The Relic by Eça de Queiroz – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Teodrico Raposo, the novel’s anti-hero, is a master of deceit; one minute feigning devotion in front of his rich, pious aunt, in order to inherit her money, the next indulging in debauchery. Spurred on by the desire to please his aunt, and in order to get away from his unfaithful mistress, he embarks on a journey to the Holy Land in search of a holy relic. The resulting fiasco is a masterpiece of comic irony as religious bigotry and personal greed are mercilessly ridiculed.’

The Relic is a novel set in the late 19^th century from the Portuguese author Eça de Queiroz. It features Teodrico Raposo, a well-educated man who wants to inherit the wealth of his rich aunt. How I stumbled upon this book is something similar to what I mentioned in my review of The Unbearable Lightness of Being – that is, buying an English version book of a local author as a souvenir; in Porto (incidentally in JK Rowling’s favourite bookstore).

Teodrico is a brilliant young man, who lost his parents when he was seven but under good care from his rich aunt. He was sent to study law in the best university in Coimbra; but spent most of his time in taverns and with women while feigning piety through the letters to his aunt. This goes on till Teodrico asks permission to go to Paris; and the conversation turns around with eventually Teodrico agreeing to go to the Holy Land and seek a relic which will cure his aunt of all his ailments. However, the intention with which he agrees to go is solely to ingratiate his aunt and get the inheritance, which she might well bequeath to the church.

The book attempts a humorous take on religion and bigotry and it is a bold piece of work for the period in which it was released. The parts of the novel where Teodrico and his German friend - Dr. Topsius spent in the past was hilarious and was well made satire. The book could also be described as a good 19^th century travelogue where the lead character travels to Alexandria and eventually to Jerusalem, giving you a glimpse of how these cities were in the 19^th Century (Jerusalem, which Teodrico agreed was worse than Braga).

However, with that said, when you are writing a novel based on an anti-hero, the story needs to be character needs to be convincing. It is not exactly a good example when I shift to manga and anime but then, to me, Yagami Light from Death Note was a very convincing character for an anti-hero.

Coming to Teodrico, he wants to enjoy the pleasures of his youth but at the same time, is extremely keen on his inheritance; while he knows that he cannot have both at once. Much as Teodrico hated going to the church and detested feigning being pious in front of his aunt and her friends, he was not exactly an atheist either. Very often, especially in Alexandria and even in Jerusalem, he had the feeling of superiority because he was a Christian even though he was not too keen on his Portuguese identity – he even claims himself to be a citizen of the world unlike his German companion who bordered on jingoism when it came to Germany. Moreover, Teodrico genuinely looked a relic rather than falsifying that too (if I reveal how he got around it, it would be a spoiler).

While I enjoyed the satire, I felt it was a tad too much and that it got boring beyond the first 12-15 pages. Had the lead character been built better, this book could have been a lot more enjoyable but then, all we have is Teodrico and as a result, the book enjoys a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy