Journey to Portugal : in pursuit of Portugal's history and culture / José Saramago ; translated from the Portuguese and with notes by Amanda Hopkinson and Nick Caistor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saramago, José

Contributor:

Hopkinson, Amanda, 1948-

Caistor, Nick.

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Viagem a Portugal. English

Language:

English

Portuguese

Subjects (All):

Portugal--Description and travel.

Portugal.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copies 1 & 2)

Physical Description:

xii, 452 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Harcourt, 2000.

Summary:

When Jose Saramago decided some twenty years ago to write a book about Portugal, his only desire was that it be unlike any other book on the subject, and in this he certainly has 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 sources of information 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 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 with kings, warriors, painters, explorers, writers, saints, and sinners. Always meticulously attentive to those elements of ancient Portugal that persist today, Saramago examines the country in its current period of rapid transition and growth.

Infused with the tenderness and intelligence that have become familiar to his readers, Saramago's Journey to Portugal is an ode of love for a country and its rich traditions.

Contents:

I From Northeast to Northwest: the Douro and the Duero

1 The Sermon of the Fishes 3

2 The Wicked Ways of Dossel 15

3 The Fiery Waters of the River de Onor 24

4 The Story of the Soldier Jose Jorge 28

5 The Devil's Temptations 33

6 The Stately Home 41

7 The Tame Wolf's Cave 47

8 Passionate Animals 53

9 Where Camilo is Not 60

10 Sleeping Beauty's Castle 67

11 Of Headaches and Other Miracles 75

12 An Even Bigger House 82

13 The Girls of Castro Laboreiro 91

14 St George Sets Forth on Horseback 100

15 Food for the Body 106

16 Mount Everest of Lanhoso 116

17 "Beside the River They Call the Douro" 123

II Lowlands Beside the Ocean

1 Endless Waters 132

2 At Home with the Marquess of Marialva 142

3 Not Every Ruin is a Roman Ruin 150

4 Coimbra Climbs, Coimbra Falls 159

5 A Castle Fit for Hamlet 167

6 At the Mountains' Gateway 174

III Soft-Stone Beiras, Be Patient

1 The Man Who Could Not Forget 181

2 Bread, Cheese and Wine in Cidadelhe 186

3 How Malva Got its Name 194

4 A Grain of Corn Away from Being Lisbon 202

5 New Temptations of the Devil 209

6 King of Cards 217

7 Highs and Lows 226

8 The Town of Stone 228

9 The Ghost of Jose Junior 238

10 "Hic Est Chorus" 246

IV From Mondego to Sado, Stopping All the While

1 One Islands, Two Islands 257

2 Arts of Water and Fire 263

3 Friars, Warriors and Fishermen 272

4 The Oldest House 282

5 So Near and Yet so Far 288

6 Captain Bonina 295

7 The Name in the Map 304

8 There Was Once a Slave 311

9 Paradise Encountered 318

10 At the Gates of Lisbon 325

11 They Say It's a Good Thing 328

12 Chimneys and Orange Groves 349

V The Vast and Burning Lands of Alentejo

1 Where the Eagles Rest 357

2 A Rose Flower 365

3 One Ancient Stone, One Man 371

4 The Destruction of Nests is Prohibited 380

5 The Night the World Began 391

6 Looking and Leaping 404

7 The Italians in Mertola 415

VI Of the Algarve, Sun, Dry Bread and Soft Bread

1 The Director and his Museum 423

2 Portuguese as She is Not Spoken 432

3 The Traveller Sets Out Again 443.

Notes:

Includes index.

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

ISBN:

0151005877

OCLC:

45325675