Product Description
Take a journey through the streets of Lisbon during the 1930’s-travel through its streets, parks, bridges, and cafes. Love, politics, and the realities of life all mesh together in this encounter.

Description in spanish: "Lisboa es una ciudad en la que todo se distancia, incluso ella misma. Quizá por ese distanciamiento, capaz de articular en torno a ella una sugestión de misterio, la Lisboa de Saramago, reinventando la de Pessoa, nos parece más real que la misma ciudad vivida,habitada.

En esta novela se enlazan, con asombrosa habilidad, la sombra de un heterónimo, una persona cuya esencia misma es ser precisamente una sombra, y el fondo irreal de un mundo agitado por sacudidas brutales de autoritarismo y crueldad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Un libro muy bueno
Esta obra de Jose Saramago, es uno de los mejores libros que he leido, trata sobre los días finales de una de las personalidades de Fernando Pessoa, el Dr. Ricardo Reis, quien decide pasar sus últimos días en su Portugal Natal, constatemente habla y reflexiona con el anima de Pessoa, piensa y repiensa a una mujer que le llama la atención. es un libro muy entretenido.

Una obra de arte
Es un libro muy profundo y muy bello. Hay que leerlo con tiempo y con ganas, pues lo importante no es tanto lo que sucede, sino las cosas que piensan y dicen los personajes. Me hizo reflexionar sobre muchos temas, como la soledad, la muerte, el patriotismo, la religion, etc. ... Read more

Product Description
A large crack along the Pyrenees separates the IberianPeninsula from the rest of Europe.Spain and Portugal become a greatfloating island, without oars, sails and propellers, drifting toward anew utopia.The cultural encounter between Europeans and LatinAmericans will help to establish an equilibrium between the people ofthese two worlds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ni bueno ni malo
Si nunca has leido algo de Saramago no te recomiendo empezar con este libro. Lee 'ensayo sobre la ceguera' o 'las intermitencias de la muerte' primero, luego pasa a este u otro porque si no, te parecerá todo mucha palabreria y preámbulo para decir una cosa. Pero ese es el estilo de Saramago es solo que en esta historia no es tan cautivante. Con todo, he leido casi todos los libros de este autor.

The poetic gaze!
This work may be the most original and emblematic metaphor written in the last half century. Suddenly a set of internal breakthroughs may be felt around the perimeter of Spain; this chain of events will eventaully lead to Spain to dissociate from Europe and son in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean the island will progressively get close into America.

A prodigious and pleasant ro read novel. ... Read more

Product Description
One by one, each and every short story in "Casi un objeto" leaves a deep impression in the reader's memory and sensibility. The author's opinion of different subjects are expressed in his unique plots: The dictator falls from his chair, the Arabs stop selling oil, the dead are the best friends of the living, things are never what they seem. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Casi un objeto- History seen through objects"
Casi un objeto is a book that is strongly bonded to the history of Portugal and that of the modern world. The vast descriptiveness of Saramago makes the reader enter the world where the objects lie and develops a sortof suspense whether to what is going to happen to that particular object. The complex writting style makes de reader strive to the maximum tounderstand the meaning of the words and their strong relation to history. ... Read more

Product Description
«No dia seguinte ninguém morreu».Que a morte tem as suas extravagancias, já todos nós sabíamos. Mas que se cansasse de exercer a sua principal actividade, nunca nos passou pela cabeça! Imagine que, de um momento para o outro, num certo país, as pessoas deixam de morrer. Estarão os líderes e os habitantes desse país preparados para gerir a vida eterna e as suas consequências?Colocada a hipótese, o autor desenvolve-a em todas as suas vertentes, e o leitor é conduzido com mão de mestre numa ampla divagação sobre a vida, a morte, o amor, e o sentido, ou a falta dele, da nossa existência. ... Read more

Product Description
Hailed by José Saramago as the best writer of his generation and a likely future winner of the Nobel Prize, Dalkey Archive is proud to introduce Gonçalo M. Tavares and his breakthrough novel. One morning late in May, between three and six A.M., a group of lonely men and women wait to be brought together, like the elements in an equation. Ernst Spengler is about to throw himself out his window. Mylia, terminally ill and in enormous pain, goes out to visit a church. Hinnerk Obst, who's always been told by the neighborhood children that he looks like a murderer, walks the streets with a loaded gun.  As these characters are manipulated and brought together, a world of violence, fear, pain, and uncertainty is portrayed, where human nature itself, and the mechanisms determining our actions, our fictions, and the elements of our imagination, are laid bare. Jerusalem is a terrifying and grimly humorous summation of the possibilities and limits of the human condition at the beginning of the 21st century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Get in on Tavares in translation from the beginning.
Tavares received such praise from Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago that I pre-ordered this. I wasn't disappointed and it truly is quite a first book.

Please take the time to read the Product Description (click 'See all Editorial Reviews' above). Since this is such a quick read, there is little more to tell about the plot that wouldn't give away too much.

We are witnesses to unsettling mental, physical and even moral problems. The characters vary from the elite to the troubled. Dark events are sometimes related with dark humor as we are shocked by Tavares depiction of their lives.

This is a sad and moving book, but it is not a 'tear-jerker' - and it is very well written. While I wish the book had been longer, the story to be told was handled quite well in this length. I'm hoping more of his books get translated quickly.
... Read more

Product Description
Exquisitely written, this short story is a delicious introduction to Saramago s work. In an imaginary kingdom, a noble and persistent man requests that the king grant him one of his ships to search for an unknown island. If he has his wish fulfilled, the man will sail in search of the unknown island of his dreams. Saramago uses this backdrop for a harsh fable about modern man; he shows us that dreaming is perhaps the real way towards happiness.
Description in Spanish:Un suceso historico, la intencion de un noble portugues de ser autorizado por el rey para utilizar una de sus carabelas en la busqueda de la isla desconocida, le sirve al autor de pretexto para realizar una fabula descarnada del hombre moderno....un dulce y sutil cuento sobre el amor y la busqueda de la identidad personal.-The Washington Post Book WorldSaramago nos muestra que sonar, a veces, es el verdadero camino hacia la felicidad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Pepe Batres (Chicago)
A must read for all Saramago and Iberic lit enthusiasts. It took me 1 hour to read it from cover to cover for the first time. I took a lot longer the second time. Saramago packs so much message in such a short tale it's nuts. Definitely two thumbs up.

Muy buen cuento, Algo extraño para ser de Saramago.
Bueno, Que saramago es un escritor muy especial, Con un ojo bionico que transpasa muchas barreras. No lo he descubierto yo.

Este libro, es un cortito cuento. Muy interesante.
Con moraleja. Aunque no tan clara.

Basicamente, una descripcion de como la gente, sueña con objetivos. Y en cuanto estan encaminados hacia estos. Se asustan. Y buscan diferentes pretextos para escapar.

Un buen cuentito ,Recomendado, para todos aquellos que estan en duda si seguir sus sueños del corazon.
O si seguir los del bolsillo, de las comodidades y del confort. (que no te deja pensar.).

Comprenlo, aguante saramago. Un Grande.

Leandro Gonzalez.
Miami , Florida. (pero nacido en argentina).

about Saramago'sUna Isla Desconocida
Besides clearly stating a critique of beaurocracy I think Saramago goes deeper to tell us other things.No man is an island said once John Donne.Is he or is he not? On the one hand man seems complete in itself, he and he alone posseses the mental energy to materialize his own dreams.On the other handwe see that once man has the basic elementsto achieve his dream he starts destroying it by creating all sorts of pretexts and obstacles that interfere with its realization.Man asked the King for a ship to go in search of his island, once theKing has granted him his wish, man is suddenlyseen defeating his own perseverance and ilusion as he expressesdoubt and fear of possible disasters that the realization of the dream may bringto him.Then there is the cleaning woman who firmly trespassed"the decision door" of the palace demonstrating herwillto change HER reality and it is ultimately this woman who encourages the man to continue in his quest..So, Donne's appreciationstands solidly. Man is THE unknown island, yet in a very short, fast reading book(very unlike Saramago, since his books are usually quite lengthy)we are drawn to realize how very much we still need each other when achieving anything.

Very Clever
I read this book in it's original language - Portuguese - but I think the messages would be equally clear in any language.It's a very short story, or almost a fable, which very cleverly masks a critique of the waybureaucratic rulers deal with their "subjects".Looks like itsfor kids on the surface, but it's not! ... Read more

Product Description
Portugal is a small country with a great past. Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India turned the independent kingdom of Portugal into the leading sea and colonial power in the Western world. Lisbon, presumably founded by the Phoenicians, was one of Europe's richest cities in the heyday of the Age of Discovery. Today, Portugal's monasteries and churches, its palaces, libraries, opera houses, and museums which have survived evoke past glory with immense murals composed of colored tiles and ornate sculptural décor.

We are publishing the volume to coincide with Candida Höfer's exhibition of her Portugal photos at Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon. Portuguese writer and 1998 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, José Saramago, has written an essay for this catalog. ... Read more

Product Description
The struggles and compromises of the common man, theethics of the intellectual, and the love of man are the ingredientsthat comprise this first novel by Jos Saramago. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Filosofia para la gente comun
This book is not an adventure novel. The title of the book may seem like a self-help book, it isn't! It is about one man's decision to understand himself because he feels mediocre. It took a while to finish the bookbecause it is the voice of one person writing down his thoughts about hispainting, his lovers and friends, so it is full of philosophical ideas. ... Read more

Product Description
When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books on the subject, and in this he has certainly succeeded. Recording the events and observations of a journey across the length and breadth of the country he loves dearly, Saramago brings Portugal to life as only a writer of his brilliance can. Forfeiting the usual sources such as tourist guides and road maps, he scours the country with the eyes and ears of an observer fascinated by the ancient myths and history of his people. Whether it be an inaccessible medieval fortress set on a cliff, a wayside chapel thick with cobwebs, or a grand mansion in the city, the extraordinary places of this land come alive.
Always meticulously attentive to those elements of ancient Portugal that persist today, he examines the country in its current period of rapid transition and growth. Journey to Portugal is an ode to a country and its rich traditions.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

This book could be more, but it failed.
I picked up, Journey to Portugal, excited to find hidden treasures from Jose Saramango's expertise on his native soil, instead it was a flop.

My expectations were high because Portugal has such a rich history of intrigue within its borders. Instead Saramango's reference to its Jewish and Moorish past was nonexistent. This is shocking knowing that he has won a Nobel Prize in literature. Yet the past in which Portugal was framed like its other Iberian neighbor was purposefully withheld?

A man of letters such as Saramango must realize that this past, as dark as it might be, should be addressed. Instead only a few lines were devoted to its Jewish and Moorish heritage as if to say, "ah, they(the Jews and Moors) did not make a big difference here"

Mr. Saramango, this is what makes Portugal what it is, your dark past, surely you of all men should know that.

You should know that the Inquisition, persecuted men as yourself, men of letters, who were associated with Judaism! Men who escaped their past by becoming adroit at wielding letters, instead of swords. Where is your honra Senor?

In my humble estimation this book is as worthless as rags.

NOT Bill Bryson
This is Jose Saramago's spiritual journey through (primarily rural) Portugal.It's not a light-reading travel narrative.The feeling of this book is something of a cross between Henry Adams and James Michener.It's a book to read slowly and savor, in order to appreciate Saramago's tremendous metaphorical skill.He paints the picture slowly, with deliberate brush-strokes that reveal the masterpiece when viewed from a distance.

Yes, his descriptions of churches, winding roads, rain and his seemingly unconscious cultural insecurity (his came from a poor family and was not a university graduate) can become tedious, but that's only if you don't grasp the larger picture:Portugal is a settled land with hundreds of years of historic layers.Saramago wants to peel those layers back for you to expose the core.Only the reader can decide if he's been successful.

A spiritual and spatial journey
I eventually struggled through to the end of "Journey to Portugal", more as a duty than a pleasure.After the first third, the sameness of the descriptions of churches, buildings and art works became a bit boring.

Sarmago certainly writes with insights that would resonate with readers who are familiar with the history, culture and art works of Portugal.I am not, so many of Saramago's allusions and comments on the churches and buildings he saw were opaque to me.

Having read (and reviewed) "Seeing", "Blindness" and "The Cave" by Saramago, I was a little disappointed at first with "Journey to Portugal".However, my disappointment was relieved by beautiful passages sprinkled through the text.

Saramago was born in Portugal and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998."Journey to Portugal" is nominally a travel book, but of a special kind: it describes spiritual as well as spatial journeys.

The book is written in the third person, with Saramago referring to himself throughout as "the traveller".

Reflective travellers will understand when Sarmago says "...when the street descends once more to the old cathedral so does the rain; it overflows the gutters and, as one idea follows another, the traveller remembers how the waters of the Minho ran down the hard shoulders beside the street, how small the world is, all its memories jumbled together in the minimal space inside the traveller's head."

He also gives beautiful little word pictures of the lives and people he encountered on his journey.These are the real gems in this book, and why it is worth reading.

In one especially memorable story ("The Man Who Could Not Forget") Saramago gets into conversation with the waiter at dinner about his travel plans and learns that the waiter was born in Cidadelhe, one of the small, remote villages Saramago plans to visit.

Many years ago, when the waiter was a child, his sick young sister died on the way to get medical help, because none was available in their impoverished village.The waiter has never forgotten this family tragedy.His emotions are still raw as he talks to Saramago, who asks the waiter to come with him to the village and show him where he lived.

Saramago concludes thus: "The traveller returns to his room.He spreads out his big map on the bed and looks for Pinhel.There it is, and the road which heads off into the hills.At some point in this space a seven-year-old girl died; then the traveller finds Cidadelhe, on the heights, between the Rivers Coa and Massueime, it really is at the ends of the earth, the end of life.If there is no one to remember."

The book resonated with me for another reason.To quote Saramago:"The traveller preferred to admire the late afternoon gazing down towards the River Torto . . . . and then spent a long while leaning back against a wall . . . because from behind it there wafted the most exquisite perfume of flowers . . ."

Far too often in our travels we are driven onwards by an inexorable schedule that allows little time to stop and actually enjoy moments such as Saramago describes.

A Reflective Journey, Thoughtful and Passionate
Understandably, this book will be difficult reading for many American readers.It is not filled with action, sex, violence, or touristic visions.It is neither efficient nor pragmatic.Nevertheless, Jose Saramago is a Nobel Prize Winner for good reason.He writes with a depth of feeling and intense love that cannot be missed.The translation loses, as most translations do, the poetic passions of the author.However, if one can accept a very different style of writing, one that is decidedly not British nor American, this work will indeed be a journey.

Journey to Portugal Review
I am reading this book and am laboring through it hoping it will get to something interesting or useful because I am planning on traveling through Portugal later this year.So far it has been very boring.I don't get a great insight of Portugal's history or culture. It is mostly a travelogue of his town by town personal encounter with little to relate. So far its been very disappointing and I feel like its a waste of time. ... Read more