Portuguese novelist António Lobo Antunes died in his hometown of Lisbon on March 5th, at the age of 83. Today, Saturday, March 7th, has been declared a national day of mourning in Portugal as he is laid to rest. Throughout his prolific career, Antunes received numerous accolades, though he repeatedly missed out on two honors he deeply desired: the Nobel Prize in Literature – awarded in 1998 to another Portuguese author, José Saramago – and inclusion in the prestigious Pléiade collection of classic authors, a recognition he reportedly valued so much he accepted speaking fees in copies of the beautifully bound volumes.
Born into a prominent, culturally-focused family in Lisbon, Lobo Antunes initially followed in his father’s footsteps and studied medicine, with his father being a celebrated professor and neurologist. As the eldest of six sons, António inherited the title of Viscount of Nazaré and the responsibility of leading his brothers. He described his austere father, saying, “I don’t remember receiving the slightest affection from him. Not any more than from my mother.” This childhood, he suggested, fueled a lifelong yearning for love. The devout Catholicism of his adored grandfather, and a childhood devotion to Saint Anthony of Padua, softened this upbringing. It may have also instilled in him a belief that would permeate his work: that the worlds of the living and the dead are interconnected.
