

- New York Times reviewed, Fiction, historical, general, Portugal, fiction, Large type books
In Lisbon in 1904, a young man named Tomás discovers an old journal. It hints at the existence of an extraordinary artifact that--if he can find it--would redefine history. Traveling in one of Europe's earliest automobiles, he sets out in search of this strange treasure. Thirty-five years later, a Portuguese pathologist devoted to the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie finds himself at the center of a mystery of his own and drawn into the consequences of Tomás's quest. Fifty years on, a Canadian senator takes refuge in his ancestral village in northern Portugal, grieving the loss of his beloved wife. But he arrives with an unusual companion: a chimpanzee. And there the century-old quest will come to an unexpected conclusion.
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Grave, plot-driven, spare and contemplative.
- gravecomic
- character-ledplot-driven
- sparerichly built
- contemplativerelentless
- contemporarynostalgic
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
About the book
- Author
- Yann Martel
- First published
- 2016
- Pages
- 344
- Publisher
- Ulverscroft, Canongate, Alfred A. Knopf Canada
- Editions
- 16
- Language
- Spanish, English
- ISBN
- 9780345809438
Where to read
Libraries first: a card gets you most books for nothing. Each opens that service’s page for this title.
On Open Library, 1 have read it and 6 want to.
Yann Martel (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize-winning novel *Life of Pi,* an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. *Life of Pi* was adapted for a movie directed by Ang Lee, garnering four Oscars. Martel is also the author of the novels *The High Mountains of Portugal,* *Beatrice and Virgil,* and *Self;* the collection of stories The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios; and a collection of letters to Canada's Prime Minister, *101 Letters to a Prime Minister.*
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Winter's Tale 198378% alikeBoth grave.
The Luminaries 201375% alikeBoth grave.
The Library Book 201875% alikeBoth grave.
The Prestige 190175% alikeBoth grave.
An Instance of the Fingerpost 199774% alikeBoth grave.
The Illustrated Man 195174% alikeBoth grave.
Life After Life 201373% alikeClose across the board.
Travel light 195273% alikeBoth grave.
The Twilight Zone 195980% alikeTelevision · Both grave.
Major Dundee 196576% alikeFilm · Close across the board.