Richard Zimler - The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

review by Ro Bennett on recorded show

There are very few books that I want to read more than once and countless books I have read and forgotten. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon is a memorable book that I have referred to several times.

The cover is attractive, a colourful, eye catching medieval design. The book begins with a historical note: In December 1496, four years after Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain expelled all Jews from their Kingdom, King Manuel of Portugal was convinced to do the same. In exchange he was to receive the hand of their daughter in marriage. Just before the expulsion order was to take effect however, King Manuel decided to convert the Portuguese Jews rather than lose such valuable citizens. In March of 1497 he closed all ports of disembarkation and ordered the Jews rounded up and dragged to the baptism font...
The historical note section ends with: Even so, many of the New Christians persisted in their beliefs. In secret and at great risk, they said their Hebrew prayers and practised their rituals, in particular those related to the Sabbath and the celebration of Jewish holidays. One such secret jew was Berekiah Zarco, the narrator of the Last Kabbalist of Lisbon.

The author’s note is about the the discovery of the Berekiah Zarco’s manuscript. Richard Zimler writes that he was staying in the house of an acquaintance in Istanbul in 1990, whilst researching Sephardic poetry. The 16th Century Hebrew manuscripts were found hidden in the cellar during routine building work. Intrigued, Zimler started to translate them. Some were Kabablah texts but amongst them he found an account dated 1507 which was about the Lisbon massacre of about two thousand New Christians in April 1506. In particular they recount Berekiah Zarco’s search for the killer of his beloved Uncle Abraham, a renowned kabbalist.

The manuscript reveals Berekiah as an intelligent, confused young manuscript illustrator, fruit seller and kabbalist. His frank language includes the use of swear words, openly blasphemous statements and even slang which the author has tried to retain in the translation.

The memoirs written after Berekiah’s own escape from Lisbon to Turkey where he eventually wound up, read like a murder-mystery. It is not a story easily forgotten. Zimler combines the historical aspect of this tragedy with a suspense-filled story well worth the read. The characters have great depth and the reader gets drawn into the atmosphere of the time. In places the violence is graphic and terrifying.

I presumed that Zimler’s introduction was factual, however, one reviewer has written: This novel lays the foundation for Zimler's magnificent Zarco series, which charts the fortunes of the descendants of Zerkiah Zarco over several centuries. It is surprising that some readers have failed to see that this is a work of fiction - Zimler likes to mix up fact and fiction and to lay a documentary trail for his work, which, while definitely fictional is based on solid historical research.

So there is some controversy as to whether it is based on a translation of actual manuscripts. Whether it is a translation or pure fiction based on historical fact, I found it really interesting, a page turner, brimming with suspense, sometimes horrendous - full of meaty content and memorable. It’s a book I will probably enjoy reading several times.