Nick’s review of The Woman of Porto Pim > Likes and Comments
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What a beautiful evocative review. Now my interest in Porto Pim is piqued as well!
Jeroen wrote: "What a beautiful evocative review. Now my interest in Porto Pim is piqued as well!"
I know, I have to go to Porto Pim!
I have to go by sea on a boat.
I'm imagining Porto Pim to be a land that is distant enough from the majority of human habitation that the people there are almost a different civilization. They are close enough to the rest of us to hold some similarities of language and custom but still be qualitatively and mysteriously distant.
path wrote: "I'm imagining Porto Pim to be a land that is distant enough from the majority of human habitation that the people there are almost a different civilization. They are close enough to the rest of us ..."
So said Marco Polo in the court of Kublai Khan about the cities on his travels.
I guess that in a place that is not quite a place, the people can be imagined in any way.
I hadn't thought to connect Tabucchi with Calvino.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the Dutch also settled soon after the Portuguese and a mingling occurred over the centuries.
When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think closer to the Iberian peninsula. In any event, it's all very Robinson and Crusoe if you go back far enough.
Ken wrote: "When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think closer to the ..."
Ken, from memory this is the timeline: 1423 discovery of Azores, 1433 started settling. So was it discovered during one of those navigators aiming to get around the west African coast by overshooting before lines of longitude were established?
A pictorial search of Azores shows a lovely Portuguese township I would happily find myself sitting in a cafe sipping their wonderful Brazilian coffee espresso style.
Nick wrote: "Ken wrote: "When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think cl..."
Hmn. Tropical island, undiscovered by tourists, café with café noir (oops, don't know Portuguese for black)? I'm in. Especially as winter finally winds down here.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts and comments on this, Nick!
Jennifer wrote: "I enjoyed reading your thoughts and comments on this, Nick!"
I enjoyed it finally having abandoned trying to understand it.
Love your meditation on the way a book title can trigger our thoughts and even our memories of earlier thoughts for years without us even reading it. And then when we finally read it and discover the meaning the author placed in it, that becomes another stage of the memory-making process around such a book.
Fionnuala wrote: "Love your meditation on the way a book title can trigger our thoughts and even our memories of earlier thoughts for years without us even reading it. And then when we finally read it and discover t..."
Thanks Fi.
And that's right, books get under our skin in all sorts of ways. And I'm a terribly slow reader.
But you've raised an interesting relationship with books. We can form a relationship with a book even without having read them. A curiosity. But not unlike hearing of a place you have never been and feeling connected to it through some strange chemistry.
The Japanese concept of Tsundoku re-emerges. (I've just watched Resnais film Hiroshima Mon Amor, too, this evening)
I'm sure I've readvthis as part of a compendium. I remember enjoying it and I truly liked Tabucci's writing.
Kevin wrote: "I'm sure I've readvthis as part of a compendium. I remember enjoying it and I truly liked Tabucci's writing."
My original copy was in that collection. Looks like later on, it was published as a stand alone collection with a new publisher.
I'm a big fan.
Tabucchi is a treat, and so is this gem of a review, Nick. I’ve read parts of this in another collection, remembering the sometimes sad whales singing in ‘Postscript’; your insights on the whole make it sound worthwhile to embark on the entire journey to Porto Pim.
Ilse wrote: "Tabucchi is a treat, and so is this gem of a review, Nick. I’ve read parts of this in another collection, remembering the sometimes sad whales singing in ‘Postscript’; your insights on the whole ma..."
I think the best way to get to Porto Pim would be to fly into one of the Azores Island airports and then take a boat. That would be the fun way to do it.
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Jeroen
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Mar 04, 2026 01:58PM
What a beautiful evocative review. Now my interest in Porto Pim is piqued as well!
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Jeroen wrote: "What a beautiful evocative review. Now my interest in Porto Pim is piqued as well!"I know, I have to go to Porto Pim!
I have to go by sea on a boat.
I'm imagining Porto Pim to be a land that is distant enough from the majority of human habitation that the people there are almost a different civilization. They are close enough to the rest of us to hold some similarities of language and custom but still be qualitatively and mysteriously distant.
path wrote: "I'm imagining Porto Pim to be a land that is distant enough from the majority of human habitation that the people there are almost a different civilization. They are close enough to the rest of us ..."So said Marco Polo in the court of Kublai Khan about the cities on his travels.
I guess that in a place that is not quite a place, the people can be imagined in any way.
I hadn't thought to connect Tabucchi with Calvino.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the Dutch also settled soon after the Portuguese and a mingling occurred over the centuries.
When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think closer to the Iberian peninsula. In any event, it's all very Robinson and Crusoe if you go back far enough.
Ken wrote: "When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think closer to the ..."Ken, from memory this is the timeline: 1423 discovery of Azores, 1433 started settling. So was it discovered during one of those navigators aiming to get around the west African coast by overshooting before lines of longitude were established?
A pictorial search of Azores shows a lovely Portuguese township I would happily find myself sitting in a cafe sipping their wonderful Brazilian coffee espresso style.
Nick wrote: "Ken wrote: "When I think Portugal, I think the Age of Discovery. Er, Exploration. And slavery. But more exploration. Henry the Navigator, etc. And the Canary Islands, similar, maybe, but I think cl..."Hmn. Tropical island, undiscovered by tourists, café with café noir (oops, don't know Portuguese for black)? I'm in. Especially as winter finally winds down here.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts and comments on this, Nick!
Jennifer wrote: "I enjoyed reading your thoughts and comments on this, Nick!"I enjoyed it finally having abandoned trying to understand it.
Love your meditation on the way a book title can trigger our thoughts and even our memories of earlier thoughts for years without us even reading it. And then when we finally read it and discover the meaning the author placed in it, that becomes another stage of the memory-making process around such a book.
Fionnuala wrote: "Love your meditation on the way a book title can trigger our thoughts and even our memories of earlier thoughts for years without us even reading it. And then when we finally read it and discover t..."Thanks Fi.
And that's right, books get under our skin in all sorts of ways. And I'm a terribly slow reader.
But you've raised an interesting relationship with books. We can form a relationship with a book even without having read them. A curiosity. But not unlike hearing of a place you have never been and feeling connected to it through some strange chemistry.
The Japanese concept of Tsundoku re-emerges. (I've just watched Resnais film Hiroshima Mon Amor, too, this evening)
I'm sure I've readvthis as part of a compendium. I remember enjoying it and I truly liked Tabucci's writing.
Kevin wrote: "I'm sure I've readvthis as part of a compendium. I remember enjoying it and I truly liked Tabucci's writing."My original copy was in that collection. Looks like later on, it was published as a stand alone collection with a new publisher.
I'm a big fan.
Tabucchi is a treat, and so is this gem of a review, Nick. I’ve read parts of this in another collection, remembering the sometimes sad whales singing in ‘Postscript’; your insights on the whole make it sound worthwhile to embark on the entire journey to Porto Pim.
Ilse wrote: "Tabucchi is a treat, and so is this gem of a review, Nick. I’ve read parts of this in another collection, remembering the sometimes sad whales singing in ‘Postscript’; your insights on the whole ma..."I think the best way to get to Porto Pim would be to fly into one of the Azores Island airports and then take a boat. That would be the fun way to do it.
