LAURENCE MACKINreviews Night Train to Lisbonand Time Out's Berlin
Night Train to Lisbon
Pascal Mercier
Atlantic Books, £7.99
Raimund Gregorius is a man of letters, a scholar of ancient languages who spends much of his time trying to discover the world through books (much like this column). A chance encounter with a woman in his hometown of Berne leads him to abandon his life of teaching and study and travel by train to Lisbon with little but a mysterious book to guide him. He sets about piecing together the author’s life story, travelling the barrios of the Portuguese capital and unlocking the mysteries of the country’s language and its history.
This is very much a novel of ideas, of considered thought, as one man reveals the history of another and learns about himself in the process. The plot gives up its secrets in a measured fashion with terrifically weighted prose leading the reader on an intricate journey through the heart of Lisbon. Much like the city, the book perhaps keeps a few secrets to itself, and retains an air of elegant mystery.
Berlin
Time Out, £12.99
Lisbon seems to be on everyone’s lips these days (it was recently named best city by Hostelworld.com) but another metropolis enjoying a resurgence is Berlin, now regarded as the home of all things über-cool and European. Time Out’s guide makes the most of the magazine’s cutting-edge reputation, with the emphasis here on the city’s cultural delights and legendary nightlife. But for those looking for something a little more historical, there is a brief section on where to stay in true DDR style. Goodbye Lenin, hello nostalgia.