Summary of The Night in Lisbon
It is 1942, and a man stands on the quay in Lisbon, watching a ship that will soon depart for the United States. He has no tickets, no visa, no money – and no hope. Suddenly, he is approached by a stranger who offers him all of this. The only thing the stranger asks in return is that he listens to the story of how he fled with his wife from Nazi-Germany, travelling through Switzerland, France, and Spain before ultimately arriving in Lisbon, the port of last hope for many Europeans attempting to escape to America. The two men spend the night moving from cafĂ© to bar in Lisbon, one recounting his life in the hope that the memory of his love for his recently deceased wife will not fade, the other listening in the hope of securing papers and salvation.
Reasons to read The Night in Lisbon
“The Night in Lisbon” is a suspenseful and romantic novel about a German refugee couple struggling to stay together and escape their fate during the Second World War, only to be overtaken by harsh reality. It is a novel about hope, chance, and fate – but also about the will to live and to love. It was the final novel by Erich Maria Remarque, who is perhaps best known for his WWI classic “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Other notable works by Remarque include “Arch of Triumph” and “The Promised Land”, also novels about life in exile. For a similar portrayal of refugees in Lisbon during the Second World War, see “The Two Hotel Francforts” by David Leavitt.
Setting: Portugal, Germany, Switerland, France
Book set in Portugal: Lisbon. The framing narrative is set in Lisbon, but the bulk of the novel relates how the protagonist and his wife try to escape the Nazis, from Germany (OsnabrĂĽck and MĂĽnster), trough Switzerland (ZĂĽrich and Ronco), and France (Paris, Biarritz, and Marseille).
Original title: Die Nacht von Lissabon
Year of publication: 1962
Nr of pages: 272
