Message

By: Fernando Pessoa, Mark Will

Narrated by: Guy Bethell

Although generally considered one of Portugal's greatest poets, Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (1888-1935) published but one book in Portuguese in his lifetime. That book, Message (Portuguese Mensagem), the esoteric epic at which he labored sporadically for more than 20 years before finally publishing it in the year prior to his death, is undoubtedly essential to an understanding of Pessoa's poetic vision, yet it remains, at least in the English-speaking world, relatively unknown and unread. Mark Will, author of the epic poem Of Letters and a Man, now offers to the public a new unabridged translation of Pessoa's forgotten modernist classic, in order to reintroduce listeners to a work which is as central to the Pessoan corpus as is the more celebrated, posthumously published Book of Disquiet.

©2017 Mark Will (translation) (P)2017 Mark Will

I may not be deep enough

I will listen, again, when in a different headspace. Maybe I'm too distracted, or it may be this is something to be appreciated in book form instead of audio format? Either way, it came recommended by someone whose intellect I value and whose recommendations I do not take lightly. Before graduating to The Book of Disquiet, I'll give this one another go.

Fantastic

Another excellent performance by Guy Bethell. His dulcet voice delivers with a poise and grace which reveals and clarifies esoteric elements of the book.

Wonderful

I loved listening to this English translation of Pessoa's Mensagem. A series of poems on patriotic themes, Message is organised into three parts, the first section dedicating a poem to each fields of the Portuguese coat of arms, and various historical figures who played a role in the establishment of the nation. The second part refers to the age of Portuguese maritime exploration and its naval empire. The third part of Message is Pessoa's very interesting vision of the return of King Sebastiao, whom some Portuguese still await for to this day. King Sebastiao is the Portuguese equivalent of King Arthur, and he is supposedly to bring about the Fifth Empire, a future utopic world of peace and understanding. Guy Bethell's voice is fantastically suited to the work.

Might be the worst thing I've ever listened to

Nothing wrong with the narration. I was excited to buy this Pessoa short work, but it's maybe the worse thing I've ever heard. The entire thing is a spoken poem of nationalistic piece about Portugal. Actually, I also bought Richard Zenith's biography of Pessoa in the same purchase, and the introduction talks about this work in a laughable way. It's $3 down to the toilet, but at least I can warn you never to buy it. In one minute of listening, you'll hear how bad this thing is. He just talks about the coat of arms and how parts of Portugal relate to the head and the crest of the coat of arms. It's thirty minutes of my life I'll never get back, however the Zenith biography on Pessoa is amazing so far, and I highly recommend it. It's 42 hours long, so it'll take a few dentists offices, work commutes, and bathroom visits to complete- but get right into that. Skip this "Message" short story/poem/whatever.