Rain. It just won’t stop. If you’ve ever cracked open The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, that’s the first thing you’ll notice. Lisbon is drowning in a grey, persistent drizzle that feels less like weather and more like a character.
José Saramago, the Nobel-winning architect of this weirdly beautiful story, published it in 1984, but the clock inside the book is stuck in 1936. This isn't just a random date. It's the year when Europe began to tilt on its axis.
Who Was Ricardo Reis?
Basically, he didn’t exist. Well, he did, but only in the mind of the legendary Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. Pessoa had this fascinating habit of creating "heteronyms"—not just pen names, but full-blown personalities with their own biographies, politics, and styles.
Ricardo Reis was one of them. He was a doctor, a monarchist, and a bit of a stoic. In Pessoa's imagination, Reis had lived in Brazil for sixteen years. When Saramago wrote the novel, he decided to "bring him back" to Lisbon right after Pessoa himself died in late 1935.
It’s meta. It’s strange. Honestly, it’s brilliant.
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What Really Happened in 1936?
Ricardo Reis arrives in Lisbon by ship, checking into the Hotel Bragança. He’s a man who prefers to watch the world rather than join it. But the world in 1936 won't let you just watch.
- Salazar’s Rise: Portugal is tightening under the "Estado Novo" dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar.
- The Spanish Civil War: Just across the border, things are exploding.
- Fascism Everywhere: You’ve got Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany making noise.
Reis spends his days reading newspapers. He’s looking for something, though he’s not quite sure what. He starts a physical relationship with a hotel chambermaid named Lydia and a complicated, intellectual flirtation with an upper-class girl named Marcenda, who has a paralyzed arm.
But the real kicker? He’s being haunted.
The Ghost of Fernando Pessoa
About a week after his arrival, Reis is visited by the ghost of his creator, Fernando Pessoa. They have these long, rambling, philosophical chats. Pessoa explains that the dead stay around for about nine months—the same amount of time it takes for a baby to be born.
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Once those nine months are up, they’re gone for good.
They talk about everything. Art. Politics. Whether it’s better to be a master or a slave. It’s kinda funny because Pessoa, the dead guy, can’t read anymore, so he relies on Reis to tell him what’s happening in the news.
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis: Why It Still Matters
People often get confused by the ending. Throughout the year, Reis grows more detached. He moves from the hotel to a small apartment. He watches the "Mocidade Portuguesa" (Salazar’s youth organization) parade through the streets. He sees the Spanish refugees pouring in.
He’s a doctor who doesn't really want to heal anyone. He’s a poet who isn't sure why he's writing.
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By the time the book reaches September 1936, the nine months are up. Pessoa comes for one last visit. He tells Reis it’s time to go. And here’s the thing: Reis doesn't fight it. He picks up a book—The God of the Labyrinth—and simply decides to follow Pessoa into the cemetery.
He chooses to "die" because, in a world turning toward fascism, his brand of quiet, intellectual detachment has no place left to exist.
Actionable Insights for Readers
If you're planning to tackle this masterpiece, keep these things in mind to actually enjoy the experience:
- Punctuation is a mess (on purpose): Saramago doesn't use quotation marks. He uses commas and capital letters to show when someone else starts talking. It takes about 20 pages to get used to the rhythm, so don't give up early.
- Brush up on 1930s history: Knowing a little bit about the Spanish Civil War and the Portuguese dictatorship makes the "background noise" of the novel much scarier.
- Don't look for a plot: This isn't a thriller. It’s a "flâneur" novel. It’s about the atmosphere, the fog, and the feeling of a world ending.
- Check out Pessoa first: Read a few poems by the real Fernando Pessoa or his heteronym Ricardo Reis. It makes the meta-commentary way more satisfying.
The year 1936 was the beginning of the end for many things in Europe. For Ricardo Reis, it was the only year he was truly "alive" in the real world, and consequently, the only year he could finally die.
To fully appreciate the depth of Saramago’s work, your next step should be to explore the poetry of the real Ricardo Reis to see the philosophy of detachment that Saramago was critiquing. Reading his "Odes" provides the necessary context for why the fictional Reis acts with such chilly indifference toward the rising tide of 20th-century totalitarianism. Following this, look into the biography of Fernando Pessoa to understand how his multiple identities paved the way for one of the most unique literary resurrections in history.