Antonio Tabucchi: The Black Angel

[Daniel del Real]

This book is a publication of six short stories, all of them having in common the existance of angels as a supernatural and inspirational being and stories full of poetry with beautiful titles.
The first thing I noticed was how lyric and poetic was the title of the first story: Voices brought by something , impossible to say what. A title like that it’s always a great start to read, and in then little by little I found that title is not the only impressive quality about the story. This one deals about a man, a writer, who keeps on walking on a cloudy Sunday afternoon in his home town, listening to single phrases from all the unknown people who watches at the streets. This way he keeps constructing phrases that will lead him to Tadeus, an angel, a poem, an entity that guides him to a final destination where he will unveil a secret to the writer. The story is basically the way the writer puts all the elements together and fins the encoded message from Tadeus.
Amazed by such a good first tale, another title that seems to come from a poem is in front my eyes: Night, Sea or Distance. This reminds me of many stories from Bolaño, a group of young poets getting together with and old poet, Tadeus, in a small apartment in the streets of 1969 Portugal, still under the dictatorship of Salazar. Again we can see the strong connection Tabucchi keeps with Portugal. The beauty of poetry and the brutality of politics and power get together in this thrilling and gloomy story.
Aserrín Aserrán is the third story of the volume, narrating the encounter of a woman with her guardian angel, but a different one that the usual conception of this one is. A black entity with a lugubrious and dismal presence is the one that takes place.
Another magnificent tale is The trout that waves between the rocks reminds me of your life, possibly the best short story from the book. This is the story of an old, laureate poet who lives in an antique house with the only visit of a young and beautiful writer. The man starts to relive his life in every occasion he falls asleep or takes a quick pause from his reality to get inside his feelings and his memories. In this way, and with the unnoticed help from the girl, he starts filling those gaps in his past and preparing for leaving a testament of his ouvre. This story is full of lyricism and it’s beautifully written.
Two more stories complete this volume.
Tabucchi is and outstanding narrator, always bearing with the beauty of language on his shoulders. He is a gentle narrator who is always giving you the exact amount of words with its music and meaning, a perfect combination of message and form.

[Bjorn]

Thanks for reviewing this, Daniel. I've read two of Tabucchi's books so far and plan on reading more if I can just find them - he doesn't seem to be widely available in translation, which is a real shame.

Another magnificent tale is The trout that waves between the rocks reminds me of your life, possibly the best short story from the book. This is the story of an old, laureate poet who lives in an antique house with the only visit of a young and beautiful writer. The man starts to relive his life in every occasion he falls asleep or takes a quick pause from his reality to get inside his feelings and his memories. In this way, and with the unnoticed help from the girl, he starts filling those gaps in his past and preparing for leaving a testament of his ouvre. This story is full of lyricism and it’s beautifully written.

Have you read his novel Tristano muore (Tristano Dies)? Based on your description of The Trout..., it sounds like a dry run for the novel; the plot is very similar, as is the idea of an old man living both in the present and in his memories.

[Daniel del Real]

It's possible Bjorn, as many writers sometimes take their favorite short stories and turn them into a novel. I've seen around Tristano Dies in Tabucchi title's and is very tempting. I've read Pereira Declares and this one before and I think Tristano will be the next Tabucchi to read.