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Selection of reviews published in Portugal

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  • Jornal de Letras, April 2013 (on ‘A Dança dos Loucos’)

The novel, very cohesive in its parts (...) receives the mark of the author's usual style, here elevated, if not to stylistic perfection, at least to a level of excellence.

Miguel Real

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  • Jornal de Letras, August 2019 (on ‘O rinoceronte do rei’)

With a long work in the field of historical romance, which makes SLC one of the best cultivators of this subgenre, the publication of ‘The King's Rhinoceros’ proves its real status in this field. (…) Well-founded historically, ‘The King's Rhinoceros’ presents us what a good novel of this subgenre can offer: the pleasure of reading and an increase in knowledge.

Miguel Real

 

  • Livros Gosto, August 2019 (on ‘O rinoceronte do rei’)

A five-star book, a fantastic book. It's a phenomenally readable book. (…) It’s a romance that doesn’t end in itself. The only thing I ask is: don't forget to read this book.

Maria João Covas

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  • As Leituras do Corvo, November 2016 (on ‘Ouro Preto’)

It is this gradual convergence that, in a book that, thanks to the vast description, (…), gives the narrative an increasingly greater intensity, which culminates in an ending that is not exactly unexpected, but is still quite impressive.

Another aspect that is important to mention about this book (and it is also a delicious touch) is that, despite being centered on the letters of the two protagonists, a large part of the plot is narrated in the third person by an unidentified narrator. A narrator who does not fear to, at the right moments, make a few accurate comments that not only give things a new perspective but also give them the fine touch of irony of someone who, observing from afar, nevertheless has very clear opinions about what you see.

(…) There is, in fact, a lot of historical context to be assimilated throughout this book, which gives the narrative a slow pace. But it is curious that this slower pace does not diminish the reading environment in any way. Why? First, because of the captivating and unexpected voice that tells much of the story. And then because this vast historical context is complemented by moments of personal approach (mainly in the letters and above all in those of Pedro de Rates) in which hints of emotion come to the surface.

Interesting, engaging and, at the right moments, surprising, it is, therefore, a book in which historical facts and individual experiences combine in an intriguing balance. And, even though it takes some time to assimilate all the small details, it is worth every second of the time spent on it.

Carla Ribeiro

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  • Jornal de Letras, August 2016 (on ‘Ouro Preto’)

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If a title could be so long, this review would be “The best literary representation of Lisbon of D. João V”. (…) We do not say this lightly, but by weighing the words, considering the high historical rigor that [the novel] highlights and the aesthetic creativity that it manifests. In effect, SLC (…) will have reached a literary maturity in ‘Ouro Preto’ that is difficult to achieve. (…) The description of the city of Lisbon is fabulous and, perhaps, you will learn more by reading it than by studying a specialized book – this is in addition to the aesthetic quid, one of the most attractive factors of the novel.

‘Ouro Preto’ is one of the novels about which we would have no doubts, if there were a classification scale in the JL (…) to give the maximum score. For the most part, it should be published urgently in Brazil.

Miguel Real

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  • Jornal de Negócios, August, 2016 (on ‘Ouro Preto’)

A captivating novel about an extremely appealing period.

Fernando Sobral

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  • Jornal i, July 2016 (on, ‘Uma Terra Prometida’ – an anthology on refugees from several writers)

‘Uma terra prometida’ brings together nine short stories by an equal number of Portuguese authors, whose interest is quite unequal. The short stories by Afonso Cruz and Ana Margarida Carvalho deserve special mention, on a positive note, such as the one by Sérgio Luís de Carvalho which, much better than the preface, justifies a more universal ambition less tied to current affairs that the theme of refugees also deserves.

David Teles Pereira

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  • Jornal de Letras, June 2014 (on ‘A última noite em Lisboa’)

Founded on real facts, the framing social atmosphere is historically based in a real way, plus a popular colloquial language, equally real. In other words, ‘A última noite em Lisboa’, harmonious in its constituent parts (action, style, characters), draws a realistic historical novel.

Miguel Real

 

  • Oje, May 2014 (on ‘A última noite em Lisboa’)

When reading the exciting historical novel entitled ‘A última noite em Lisboa’, by Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, I traveled in thought through this city, although in a record of other times.

Cátia Miriam Costa

 

  • Jornal de Letras, August 2012 (on ‘O exílio do último liberal’)

One of the most excellent practitioners of historical romance in Portugal (…) returned in the best way. ‘O exílio do último liberal’ is a classic historical novel, illuminating a Portuguese time (…) endowed with characters sufficiently representative of both historical times, with their singular personality and their activity sufficiently rare or original to be highlighted in a novel. (…) The reader must be prepared to read a good classic historical novel.

Miguel Real

 

  • Jornal i, July 21, 2012 (on ‘O exílio do último liberal’)

A well-structured novel, with a great historical framework and fascinating reading (…). It is positively surprising, as the fiction and real facts of the time (Industrial Revolution) captivate us until the last page.

Carlos Galamba

 

  • As Leituras do Corvo, July 2012 (on ‘O exílio do último liberal’)

There are several characteristics combined to make this novel a fascinating one . From the engaging, fluid writing, without major elaborations, but beautiful in the harmony of the words, to the way in which the protagonists' private story is balanced with a clear and well-constructed historical context, but which never becomes monotonous in the way it is exposed also going through the way in which the past intertwines with the present of the narrative. This constitutes a striking vision of how the scars of the past remain in the mind (and heart) of the protagonist, all of these are elements that contribute to this story being, at the same time, complex and easy to follow, at an addictive pace in which action and emotion mix in perfect balance. And the plot fascinates us both for the events narrated and for the contrasts that result from those events. There is, therefore, a vast set of elements at the bottom of the narrative that the author combines masterfully. The final result is an interesting story, with the appropriate balance between action, context and emotion and a range of charismatic characters with whom it is easy to create empathy, all written with captivating fluidity and harmony, in a work that captivates us from the first page. Emotional and surprising, close in its relationship with the characters and complex in its portrait of an era, ‘O exílio do último liberal’ with its engaging narrative and the mastery of how it combines personal dilemmas and universal issues, is a compulsively readable story and is simply fascinating. I recommend it without reserve.

Carla Ribeiro

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  • Jornal de Letras, September 2011 (on ‘O segredo de Barcarrota’)

With a composition that deepens, chapter by chapter, the climate of terror that existed in Barcarrota at the beginning of the second half of the 16th century, creating the atmosphere of suspense typical of a good novel, ‘O segredo de Barcarrota’ (…) harmoniously combines a plurality of individual voices, each with their own unique quid…

Miguel Real

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  • 7 Leitores, April 2010 (on  ‘O destino do capitão Blanc’)

Sérgio Luís de Carvalho knew very seriously how to do his homework. (…) Knowing the times of the Republic through literature is a very enriching exercise. Doing this through Sérgio's pen is an excellent experience for us to get to know Portugal and the Portuguese a hundred years ago, so distant and so close to us.

José Fanha

 

  • Jornal de Letras, November 2009 (on ‘O destino do capitão Blanc’)

‘O destino do capitão Blanc’ is undoubtedly the best Portuguese novel about the Portuguese participation in the First World War.

Miguel Real

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  • Jornal de Sintra, November 2009 (on ‘O retábulo de Genebra’)

O retábulo de Genebra: art as liturgy!

Filomena Oliveira

 

  • Book of literary analysis “Itinerários”, 2009 (on 'O retábulo de Genebra’)

The voice of a master of novelistic writing -Sérgio Luís de Carvalho- is heard in this novel.

Annabela Rita

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  • Jornal de Letras, December 2008 (on ‘O retábulo de Genebra’)

Although often practiced as a fashion that everyone feels entitled to celebrate, it is unlikely that the Portuguese historical novel, in the last decade, has reached an aesthetic level of such superior quality as in ‘O retábulo de Genebra’.

Miguel Real

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  • Literary Orgy, January 2009 (on ‘O retábulo de Genebra’)

With a delicate and vigorous writing, Sérgio Luís de Carvalho brings us ‘O retábulo de Genebra’. It offers us beautiful, pictorial narrative paintings, full of synesthesia and silences – the silences where memory and art are conjured –, and in the art of this writing, silences release sounds, colors and all sensations. (…) Excellent, Sérgio Luís de Carvalho shows us writing as an inner pilgrimage in a seductive metaphorical process. (…) An ancient Iberian soul whose illustrious representative is Portuguese Literature and Sérgio Luís de Carvalho.

Teresa Sá Couto

 

  • Diário de Notícias, January 3, 2009 (on ‘O retábulo de Genebra’)

A novel whose writing maturity and narrative skills captivates you from the beginning. If there are words that are worth a thousand images, Sérgio Luís de Carvalho certainly knows how to choose them.

Carla Maia de Almeida

 

  • Inatel magazine , July 2007 (on ‘Os peregrinos sem fé’)

Highlight, from the publisher Campo das Letras, 'Os peregrinos sem fé’, by Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, a fiction writer with a consistent work worthy of the greatest attention.

José Jorge Letria

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  • My Books magazine, July 2007 (on 'Os peregrinos sem fé’)

It is easy to see how often the historical novel is less useful for the work of writing than for displaying data about a particular period. This is, fortunately, not the case of Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, who, with 'Os peregrinos sem fé’ continues, based on careful investigation, the narrative exercise around some issues that cross the path of Humanity and of each individual who composes it.

Sara Figueiredo Costa

 

  • Jornal de Letras, August 2006 (on ‘Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’)

'Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’, highlights a safe, specific and structured fictional universe, which not only singularizes [the author] in the current panorama of Portuguese romance but also makes him an extremely unique voice, immune to fashion narratives.

Miguel Real

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  • Inatel magazine, June 2006 (on 'Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’)

This book weaves an ingenious narrative plot based on a famous painting that represents Saint Jerome in his work and meditation space.

José Jorge Letria

 

  • Caminhos, May 2006 (on Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’)

‘Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’ impresses with its narrative rigor and unspeakable plot where portraits of four characters are constructed, (…). Sérgio Luís de Carvalho shows us in 289 pages how the past is touched and how the secrets of Time are held.

Teresa Sá Couto

 

  • Jornal de Sintra, April 2006 (on ‘Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’)

The only living Portuguese author who manipulates the language in this way, the style thus generated, aesthetically individualizes the novels  SLC generates, on the other hand, inevitable resistance to the reader until the latter, aesthetically packaged and syntactically integrated, gets used to it, enjoying a rare pleasure of reading.

Filomena Oliveira

 

  • My Books magazine, March 2006 (on ‘Retrato de São Jerónimo no seu estúdio’)

In the balance between the two [main] characters, and all the possible reflections of each other, the time of History takes on the shape of a fiction that is worth reflecting on.

Sara Figueiredo Costa

 

  • Jornal de Letras, February, 2004 (on ‘Os Rios da Babilónia’)

‘Os rios da Babilónia’ presents the heroic and tragic experience of the most undisguised banality of everyday life, reinforced by the sense of reticence with which the narrator begins and ends the novel, and by the anonymity of all the characters (...). We are thus faced with a skeptical universe, skeptical but lucid and wise, as the story that closes the novel so well shows.

Miguel Real

 

  • My Books magazine, January 2004 (on ‘Os Rios da Babilónia’)

‘Os Rios da Babilónia’ (...), the best I read in December, or our separate and unitary destiny.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

 

  • Literary essay ‘Geração de 90 - Novel and society in contemporary Portugal’, 2001 (on the author's work)

In ‘As Horas de Monsaraz’, Sérgio Luís de Carvalho does not intend to say how man should be or how History should have been (...). This is not edifying or fiercely critical literature, it is simply literature: in Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, a novel creates the Alentejo crypto-Jewish world of the 16th century, and thus the world becomes literature teaching more about the reality of the 16th century, that the long structures of historians.

Miguel Real

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  • Jornal de Letras, January, 2001 (on ‘El-Rei pastor’)

If Sérgio Luís de Carvalho's debut as a novelist with the book ‘Anno Domini 1348’ revealed an unusual literary quality (...) and if his second novel ‘As Horas de Monsaraz’ already showed an appreciable maturity, today we can see how this new novel consolidates and develops, in terms of style, construction of characters, development of the plot and the description of the social environment, the continuity of the maturity already achieved.

Miguel Real

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  • Literary essay ‘As trevas inocentes’, 2000 (on the author's work)

The language is of exemplary restraint, with archaizing constructions that know their own limits; the images are captivatingly simple in their evocative richness; the overlapping of discourses seduces through the balance of verisimilitude, the distance from irony, the dramatic proximity of the questioning of being. Sérgio Luís de Carvalho is a talented writer who deserves to be read, known and promoted.

Manuel Frias Martins

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  • Gulbenkian Foundation Magazine, 2000 (on ‘El-Rei Pastor’)

The medieval writing of this novel are impeccable in their stylistic refinement, in their construction. This is a complex novel, and also literary notable, with a great creative breath.

Fernanda Botelho

 

  • Jornal de Letras, June, 1992 (on ‘Anno Domini 1348’)

(...) It is worth reading this novel and thinking about the mechanisms of dialogue between History and fiction to which it unpretentiously invites us. It is worth readind this novel because of the elegance of its writing, the refined sensitivity of its language, the inventiveness of its narrative articulation, the wisdom of its interpretative cores.

Manuel Frias Martins

 

  • Diário de Notícias, August, 1991 (on ‘Anno Domini 1348’)

In addition to being a fascinating novel, it is also a well-documented study of medieval times and the town of Sintra (...). None of this appears as a "lesson", but it is integrated into the narrative without artifice of any kind. A novel worthy of attention.

Alice Vieira

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