Travel to Portugal

The calligraphy on the cover is by Professor Maria Alzira Seixo

Between October 1979 and July 1980, José Saramago toured the country from end to end at the invitation of the Círculo de Leitores, which was celebrating the tenth anniversary of his establishment in Portugal. The author said after this wandering, a mixture of chronicle, narrative and memories, that “the end of a journey is just the beginning of another. It is necessary to see what has not been seen, to see again what has already been seen, to see in spring what is seen in summer, to see by day what has been seen at night... It is necessary to go back to the steps that were taken, to repeat them , and to chart new paths».

Renewing the traditional schematic of the tourist guide, this Journey to Portugal is a surprising revelation of a country, precisely our country, trivialized by proximity and the abuse of cliché. Through Saramago's unmistakable pen, the reader is led to discover the authentic face of an inexhaustible land, through human and natural paths whose beauty and strength surprise us. Photographs by Maurício Abreu accompany Saramago's text.

Renewing the traditional schematic of the tourist guide, this Journey to Portugal is a surprising revelation of a country, precisely our country, trivialized by proximity and the abuse of cliché. Through Saramago's unmistakable pen, the reader is led to discover the authentic face of an inexhaustible land, through human and natural paths whose beauty and strength surprise us. Photographs by Maurício Abreu accompany Saramago's text.

«The journey must begin again. Always. The traveler returns soon.»

«From the Northeast to the Northwest, paths that lead to the “Meninas de Castro Laboreiro”, the “History of soldier José Jorge” or Mount Everest in Lanhoso. Then, the “Lowlands, near the sea”. There we find “A Castle for Hamlet”, and we discover that not all the ruins are Roman. We also travel along the “soft stone shores”, with the “new temptations of the devil” and “the ghost of José Júnior”. An invitation, however, to stop everywhere, between Mondego and Sado, to observe “arts of water and fire” or the chimneys and orange groves. And a walk through the “great and burning land of Alentejo”. There, “the night when the world began”; there, “a flower of the rose”; there, where “it is forbidden to destroy the nests”. And more the sun, the dry bread and the soft bread of the Algarve, with “Portuguese as it is spoken”. “On the roads of Portugal / I saw so many beautiful things, I saw a world without equal”, sings the popular songbook, and so does Saramago, with the essential difference that the quality of his writing is quite a bit above. A journey, if not through the depths of Portugal, at least through a profound way of seeing Portugal.» (Diário de Notícias, 9 October 1998)

«The journey must begin again. Always. The traveler returns soon.»

«From the Northeast to the Northwest, paths that lead to the “Meninas de Castro Laboreiro”, the “History of soldier José Jorge” or Mount Everest in Lanhoso. Then, the “Lowlands, near the sea”. There we find “A Castle for Hamlet”, and we discover that not all the ruins are Roman. We also travel along the “soft stone shores”, with the “new temptations of the devil” and “the ghost of José Júnior”. An invitation, however, to stop everywhere, between Mondego and Sado, to observe “arts of water and fire” or the chimneys and orange groves. And a walk through the “great and burning land of Alentejo”. There, “the night when the world began”; there, “a flower of the rose”; there, where “it is forbidden to destroy the nests”. And more the sun, the dry bread and the soft bread of the Algarve, with “Portuguese as it is spoken”. “On the roads of Portugal / I saw so many beautiful things, I saw a world without equal”, sings the popular songbook, and so does Saramago, with the essential difference that the quality of his writing is quite a bit above. A journey, if not through the depths of Portugal, at least through a profound way of seeing Portugal.» (Diário de Notícias, 9 October 1998)

Circle of Readers

1981 (hardcover edition) (Photographs, mostly by Asta, Luís Almeida d'Eça, as well as by Adriano Sequeira and the author, some provided by Penaguião & Burnay Lda and the National Museum of Ancient Art); 1999 (paperback edition, not illustrated)

Circle of Readers

1981 (hardcover edition) (Photographs, mostly by Asta, Luís Almeida d'Eça, as well as by Adriano Sequeira and the author, some provided by Penaguião & Burnay Lda and the National Museum of Ancient Art); 1999 (paperback edition, not illustrated)

“Überlass deine Blumen jemandem, der damit umzugehen weiß, und fahr los.” Saramago lädt ein zu einer literarischen und kulturellen Reise durch seine Heimat Portugal, die er in den 90er Jahren, nach längerer Abwesenheit, mit fremdem Blick ganz neu entdeckt.

Seine gemächliche Fahrt in einem klapprigen Auto führt vom Norden Portugals über Hunderte von Kilometern hinweg bis zur Algarve. Geleitet von einer zerknitterten Landkarte und spontanen Eingebungen, lässt der Reisende sich durch die Landschaft treiben. Er macht Halt in kleinen Dörfern, besichtigt Kirchen, Klöster und Burgen oder erfreut sich an der Schönheit der Natur. Nicht zu vergessen, die wunderbaren Geschichten, die ihm an jeder Ecke begegnen. Saramago gibt Einblick in die unbekannten Seiten Portugals und legt gleichzeitig einen literarischen Bericht über die Kultur des Reisens vor, der so bereichernd wie beglückend ist.

“Ein in jeder Hinsicht großartiges Buch!” Neue Zurcher Zeitung

Atlantic / Hoffmann and Champion

2014 (Trans.: Karin von Schweder-Schreiner and Nicolai von Schweder-Schreiner) (not illustrated)

“Ein in jeder Hinsicht großartiges Buch” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

Der Nobelpreisträger José Saramago auf einer Fahrt durch seine Heimat Portugal: überall spürt er in sich jenen Einklang, der ihn mit Land und Menschen verbindet, aber oft spürt er auch Missklänge. Er besucht das Bekannte wie das Entlegene, Versteckte. Und sehr genau, ja penibel beobachtet er.

Sein Reiseführer quillt über vor Wissen über Geschichte und Kultur, die Zeit der Weltherrschaft, Maler, Entdecker, Schriftsteller, Heilige und Sünder.

“Der Reisende ist kein Tourist. Das ist ein großer Unterschied. Reisen heißt entdecken, alles andere ist nur vorfinden.” (José Saramago)

“Ein in jeder Hinsicht großartiges Buch” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

Der Nobelpreisträger José Saramago auf einer Fahrt durch seine Heimat Portugal: überall spürt er in sich jenen Einklang, der ihn mit Land und Menschen verbindet, aber oft spürt er auch Missklänge. Er besucht das Bekannte wie das Entlegene, Versteckte. Und sehr genau, ja penibel beobachtet er.

Sein Reiseführer quillt über vor Wissen über Geschichte und Kultur, die Zeit der Weltherrschaft, Maler, Entdecker, Schriftsteller, Heilige und Sünder.

“Der Reisende ist kein Tourist. Das ist ein großer Unterschied. Reisen heißt entdecken, alles andere ist nur vorfinden.” (José Saramago)

«Happiness, see the reader, has many faces. Traveling is probably one of them».

“It’s not true. The journey never ends. Only the travelers end. And even these can be prolonged in memory, in memory, in stories. When the traveler sat in the beach arena and said: 'There is nothing more to see', I knew it wasn't like that. The end of a trip is just the beginning of another. You have to see what you haven't seen, see again what you saw, see in spring what you saw in summer, see during the day what you saw at night, with the sun what you saw before below It was raining, seeing the green shadow, the ripe fruit, the stone that had changed place, the shadow that wasn't there. I have to go back to the given steps, to repeat them and to bring new paths to my side. I have to start the trip again. Always. The traveler gets back on the road».

Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will surely return to it.

Unpublished edition of Viagem a Portugal, with photographic material by José Saramago, maps with itineraries suggested by the writer and text from 1999 never before published in Brazil. Graphic design and cover by Raul Loureiro.

Over the years, Viagem a Portugal has had different editions. This, however, is the first to consist solely of photographs taken by José Saramago himself. The images, as well as the text, are memories of his journey through the country where he was born.
At the invitation of Círculo de Leitores, a book club celebrating the tenth anniversary of its creation in Portugal, Saramago traveled through the Portuguese lands for almost six months. The story is transposed in this work with the detachment of the third-person narrator, who describes the displacements of a “traveler” in time and space, meeting people, landscapes and buildings from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to the Alentejo.
For the author, this book was the most ambitious project he could dare to write at the time, since Viagem a Portugal could not be confused with any other and had to be capable of inaugurating a new way of seeing the country where he lived. With this volume, Brazilian readers also have access to the perspective that José Saramago imprinted on Portuguese national identity, as if he were suddenly discovering small details and surprises in the house where he had always lived.

* In 2022, Viagem a Portugal was adapted into a series by the Portuguese television network RTP, presented by Fábio Porchat. Available on Globoplay.

In Travel to Portugal, Saramago’s pact with language materializes so clearly that it almost seems like destiny – it is as if things and people had been waiting for their writer. A million travelers saw the rivers, the hillsides and the forests that Saramago saw. They entered the same castles and churches. They asked for directions from that shepherd, from the spinner and from the old man at the crossroads. All of them gave food to their sight and imagination. None of them, however, was able to take the journey home, redo it in writing and choose to share it endlessly.
In this book, we learn what things are called in Portugal, what food is on the table, who painted the ceiling of that little chapel, when it rains, what color are the eyes of Our Lady of the Head, what happened to the almond blossoms that the Moorish king ordered to be planted for his Nordic princess, how hard it is to spend time on the streets of Serpa, how fast the waters of the Pulo do Lobo are, how serious people remain when faced with the smiling, big-eared Saint Sebastian of Cidadelhe, why Inês, Pedro's lover, the Cruel, the Cruel, the Enemy-Son, the Stammerer, the Dancer, the Vengeful, the Passionate-Until-the-End-of-the-World, died.

The calligraphy on the cover is by anthropologist and historian Lilia Moritz Schwarcz.

In Journey to Portugal, Saramago’s pact with language is so clearly embodied that it almost seems like destiny – it is as if things and people had been waiting for their writer. A million travelers saw the rivers, the hillsides and the forests that Saramago saw. They entered the same castles and churches. They asked for directions from that shepherd, from the spinner and from the old man at the crossroads. They all gave food to their sight and imagination. None of them, however, was able to take the journey home, re-write it in writing and choose to share it endlessly. In this book, we learn what things are called in Portugal, what food is on the table, who painted the ceiling of that little chapel, when it rains, what color are the eyes of Our Lady of the Head, what happened to the almond blossoms that the Moorish king ordered to be planted for his Nordic princess, how hard it is to spend time on the streets of Serpa, how fast the waters of the Pulo do Lobo are, how serious people remain when faced with the smiling, big-eared Saint Sebastian of Cidadelhe, why Inês, Pedro's lover, the Cruel, the Cruel, the Enemy-Son, the Stammerer, the Dancer, the Vengeful, the Passionate-Until-the-End-of-the-World, died.

In Journey to Portugal, Saramago’s pact with language is so clearly embodied that it almost seems like destiny – it is as if things and people had been waiting for their writer. A million travelers saw the rivers, the hillsides and the forests that Saramago saw. They entered the same castles and churches. They asked for directions from that shepherd, from the spinner and from the old man at the crossroads. They all gave food to their sight and imagination. None of them, however, was able to take the journey home, re-write it in writing and choose to share it endlessly. In this book, we learn what things are called in Portugal, what food is on the table, who painted the ceiling of that little chapel, when it rains, what color are the eyes of Our Lady of the Head, what happened to the almond blossoms that the Moorish king ordered to be planted for his Nordic princess, how hard it is to spend time on the streets of Serpa, how fast the waters of the Pulo do Lobo are, how serious people remain when faced with the smiling, big-eared Saint Sebastian of Cidadelhe, why Inês, Pedro's lover, the Cruel, the Cruel, the Enemy-Son, the Stammerer, the Dancer, the Vengeful, the Passionate-Until-the-End-of-the-World, died.

«The end of a trip is just the beginning of another. We have to see what we have not seen, see again what we have seen. I have to go back to the steps already taken, to repeat them and to bring new paths to my side. I have to start the trip again. Siempre.El viajero gets back on the road».

Between October 1979 and July 1980, José Saramago visited Portugal on an itinerary that took him from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to the Alentejo. This book, in which the chronicle is intertwined with the narration and memories, is the result of this journey. Saramago reveals himself to him as a traveler of great sensitivity, always attentive to what comes in his eyes, deciphering the reality of the country and also understanding its past.

This special edition of Viaje a Portugal, published on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the Portuguese Nobel Prize winner, includes, for the first time, all the photographs that Saramago took during his trip — all of them unpublished — along with others by photographer Duarte Belo.

The critic said:
«Important for lovers and travelers of our sister country».
Manuel Rodríguez Rivero, El País

«A story in which Saramago became a traveler who seeks to understand the reality of the country and decipher the past and future of Portugal».
Pepa Blanes, La Hora Extra (Cadena SER)

«An adventure through the interior of yourself and on the ground, because Portugal is its culture. The path is wide and substantial, and allows you to discover towns and legends».
El Cultural (“8 books to read while traveling”)

«Saramago vuelve comprehensible a human reality, with parables supported by imagination, compassion and irony».
Nobel Committee

«A man with a sensitivity and a capacity to see and understand that is very much above what we generally see and understand in mortal communities».
Hector Abad Faciolince

«Saramago is an example, a dignified style of life and literature, which demonstrates the possibility of sailing against the current […]. Your word has the value of an antifreeze, of a personal remedy against the gales of cynicism that envelop us».
Luis Garcia Montero

«I don't know, I don't want to know, from where Saramago got that diabolical narrative tone, hard and funny at a time, [...] that allows him to tell so much about the heart and sometimes about the story».
Luis Landero

«Saramago writes novels about myths to demystify them, [...] always to address the reality that surrounds him, to deal with current problems that affect everyone, and so that everything is clear from the beginning».
Rafael Conte, Babelia

«Like Günter Grass or Cees Nooteboom, Saramago aspires to engage with an audience that goes beyond national limits».
The Country

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Knowing a country means understanding, in the most exact way possible, its landscape, its culture and the town that inhabits it, which is why José Saramago travels to Portugal and offers the reader the authentic face of an indelible land.

With an itinerary that, from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve and from Lisbon to Alentejo, covers the entire country, Viaje a Portugal is the written reproduction of multiple impressions collected by the sensitivity of a traveler who is always attentive to what comes his way eyes.

Saramago tries to understand with his work the reality of Portugal and decipher it at the same time in the past. Reading this book will be a revelation for those who want to know the old country, and an authentic placer of memory for those who know it and will never return to it.

Through the Viatge quest to Portugal, José Saramago finds himself on the road using a viatger for his own country. Guide for the details that the country offers, the people and the culture, the author proposes a route that goes as long as possible between established itineraries. I'm the ones that Saramago portrays on the dry land, only those who are curious about being able to understand the present and the past. They will eventually discover their country and also discover themselves. Viatge a Portugal is a fascinating book that seduces by its ability to transport us, on different pages, from Lisbon to the Alentejo or from the Algarve to the Douro lands. A journey of those that always comes with gust to repeat. The second work is an encouraging testimonial of our time that justifies the lack of reading.”Basilio Losada José Saramago (Azinhaga, Ribatejo, 1922) Nobel Prize winner for literature 1998, is one of the most important novels in contemporary literature. Editions 62 have been published Història del setge a Lisboa (1989), L'any de la mort de Ricardo Reis (1997), Tots els noms (1999), L'Evangeli segons Jesucrist (2000), La cave (2001), Quaderns de Lanzarote II (2001), Assaig sobre la ceguesa (2002), L'home duplicat (2003) i Assaig sobre la lucidesa (2004). Other important titles by José Saramago: Manual of Painting and Calligraphy (1977), Objecto Qualidade (1978), Memorial do Convento (1982) and A Jangada de Pedra (1986).

Through the Viatge quest to Portugal, José Saramago finds himself on the road using a viatger for his own country. Guide for the details that the country offers, the people and the culture, the author proposes a route that goes as long as possible between established itineraries. I'm the ones that Saramago portrays on the dry land, only those who are curious about being able to understand the present and the past. They will eventually discover their country and also discover themselves. Viatge a Portugal is a fascinating book that seduces by its ability to transport us, on different pages, from Lisbon to the Alentejo or from the Algarve to the Douro lands. A journey of those that always comes with gust to repeat. The second work is an encouraging testimonial of our time that justifies the lack of reading.”Basilio Losada José Saramago (Azinhaga, Ribatejo, 1922) Nobel Prize winner for literature 1998, is one of the most important novels in contemporary literature. Editions 62 have been published Història del setge a Lisboa (1989), L'any de la mort de Ricardo Reis (1997), Tots els noms (1999), L'Evangeli segons Jesucrist (2000), La cave (2001), Quaderns de Lanzarote II (2001), Assaig sobre la ceguesa (2002), L'home duplicat (2003) i Assaig sobre la lucidesa (2004). Other important titles by José Saramago: Manual of Painting and Calligraphy (1977), Objecto Qualidade (1978), Memorial do Convento (1982) and A Jangada de Pedra (1986).

Bibliotex/The World

2000 (not illustrated)

Archetype Editions

1990 (hardcover edition) (Photographs by Maurício Abreu)

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 its 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.

PRAISE FOR JOURNEY TO PORTUGAL

“The personality that makes the book worth your while is that of Saramago, the unmistakable voice that hovers over his fictional world and now, over the real world of his native Portugal.”–The Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer

“In observances both wry and soulful, Saramago makes this travelogue a page-turner.”–Travel & Leisure

Connaître un pays significae comprendre son paysage, sa culture et le peuple qui l'habite. From Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve, from Lisbon to the Alentejo, the sensibilities of the voyageur, toujours attentive to what voient ses yeux, collect the multiple impressions that lui offrent the nature, the art, the histoire et les hommes. Saramago is here at a découvreur émerveillé that invites the reader to parcourir a Portugal multiple, baroque and mystérieux, sublime to the magic of l'écriture.

“Questo Viaggio in Portogallo is a story. Story of a viaggiatore all'internal of the viaggio da lui compiuto, story of a viaggio that in itself has transported a viaggiatore, story of a viaggio and di un viaggiatore riuniti in the fusion ricercata di colui che see and di quel che è seen… Gift I'll read the page that follows, I don't eat anything and I invite you. Faccia il proprio viaggio secondo un proprio progetto, presti minimo ascolto alla facilità degli itinerari comodi e frequentati, accetti di sbagliare strada e di become indietro, o, contrario, perseveri fine a invente unusuali vie d'uscita verse il mondo. Non potrà fare miglior viaggio.” The story of a trip on a fascinating land in Portoghese is transformed into a spun into a southern viaggiare journey as a fondamental experience.

Un Nobel per la Letteratura comes with travel. «Questo Viaggio in Portogallo is a story. Story of a viaggiatore all'interior of the viaggio da lui compiuto, story of a viaggio that in itself has transported a viaggiatore, story of a viaggio and di un viaggiatore riuniti in the fusion ricercata di colui che see and di quel che è seen… Gift I'll read the page that follows, I don't eat anything and I invite you. Faccia il proprio viaggio secondo un proprio progetto, presti minimo ascolto alla facilità degli itinerari comodi e frequentati, accetti di sbagliare strada e di become indietro, o, contrario, perseveri fine a invente unusuali vie d'uscita verse il mondo. Non potrà fare miglior viaggio».

“… Il viaggio no finisce mai. Solo i viaggiatori finiscono. And anche loro podeno prolungarsi in memoria, in ricordo, innarrazione. When the viaggiatore itself is seduced, it was clear that it wasn't true. The end of a trip is just the beginning of another. Bisogna vedere that which was not seen in the first place, vedere di nuovo that which itself was già seen, vedere in spring that which itself was seen in estate, vedere di giorno that which itself is seen in the evening, with the sole dove the first come back piovera, see the messi verdi, the ripe fruit, the pietra that has changed, the shadow that doesn't erase. Bisogna ritornare sui passi già dati, per ripeterli, e per tracciarvi a fianco nuovi cammini. Bisogna ricominciare il viaggio. Always. Il viaggiatore returns quickly.”

Euroclub Italia Edition

1999 (not illustrated)

“Det optimale burde jo være å ta denne boka med mon på en likedan biltur som den Saramago gjorde. Men å foreta denne reisen i sofakroken der hjemme, er heller ingen dårlig idé.”
Nøste Kendzior, Kulturnytt, NRK P2Mildt, kjærlig, kjent og ustoppelig nysgjerrig tar Portugals store romanforfatter leseren med på en reise utenom brosjyrene. Han presser sin gamle bil opp bakketopper til gåtefulle klostre og halvt nedraste borger, han finner kirketjeneren og får låst opp knirkende dører til ikke-berømte kirker.Reisen begynner i Spania, og han krysser grensen i nordøst, ved elven Duero , sound straks skifter navn til Duoro. Det han ser gir ham et puslespill med utallige brikker, som til sammen skaper et myldrende bilde av Portugals geografi, historie og kultur, med minner om romere og maurere, almene og spesielle stilarter gjennom århundrer, om bosetning og håndverk, skikker hos lk og blant kystens fiskere.Utenfor Lisboa overveldes han nok en gang av Mafra, det huge klosteret som er dreiepunktet i gjennombruddsromanen Klosterkrønike. Reisen ender ved Algarve-kysten, der turismen har satt sitt juglete preg på bebyggelse og språk (praia er blitt beach og småsjappene heter shop og boutique), men han lar ergrelsen svales ved å dra opp til Silves ruvende borg lenger inn i landet, der islam og kristendom møtes i ruiner av rød og gyllen stein. og humørfylt vandringsmann.»
Karsten Alnæs, Dagbladet”Her er passasjer som vil få hjertet ditta til å stoppe.”
The New York Times Book Review

“Det optimale burde jo være å ta denne boka med mon på en likedan biltur som den Saramago gjorde. Men å foreta denne reisen i sofakroken der hjemme, er heller ingen dårlig idé.”
Nøste Kendzior, Kulturnytt, NRK P2Mildt, kjærlig, kjent og ustoppelig nysgjerrig tar Portugals store romanforfatter leseren med på en reise utenom brosjyrene. Han presser sin gamle bil opp bakketopper til gåtefulle klostre og halvt nedraste borger, han finner kirketjeneren og får låst opp knirkende dører til ikke-berømte kirker.Reisen begynner i Spania, og han krysser grensen i nordøst, ved elven Duero , sound straks skifter navn til Duoro. Det han ser gir ham et puslespill med utallige brikker, som til sammen skaper et myldrende bilde av Portugals geografi, historie og kultur, med minner om romere og maurere, almene og spesielle stilarter gjennom århundrer, om bosetning og håndverk, skikker hos lk og blant kystens fiskere.Utenfor Lisboa overveldes han nok en gang av Mafra, det huge klosteret som er dreiepunktet i gjennombruddsromanen Klosterkrønike. Reisen ender ved Algarve-kysten, der turismen har satt sitt juglete preg på bebyggelse og språk (praia er blitt beach og småsjappene heter shop og boutique), men han lar ergrelsen svales ved å dra opp til Silves ruvende borg lenger inn i landet, der islam og kristendom møtes i ruiner av rød og gyllen stein. og humørfylt vandringsmann.»
Karsten Alnæs, Dagbladet”Her er passasjer som vil få hjertet ditta til å stoppe.”
The New York Times Book Review

“Det optimale burde jo være å ta denne boka med mon på en likedan biltur som den Saramago gjorde. Men å foreta denne reisen i sofakroken der hjemme, er heller ingen dårlig idé.”
Nøste Kendzior, Kulturnytt, NRK P2Mildt, kjærlig, kjent og ustoppelig nysgjerrig tar Portugals store romanforfatter leseren med på en reise utenom brosjyrene. Han presser sin gamle bil opp bakketopper til gåtefulle klostre og halvt nedraste borger, han finner kirketjeneren og får låst opp knirkende dører til ikke-berømte kirker.Reisen begynner i Spania, og han krysser grensen i nordøst, ved elven Duero , sound straks skifter navn til Duoro. Det han ser gir ham et puslespill med utallige brikker, som til sammen skaper et myldrende bilde av Portugals geografi, historie og kultur, med minner om romere og maurere, almene og spesielle stilarter gjennom århundrer, om bosetning og håndverk, skikker hos lk og blant kystens fiskere.Utenfor Lisboa overveldes han nok en gang av Mafra, det huge klosteret som er dreiepunktet i gjennombruddsromanen Klosterkrønike. Reisen ender ved Algarve-kysten, der turismen har satt sitt juglete preg på bebyggelse og språk (praia er blitt beach og småsjappene heter shop og boutique), men han lar ergrelsen svales ved å dra opp til Silves ruvende borg lenger inn i landet, der islam og kristendom møtes i ruiner av rød og gyllen stein. og humørfylt vandringsmann.»
Karsten Alnæs, Dagbladet”Her er passasjer som vil få hjertet ditta til å stoppe.”
The New York Times Book Review

Harvill

2000, 2002 (Trans.: Amanda Hopkinson) (not illustrated)

Harvill

2000, 2002 (Trans.: Amanda Hopkinson) (not illustrated)

Dobitnik Nobelove nagrade!Nezaboravno putovanje kroz predele, istoriju i kulturu Portugalije.

Putovanje nikada nema kraj. Samo putnici imaju kraj. A čak i oni mogu produžiti putovanje u sećanju, u pamćenju, u pripovedanju. Kada je putnik seo na pensak plaže i rekao: „Nema više šta da se vidi“, znao je da nije tako. Kraj jednog putovanja tek je početak drugog. Treba videti ono što niste prvi put videli, videti ponovo ono što ste već videli, videti u proleće ono što ste videli leti, videti noću ono što ste videli danju, biti na suncu where gde je ranije pala kiša, videti useve kako bujaju, zreo plod, pomeren kamen, senku koja ne beše tamo prethodni put. Potrebno je vratiti se starim stopama da bismo ih ponovili, i da bismo ucrtali nove puteve pored njih. Potrebno je ponovo započeti putovanje. Uvek.

Ova knjiga nije običan turistički vodič ili bedeker koji se nosi pod rukom, nego mnogo više od toga. Na svom putovanju kroz Portugaliju, njene skrivene kutke i viševekovnu kulturu, Žoze Saramago je išao tamo gde se uvek ide, ali i tamo kuda se ne ide gotovo nikada. Putnik ističe da nije tu kako bi davao savete, premda svojih opservacija ima napretek. Istina je, istovremeno, da će čitalac ovde naći mnogo odabranih i istančanih opisa portugalskih krajolika, ljudi, umetničke baštine i istorije ove zemlje, što je istovremeno unutrašnje putovanje ovog velikog blink kroz sopstveni doživljaj vine svojih predaka i savremenika.

Jedinstveno izdanje u svetu koje, umesto predgovorom, započinje putopisnim zapisom iz Portugalije našeg nobelovca Ive Andrića.

„Putovanje kroz Portugaliju je oda zemlji i njenoj bogatoj tradiciji. Samo Portugalac može da napiše ovakvu knjigu, samo Saramago može da iznedri ovakav stil. Ova knjiga je odavanje počasti zadivljujućem predelu gde se završava more a počinje zemlja.“ Henri Šin, New Statesman

Tek bir arzusu var, son derece meşru ve insani, o da başkalarının gözünün değdiğine bakmak, başkalarının adımlarından kalan izlere basmak.”

José Saramago, 1979 güzünde tek başına, tam altı ay sürecek uzun bir yolculuğa çıkar. Sadece karşılaşmakla yetinen turistin aksine keşfetmeyi amaçlayan bir “gezgin” profiliyle, diktatörlük rejiminin izlerini üzerinden atmaya çalışan çok sevdiği ülkesini karış karış gezer. Sonradan bir kitaba dönüşecek bu notlarında ise yaşadıklarını yine kendine has üslubuyla hikâyeleştirirken, aynı zamanda sanattan mimariye derin bilgi ve görgü birikimiyle Portekiz kültürüne, tarihine ve halkına dair oylumlu bir belge or taya koyar.