
Pereira Declares, a novel by Antonio Tabucchi, is a story takes place in the summer of 1938 in Lisbon, Portugal. The third person narrator of Pereira Declares introduces the reader to the main character, Pereira, a journalist in charge of the cultural page of the Lisboa. During the novel, Portugal is under a totalitarian government regime and the government controls both public and private aspects of life. Pereira is grieving over the death of his wife, which has made him distraught and unhappy. During this hopeless grieving process, he happens to stumble upon an essay about death by a young writer named Monteiro Rossi. Rossi and Pereira form a friendship based on their common interest in literature. This new relationship with Rossi, who easily could pass as his son helps to ground and rejuvenate him. Through flashbacks, descriptive details, and contrasts, Tabucchi shows that his meetings with Rossi and his girlfriend Marta give Pereira a new outlook on life.

Before meeting Rossi, Pereira comes off as a depressed and lonely writer who is not in tuned with the world. Tabucchi uses foreshadowing in the very first line of the novel to hint at the crucial role that Rossi will play in Pereira’s life: “Pereira declares he met him one summer’s day.” Despite the beautiful day, Pereira is in a depressed state of mind due to both his personal issues and the political climate. Pereira cannot stop thinking about the death of his wife, in whose photograph he often confides. We learn that Portugal is under the fascist regime of Antonio Salazar. Salazar supported Francisco Franco of Spain who had received support from the Nazi regime. Even though Portugal remained neutral in the war, it still had its ties with Germany. The police are on the lookout for any resistance fighters who are not supporters of the regime, and Pereira hears that, “a Socialist carter had been shot down on his wagon in Alentejo and had drenched all his melons with his blood … meanwhile people were dying and the police had things all their own way.” He could not help thinking: “this city reeks of death, the whole of Europe reeks of death” (5-6). Pereira claims he is not interested in politics, but this incident makes him uneasy. It forces him after to look over his shoulder for both the police and the resistance fighters because he does not want to get involved. He seems to worry about himself—the health of his body, the state of his soul, and the cultural page for which he has sole responsibility. Lisbon during the summer can be unbearable and miserable. The scorching heat causes people to be more easily aggravated and aggressive. When the second chapter opens, the weather has changed to match the mood of the political atmosphere: “In the afternoon the weather changed, Pereira declares. The sea-breeze suddenly lulled, in from the Atlantic rolled a dense bank of haze, and the city was soon enveloped in a shroud of heat” (5). The sweltering heat is agonizing, suggesting the oppressive nature of Salazar’s authoritarian government.

The combined effect of Pereira’s loneliness, the politics, and the weather is making him feel like he is living in the bottomless pit of hell. Pereira normally goes to talk to his priest friend, Don Antonio, who gives him advice regarding his life and helps him get through his wife’s death. But when Father Antonio scolds him for not paying attention to the world, it occurs to Pereira that maybe he has indeed lived in another world since his wife’s death. Pereira goes to talk to Father Antonio but finds the father a mess from the death of the carter. Pereira was concerned with the priest’s strange behavior and asks what is wrong. Father Antonio is shocked Pereira doesn’t know since he is a journalist and journalists are usually up to date on current issues. He asks Pereira if he is ‘living in another world?’ since he has been living as if he was dead since his wife’s death (7). Pereira has lost touch with reality and is not happy with his life but meetings with Rossi have shown him some glimmers of joy.

Throughout the story, flashbacks show Pereira the life he wants to relive and allow him to escape from the misery of his present life. In one scene, Pereira and Rossi are at the Salazarist Youth festival enjoying drinks and talking about the Lisbon newspaper to see if Rossi would be a good fit as a writer for the paper. Beautiful, young Marta shows up and she and Rossi go to the dance floor. Through flashback, Tabucchi shows the importance of Pereira regretting not having more time with his wife and the ability to have a child. Watching the young couple in love stirs emotion in Pereira that are painful for him, “Pereira sat alone at the table, ordered another lemonade and drank it in small sips as he watched the young pair dancing slowly cheek to cheek. Pereira declares that it made him think once again of his own past life, of the children he never had, but on this subject he has no wish to make further statements” (15). It is painful for Pereira to watch Marta and Rossi dance and enjoy life because it makes him think about how he doesn’t have anyone to love anymore. The good memories of him and his wife are in the past and he is stuck in the present. He does not want to talk about the subject because it is like opening up a sore wound of grief and sadness. When the dance ended, Marta and Rossi return to the table, and Marta and Pereira talk about the newspaper. Marta asks Pereira to dance the waltz and he leads her to the dance floor. Tabucchi uses descriptive details to explain to the reader how absorbed Pereira was in the dance, “And he danced that waltz almost in rapture, as if his paunch and all his fat had vanished by magic … he felt infinitely small and at one with the universe” (16). The dance takes Pereira back to his youth allows him forget about all his worries about the paper, the death of his wife, and the political turmoil. 

By mentoring young Rossi, Pereira feels a new sense of purpose in life. This new relationship gives Pereira something he has felt he has always been missing: a parenting role. Pereira and Rossi are finishing off another round drinks, when Rossi states his beliefs regarding death. He tells Pereira he does not take that much time to dwell on the ideas of death and resurrection and that he likes to follow “the reasons of the heart” in his writings. After spending time with Rossi, Pereira develops a father like characteristic, “Pereira Declares, that he felt a sudden urge of pride” (18). Pereira is proud of Rossi for being bold and standing up for himself by speaking his mind. It shows Pereira that Rossi had guts and was not afraid to say what is bothering him. Rossi tells Pereira his beliefs on literature that Pereira doesn’t agree with. He pretty much criticizes Pereira’s ideas of death and resurrection of the soul that pertain to the main points in the obituaries that Pereira writes. Tabucchi uses contrasts to show the reader that Pereira can be a nice guy at times and then he can also be an authoritative figure at other times, “He declares it irked him that this young man should be giving him a lecture on professional ethics, and in a word he found it a sight too cheeky. He decided to adopt a haughty tone himself” (18). Pereira feels like Rossi is back talking him and needs to be set in his place. So he scolds Rossi for being rude and unprofessional. Tabucchi shows another characterization trait of Pereira when Pereira warns Rossi, “if you meet the caretaker on the stairs don’t take fright, she’s a harridan, just tell her you have an appointment with Dr Pereira and don’t get chatting with her, she’s probably a police informer” (19). Pereira feels like it is his duty and responsibility to watch out for Rossi. He cares for Rossi and wants to protect him from any harm. By becoming a ‘fatherly figure’ in Rossi’s life, Pereira is able to have a new connection with someone he cares about and fill the empty spot of Rossi’s deceased father. 

Through flashbacks, descriptive details, and contrasts, Tabucchi develops Pereira’s character. We learn about Pereira before he meets Rossi and how he is changing through the course of a few chapters. Pereira’s protective attitude towards Rossi includes being both scolding and very proud of him. Pereira is learning how to be there for someone again but it is hard for him because he has been alone so long. The relationship between Rossi and Marta is revitalizing Pereira and giving him a new view on life. They are showing him how to be young again and just live life to the fullest. Pereira still seems to be drifting in and out of reality when he talks to his wife but overall the new relationship with Rossi is changing Pereira and causing him to be happy and live a happier life.
