The Book of Disquiet

by Fernando Pessoa

An unique collection of short, aphoristic paragraphs.
Part intimate diary, part prose poetry, part descriptive narrative.

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The Book Of Disquiet book cover

About the book

When Pessoa died in 1935, he left behind a trunk filled with unfinished and unpublished writings, among which were the remarkable pages that make up his posthumous masterpiece The Book of Disquiet
This perpetually unclassifiable and unfinished book of self-reflective fragments was first published in Portuguese in 1982, and grapples with all the eternal questions.

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Memorable quotes

The only advantage of studying is to take delight in all the things that other people haven't said.

I begin because I don't have the strength to think; I finish because I don't have the courage to quit. This book is my cowardice.

Yes, what I am would be unbereable if I couldn't remember what I've been.

If there's any justice in the God's injustice, then may they let us keep our dreams, even when they're impossible, and may our dreams be happy, even when they're trivial.

Wise is the man who monotonizes his existence, for then each minor incident seems a marvel.