Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

Paperback(First Edition)

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Overview

The Nobel Prize–winning author explores his homeland in “this monumental work, a literary hybrid” of cultural history, literary nonfiction, and travelogue (Publishers Weekly).

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780156007139
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 03/06/2002
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 464
Sales rank: 104,561
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.29(d)

About the Author

JOSÉ SARAMAGO (1922–2010) was the author of many novels, among them Blindness, All the Names, Baltasar and Blimunda, and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. In 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrationsvii
Author's Preface to the English Editionix
IFrom Northeast to Northwest: the Douro and the Duero
1The Sermon of the Fishes3
2The Wicked Ways of Dossel15
3The Fiery Waters of the River de Onor24
4The Story of the Soldier Jose Jorge28
5The Devil's Temptations33
6The Stately Home41
7The Tame Wolf's Cave47
8Passionate Animals53
9Where Camilo is Not60
10Sleeping Beauty's Castle67
11Of Headaches and Other Miracles75
12An Even Bigger House82
13The Girls of Castro Laboreiro91
14St George Sets Forth on Horseback100
15Food for the Body106
16Mount Everest of Lanhoso116
17"Beside the River They Call the Douro"123
IILowlands Beside the Ocean
1Endless Waters132
2At Home with the Marquess of Marialva142
3Not Every Ruin is a Roman Ruin150
4Coimbra Climbs, Coimbra Falls159
5A Castle Fit for Hamlet167
6At the Mountains' Gateway174
IIISoft-Stone Beiras, Be Patient
1The Man Who Could Not Forget181
2Bread, Cheese and Wine in Cidadelhe186
3How Malva Got its Name194
4A Grain of Corn Away from Being Lisbon202
5New Temptations of the Devil209
6King of Cards217
7Highs and Lows226
8The Town of Stone228
9The Ghost of Jose Junior238
10"Hic Est Chorus"246
IVFrom Mondego to Sado, Stopping All the While
1One Islands, Two Islands257
2Arts of Water and Fire263
3Friars, Warriors and Fishermen272
4The Oldest House282
5So Near and Yet so Far288
6Captain Bonina295
7The Name in the Map304
8There Was Once a Slave311
9Paradise Encountered318
10At the Gates of Lisbon325
11They Say It's a Good Thing328
12Chimneys and Orange Groves349
VThe Vast and Burning Lands of Alentejo
1Where the Eagles Rest357
2A Rose Flower365
3One Ancient Stone, One Man371
4The Destruction of Nests is Prohibited380
5The Night the World Began391
6Looking and Leaping404
7The Italians in Mertola415
VIOf the Algarve, Sun, Dry Bread and Soft Bread
1The Director and his Museum423
2Portuguese as She is Not Spoken432
3The Traveller Sets Out Again443
Index444
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