una época histórica a través de un desfile de múltiples personajes que hablan, se desdicen y se empeñan en dar vanamente a sus vidas un sitio y un sentido en un mundo que se derrumba. En una sociedad que es más circo que teatro, lo ridículo y lo trágico se reúnen para ser analizados por una mirada irónica que caricaturiza acciones y comportamientos a la vez que aprovecha para denunciar las formas inquisitoriales del poder. Con su prosa deslumbrante, Lobo Antunes despierta en los lectores la necesidad de crítica, de lucidez, de convertirse ellos mismos en inquisidores que indagan qué hay detrás de las máscaras que realmente ocultan los diversos nombres de la vida. El éxito de Manual de inquisidores en Alemania, Francia, italia, Países Bajos, gran Bretaña o Estados Unidos ha consagrado definitivamente a António Lobo Antunes como uno de los escritores portugueses mejor considerados en el ámbito literario internacional.

Il volume è costituito dai "Resoconti" di cinque diversi personaggi sugli stessi avvenimenti: Joao, un ingegnere alle prese con il divorzio e con la nostalgia dell'infanzia; Titina, governante affezionata al suo padrone, che sarà internata nel ricovero della Misericordia; Paula, sorella di Joao e figlia illegittima; Mila, l'amante del padre di Joao; e il padre di Joao, ministro di Salazar, despota e anticomunista. A questi personaggi si aggiungono quelli che danno il loro "Commento" ai vari resoconti. Attraverso questa elaborata costruzione, l'autore crea una saga familiare fissata sull'idea della casa tutelare e sulla figura dominante del padre.

De entourage van een ex-minister van dictator Salazar schetst het portret van de minister en daarmee meteen ook van zichzelf. Uiteindelijk komt de man met de bretellen, het sigaartje en het hoedje ook zelf aan het woord. Een verhaal over macht en - niet verrassend allicht - machtsmisbruik, waarin de winnaars toch vooral de mannen (uiteraard) in de schaduw blijken te zijn. ( )

An unseen contemporary inquisitor interviews a plethora of characters who tell the story of Senhor Francisco, powerful state minister and personal friend of Salazar, and his family during the regime of Portugal's authoritarian regime, Estado Novo, through the Carnation Revolution and to its aftermath. Before saying anything else, I have to start with a caveat: although the story and its characters are quite engaging in and of themselves, a little bit of knowledge about Portuguese history is needed to fully appreciate the what Antunes is aiming for here (nothing too daunting is needed - a spin around Wikipedia should be enough). That said, it's still not an easy read; Antunes style is convoluted at best and even if it evokes some haunting images for the reader, it can also get downright confusing - some passages need to be reread once it's clear who actually narrates that particular paragraph. To make things even harder, all narrators sound very alike, though I don't know whether this is due to the translation or if it is the same in the original Portuguese - I have noticed some places where the translation uses Portuguese syntax which makes the read a little clumsy, so it may be the same with the voices. This is a very bleak novel and its characters either lean toward the despicable or toward the pathetic and had it not been for the high quality of the writing, it'd be a tough sell indeed. As it is, I will absolutely read more of Antunes' œuvre, but I'll try to find something with another translator. ( )

Well written, interesting language (must be well-translated as well?), characters are more or less unlikeable but the story is hard to put down. It's the story of an unhappy man and his unhappy son, takes place in Portugal, I guess it must be about loss of power or maybe just power in general. Do not have time to finish the book before it's due back to the library but will look for my own copy to finish. ( )