[XangadsX]

I like Tabucchi in general; I think he's brilliant and reading him becomes addictive. The Missing Head of Damasceno Monteiro is quite good. Together with Pereira Decalres, they are part of one strand of Tabucchi's writing, that of the socio/political realist, in which the author clearly sends his message across through his characters. They are both written in fluid prose and read very easily, actually like thrillers. The other strand of Tabucchi literature, which I personally prefer, is more intimate. It has to do with dreams, with soul searching, with existentianl musings, with traveling in time and space. Here Tabucchi's style is rather impressionistic, many times poetic. In this category belong his collections of short stories, such as Little Misunderstandings of no Importance (IMO a masterpiece of story telling) and It's getting later all the time(a challenging but rewarding read). Also in this category is his exquisite novella Indian Nocture, another early masterpieces. I am sorry for promtbr, who had such a bad experience with a crummy translation. But i can see the difficulties that any non Italian might encounter translating that text.