The History of the Siege of Lisbon
1989
First Published
3.83
Average Rating
348
Number of Pages
"If proofreaders were given their freedom and did not have their hands and feet tied by a mass of prohibitions more binding than the penal code, they would soon transform the face of the world, establish the kingdom of universal happiness, giving drink to the thirsty, food to the famished, peace to those who live in turmoil, joy to the sorrowful ... for they would be able to do all these things simply by changing the words ..." The power of the word is evident in Portuguese author José Saramago's novel, The History of the Siege of Lisbon. His protagonist, a proofreader named Raimundo Silva, adds a key word to a history of Portugal and thus rewrites not only the past, but also his own life. Brilliantly translated from the Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero, The History of the Siege of Lisbon is a meditation on the differences between historiography, historical fiction, and "stories inserted into history." The novel is really two stories in one: the reimagined history of the 1147 siege of Lisbon that Raimundo feels compelled to write and the story of Raimundo's life, including his unexpected love affair with the editor, Maria Sara. In Saramago's masterful hands, the strands of this complex tale weave together to create a satisfying whole.
Avg Rating
3.83
Number of Ratings
6,500
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
39%
3 STARS
25%
2 STARS
7%
1 STARS
2%
goodreads
Author
José Saramago
Author · 61 books
Novels of especially noted Portuguese writer José Saramago, include Country of Sin (1947) and The Stone Raft (1986); people awarded him the Nobel Prize of 1998 for literature. The most important among nations of the last century, he in his sixties then came to prominence with the publication of Baltasar and Blimunda . A huge body of work followed, translated into more than forty languages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%...
