DREAMS OF DREAMS

Two fetchingly lyrical short works by the Borges-like Italian author of Pereira Declares (1996), etc. “The Last Three Days of Fernando Pessoa: A Delirium” (1994) is an elegant threnody describing the great Portuguese poet’s approach to death as a meditative series of “meetings” with his “heteronyms” (fictional alter egos) and reflections on his political and aesthetic ideals. “Dreams of Dreams” (1992) offers the imaginary dreams of eminent writers, artists, composers, and fictional and mythological characters. Coleridge’s albatross, Collodi’s Gepetto, and Rabelais’s Pantagruel, for instance, are creations first encountered in dreams; others subtly express such salient personal traits as Chekhov’s compassion and Robert Louis Stevenson’s quiet fortitude; and, in Tabucchi’s wittiest single invention, Daedalus affixes waxen wings to the Minotaur, liberating that creature from his maze, and inspiring a later, less successful flight. A lovely little book that keeps on ringing in your head long after you’ve finished it.