Overview

The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, an international bestseller, is an extraordinary novel that transports listeners into the universe of Jewish Kabbalah during the Lisbon massacre of April 1506. Just a few years earlier, Jews living in Portugal were dragged to the baptismal font and forced to convert to Christianity. Many of these New Christians persevered in their Jewish prayers and rituals in secret and at great risk; the hidden, arcane practices of the kabbalists, a mystical sect of Jews, continued as well. One such secret Jew was Berekiah Zarco, an intelligent young manuscript illuminator. Inflamed by love and revenge, he searches, in the crucible of the raging pogrom, for the killer of his beloved uncle Abraham, a renowned kabbalist and manuscript illuminator, discovered murdered in a hidden synagogue along with a young girl in dishabille. Risking his life in streets seething with mayhem, Berekiah tracks down answers among Christians, New Christians, Jews, and the fellow kabbalists of his uncle, whose secret language and codes by turns light and obscure the way to the truth he seeks. A marvelous story, a challenging mystery, and a telling tale of the evils of intolerance, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon both compels and entertains.

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9781470898625

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Reviews

A moody, tightly constructed historical thriller that is both entertaining and instructive...both a good mystery story and an effective evocation of a faraway time and place...Little riffs of mysticism and Jewish lore...give [this] book its special and endearing character. -- New York Times An international bestseller...An atmospheric introduction to the hermetic Jewish tradition of kabbalah mysticism. -- Independent on Sunday (London) Explosive and prophetic. -- Newsday One of the more unusual and interesting first novels. -- Kirkus Reviews Remarkable erudition and compelling imagination, an American Umberto Eco. -- Spectator Remarkable...The fever pitch of intensity Zimler maintains is at times overwhelming but never less than appropriate to the Hieronymous Bosch-like landscape he describes. Simultaneously, though, he is able to capture, within the bedlam, quiet moments of tenderness and love between Berekiah, his friends and fellow Kabbalists, and his family. -- Booklist (starred review) The story moves quickly...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. -- Library Journal Uses religion to great dramatic effect...A fantastic murder mystery...An absorbing and genuinely suspenseful story. -- Amazon.com, editorial review Zimler's portrait of the city...enriches his many-layered narrative, in which a suitably complex cast of characters plays a dangerous game with fate. -- New York Times Book Review

One of the more unusual and interesting first novels. -- Kirkus Reviews The story moves quickly...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. -- Library Journal Uses religion to great dramatic effect...A fantastic murder mystery...An absorbing and genuinely suspenseful story. -- Amazon.com, editorial review An international bestseller...An atmospheric introduction to the hermetic Jewish tradition of kabbalah mysticism. -- Independent on Sunday (London) Remarkable erudition and compelling imagination, an American Umberto Eco. -- Spectator Explosive and prophetic. -- Newsday A moody, tightly constructed historical thriller that is both entertaining and instructive...both a good mystery story and an effective evocation of a faraway time and place...Little riffs of mysticism and Jewish lore...give [this] book its special and endearing character. -- New York Times Remarkable...The fever pitch of intensity Zimler maintains is at times overwhelming but never less than appropriate to the Hieronymous Bosch-like landscape he describes. Simultaneously, though, he is able to capture, within the bedlam, quiet moments of tenderness and love between Berekiah, his friends and fellow Kabbalists, and his family. -- Booklist (starred review) Zimler's portrait of the city...enriches his many-layered narrative, in which a suitably complex cast of characters plays a dangerous game with fate. -- New York Times Book Review

Author Information

Richard Zimler is the award-winning author of several novels, including The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, winner of the Herodotus Award for Best First Historical Novel, and The Warsaw Anagrams, named the 2010 Book of the Year in Portugal by Ler. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists in twelve countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, and Australia. He writes reviews for the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle and lives in Porto, Portugal. Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than three thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile's Golden Voices in 2012.

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