The Natural Order of Things

This is the second of Senhor Antunes's books that I've read ( Knowledge of Hell  was the first), and I found both to be difficult, and dense, yet rewarding as well. Actually, rewarding may not be accurate - the best one may hope for at the end of an Antunes novel is the weight of melancholy, at the worst it may be outright bleak hopelessness. Here's a spoiler: Everyone who populates an Antunes novel will eventually die and in the process of dying will be haunted by both the good and the evil they have experienced in their lives - and will be plagued by longing, regret, and unfulfilled desires. The implication is that you and I, the readers, will also eventually die, and will be haunted by the good and evil we have experienced in our lives, plagued by longing, regret, and unfulfilled desires. Along the way, the author will construct stunningly pointed portraits of families and love and culture and Portugal and of the total fabric of life.Antunes will not impart this message in easy, clearly delineated prose, or in any sort of traditional method. It is not simply stream-of-consciousness, but stream-of-consciousness coupled with surreal images and magical realism, disjointed time structures, unreliable narrators, and page length sentences where conversations separated by decades may sometimes be conjoined, alternating between commas. One needs a certain amount of faith to stick with an Antunes novel - faith that things will become clearer if one keeps reading.I think each reader must decide for themselves if this sort of complex style serves any purpose other than self-indulgence on the part of the author. I think the style helps elicit moods and new ways of looking at common ideas - others might think it's garbage. In THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS, several lives which are connected to one another - sometimes tenuously so, sometimes by blood - are represented, speaking for themselves and adding different layers to the history of the region, of Portugal, and of the families. Secrets are revealed slowly, or implied, given to us by clues left by different speakers. Yet in the end, one might say that the natural order of things is decay - that childhood and childhood's familiars decay, disappear. The natural order of things is to become the old people that populated our youth, while new children gather about them a world that is destined to decay as well.While there may not be tremendous insight into these things, Antunes's style exquisitely renders them - or garbles them completely. There are six pages of prose in the 'look inside' feature - if you were interested at all in THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS, or any other book by António Lobo Antunes, my suggestion would be to preview first, if you were not already aware of his style. Based on the novel  Blindness , José Saramago may be Portugal's best known author, but I believe Antunes to be both a more evocative writer, and more difficult to penetrate. Definitely worthwhile, though, to the right reader.

Antonio Lobo Antunes is a magician. His prose is creative and evocative. The convoluted story is rich in vivid metaphors and the images created are extraordinary. At times, he soars.

This book was recommended to me and I bought it. The language, the way it is translated into English, is difficult. Phrases some one and a half pages long with interminable appositions are very common. It is difficult to keep track of the subject and piece the story together. In fact, there is no story per se, just various monologues that are somewhat connected.I started the book and didn't like it, but I kept reading on hoping that it would eventually tie together, make sense, and that it would leave me with some interesting thoughts, ideas, etc. The book just ended. The only good thing about the book ending was that I could move on to the next one and forget about this one.I'll keep this book around in case I run out of toilet paper. That's the only use it should be put to.

This is Antunes' second book in his so-called "Benfica trilogy". It is a strange and haunting story about a family and their surroundings during three generations, and Antunes tells us about their inner lives and their deepest feelings. Despite the surreal and tragic settings of his characters, the author manages to convey a genuine feeling of compassion in his story (or rather, stories). This is truly a tragedy in a dark landscape. But it is all so beautifully told! A wonderful book it is, and I recommend it to all book lovers who are willing to put in an effort. I believe this is one of this century's great books. It may seem confusing at times - Antunes uses parallel monologues and stories throughout the book - but it all adds up, as they say. Read it, and you'll see - it really is strange to be so happy after reading such a sad story!

For people who enjoy excellent skills in writing this book is for you...it was just great.