The Night in Lisbon became an immediate bestseller in America and Britain when published in English in 1964, remaining on the New York Times Top Ten list for five months.

In his review for the Times, Maxwell Geismar called it a "most brooding and thoughtful novel… it may not quite be a great novel, but it is surely one of the most absorbing and eloquent narratives of our period.

"[2] Charles Poore wrote in his review for The New York Times; "It is a brilliant novel and a strange one, not completely successful but hauntingly moving.

"[3] Director Zbyněk Brynych filmed the book in 1970/1971 for FRG, with the actors Martin Benrath, Erika Pluhar, Vadim Glowna, Horst Frank, Charles Régnier and others.

[6] In 2019, Radio Bremen and WDR produced a two-part radio play edited and directed by Silke Hildebrandt with Max Simonischek, Max von Pufendorf [de], Christian Hockenbrink, Lisa Hrdina, Daniel Wiemer, Stefanie Kirsten, Wolfgang Rüter, Ursula Grossenbacher, Jasmin Schwiers, Jörg Kernbach, Justus Maier, Birte Schrein, Jean-Paul Baek, Daniel Stock, and Holger Kraft.