Last Kabbalist of Lisbon [Hardcover]

Richard Zimler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

A gripping literary mystery in the tradition of 'The Name of the Rose', set among secret Jews living in Lisbon in the sixteenth century.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Zimler's The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon is not a particularly religious novel, but it uses religion to great dramatic effect. Although its story takes place during the 16th- century slaughter of Jews in Portugal, and its main characters are Jewish mystics, Zimler is less interested in describing their spiritual lives than in plotting a fantastic murder mystery. The book purports to be a modern translation of a medieval manuscript telling the story of the murder of a great kabbalist in Lisbon named Abraham. Occasionally, the story invokes a bit of kabbalist wisdom that is every bit as luminous as the ancient texts that inspired this novel: "Books are created from holy letters," one character says. "Just as angels are, according to some. Viewed from this perspective--through a window of Kabbalah, if you like--an angel is nothing but a book given heavenly form." Such moments are too rare for the book to be very perceptive about the tradition to which its title alludes, but nevertheless, it's an absorbing and genuinely suspenseful story. -- Michael Joseph Gross

From Library Journal

Recently, Jewish mysticism has become a popular draw, and this first novel?a best seller in Portugal, where it was first published and where American author Zimler lives?is worthy reading even for those in a nonphilosophical frame of mind. From the moment Berekiah Zarco, a Jewish resident of Lisbon during the early 1500s, discovers the murder of his religious mentor (with a nude female corpse beside the holy man), the story moves quickly. Trailing suspects, Zarco and his cronies navigate the blood-soaked streets of Lisbon during a Christian "purge" of Jewish faithful. Along the way, the reader learns about the age's homeopathic cures and observes a traditional Jewish exorcism. Those who understand and appreciate the history of Kabbalah can revel in the mysticism; the uninitiated will gain perspective while enjoying a literary and historical treat.?Margee Smith, Grace A. Dow Memorial Lib., Midland, MI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879518340
• ISBN-13: 978-0879518349
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Zimler was born in Roslyn Heights, a suburb of New York, in 1956. After earning a bachelor's degree in comparative religion from Duke University (1977) and a master's degree in journalism from Stanford University (1982), he worked for eight years as a journalist, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1990, he moved to Porto, Portugal, where he taught journalism for sixteen years, first at the College of Journalism and later at the University of Porto. Richard has published eight novels over the last 15 years. In chronological order, they are: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Unholy Ghosts, The Angelic Darkness, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn, The Search for Sana, The Seventh Gate and The Warsaw Anagrams. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists in 12 different countries, including the USA, Great Britain, Portugal, Brazil, Italy, and Australia. Richard has won numerous prizes for his work, including the Prix Alberto Benveniste in 2009, for Guardian of the Dawn (for Jewish-themed fiction), and the 1998 Herodotus Award, for The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (Best First Historical Novel). His latest novel, The Warsaw Anagrams, was chosen as 2010 Book of the Year in Portugal, by both the country's main literary monthly (LER) and high school teachers and students. Hunting Midnight, The Search for Sana and The Seventh Gate have all been nominated for the International IMPAC Literary Award, the richest prize in the English-speaking world. He was also granted a 1994 U.S. National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn and The Seventh Gate form the "Sephardic Cycle," a group of inter-connected - but fully independent - novels about different branches and generations of a Portuguese Jewish family. in 2010, a short film he based on one of his short stories won the Best Drama award at the New York Downtown Short Film Festival. It is entitled The Slow Mirror. Richard also writes reviews for the L.A. Times. When he's not writing, he enjoys gardening at his weekend house in the north of Portugal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highest Marks for Mystical Mystery, July 11, 2005

By 

Benton D. Nighswonger "sky bison" (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (Mass Market Paperback)

If the histororical intrigue doesn't keep the pages turning (and have you checking some of the authors sources); if the religious tightrope isn't taunt and narrow enough for you; if the mystery itself doesn't at least make you head for the back page faster than you should... I'd be suprised. Excellent work! Much more enjoyable and much more "historic" than The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons. None of Brown's "hidden agenda" stuff either. You can either account this author's historical take as fully valid or not, but you're going to have to do some REAL history research to get there. Historical fiction is much more enjoyable when its not being squished out of murky controversy and alterior motive, and The Last Kabblist is a perfect blend of pacing, mystery and oh so much more!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The exodus of 1506, August 24, 2003

By 

Steinberg Shlomit (Jerusalem Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (Hardcover)

Reading Richard Zimler's book The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon is similar in a way to looking at a painting by the Flemish painter Hironymous Bosch: both have many-layered, complex compositions, full of mysterious sometimes gory details yet one can not stop looking /reading them. No wonder the author himself referred in passing, to a painting by Bosch glanced upon by Berekiah and his friend Farid in one of the city's palaces.

I was fascinated not only by the main story itself ascending way beyond a regular murder mystery, but also by it's frame tale - namely, the discovery of Zarco's manuscript by Zimler back in 1990 in Istanbul. Yet, one can not but recall the words of Golden-Age Spanish-Jewish poet Solomon Ibn-Gabirol who wrote: "The poem's best - is its fiction", and that much can apply to this book, by the time you reach the middle of it, it no longer matters whether back in 1990 Zimler actually stayed in Istanbul, found Zarco's manuscript and edited it into contemporary fiction, to be published about a decade later. If indeed these facts are true and not mere fiction - than the world has been blessed with an important discovery of an illuminating historical document that sheds more light on the grim events that took place during 1506 in Lisbon.
But surely this is not the main point behind this amazing, captivating and touching narrative.

What, then is Zimler's bottom-line?
Might it be a warning to Jews all over the world that no place is indeed safe for them in the long run? After all it can not be a mere coincidence that in 1530 Zarco warns his future readers about further wrong-doings towards the Jews of Europe, be it in during his life-time or hundreds of years later - (1930- for instance). One can not help but notice how the graphic descriptions of the massacre of the Anusim during Passover of 1506, connotes in a powerful and disturbing parallels to similar events recounted after the late 19th century pogroms in East Europe as well as after the Holocaust.

Still, this book was not written only for a public well versed in Historia Judaica,
therefore I tend to believe Zimler aimed to reach a higher, more spiritual level of awareness in his reader, pointing out that the real issue here is all about living without masks, telling us between the lines, that a person can only be complete if he lives his life in a place where he is accepted as he really is - be it a Jew or a Muslim, straight or gay.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Captivating, Spellbinding Historical Mystery, April 21, 2000

By 

Julia Starkey (Medford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (Mass Market Paperback)

It's difficult for me to express just how much I adored this book. I picked it up intending to read a couple chapters in the tub before going to bed early (11pm). I ended reading until the water was cold and my room mates banged on the door. I finished at 1am, and wanted to reread it for more detail.

This book is amazing. It's captivating and exciting, making you want to devour the text in big gulps. Putting this down for longer than a half hour is painful because you want to know more. The loose ends are not neatly tied up at the end of each chapter, nor at the end, which is wonderful. I hate it when an author ties up the story with a neat little bow, when in reality that never happpens.

The book operates on several levels, which are all mingled together. On the one hand, it's a historical novel about Jews in Portugal, anti-semitism, forced conversion, reactions to the plague, kabbalah, and bonds of friendship and blood. It also deals with the masks that people wear in varying social situations, and losing yourself in those masks. Jewish religious practice and the Kaballah are, not surpisingly, very important to how the mystery plays itself out. Then there is the murder mystery, friends and family lost and feared dead, and stolen property. I'm making this sound too heavy, but Zimler keeps all those balls in the air, and doesn't ram his opinions down our throat.

This novel isn't only for Jews or mystery fans. It's a brilliant work of fiction that most anyone would love. Buy a copy for yourself, and a copy to give away.