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3rd out of 128 books
—
18 voters
Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture
When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal some twenty years ago, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books 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 that he loves dearly, this travelogue brings Portugal to life as only a writer of Sarama...more
Paperback, 452 pages
Published
March 6th 2002
by Mariner Books
(first published 1990)
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Saramago's gift for turning anything into a story shines through in this travelogue which even manages to make Portugal seem worth a visit. He has a way of nosing out the interesting: a town with an ancient statue of a pig on a column, for example. The man himself feels like a disagreeable travel comanion. He focuses largely on churches and castles, appears to shun companionship and the new - while remaining aloof and treating his surroundings with a slight air of pomposity.
Having written that,...more
Having written that,...more
I did not like this. This not as a travel guide, which was stated at the outset by Jose Saramago, and I read it with this in mind. However, I was disappointed. Whether this was due to the "lost in translation" from Portuguese to English, or the style, or both, I'm not sure. The third person use of "the traveller" through the book fell flat with me, and took out the personal touch that I thought I was going to be reading. The other major put-off was the soliloquy to the fishes when the author cro...more
"Prenda il lettore, le pagine che seguono come sfida e invito. Faccia il proprio viaggio secondo un proprio progetto, presti minimo ascolto alla facilit�� degli itinerari comodi e frequentati, accetti di sbagliare strada e di tornare indietro, o, al contrario preservi fino ad inventare inusuali vie di uscita verso il mondo."
"Non �� vero . Il viaggio non finisce mai. Solo i viaggiatori finiscono......La fine di un viaggio �� solo l'inzio di un altro.....Bisogna ricominciare il viaggio. Sempre"
Pri
“The journey is never over. Only travellers come to an end.”
Saramago ends this wonderful book on a note which is most most appropriate in the hands of a master storyteller. One really ‘feels priviledged’ in the company of a sensitive writer; sensitive to the place he belongs to, a place which is effortlessly shown to us to be more than just a place.
I had started Journey to Portugal a few months ago and I knew right away that it is just the way with this book. I literally savoured the description...more
Saramago ends this wonderful book on a note which is most most appropriate in the hands of a master storyteller. One really ‘feels priviledged’ in the company of a sensitive writer; sensitive to the place he belongs to, a place which is effortlessly shown to us to be more than just a place.
I had started Journey to Portugal a few months ago and I knew right away that it is just the way with this book. I literally savoured the description...more
“When the traveler awoke the day had scarcely dawn, and he observed that it was not only the river’s murmur which had disturbed him…”
This is a book for any traveler, but more important for the people that have some sort of sentimental attachment to Portugal, for the one that has traveled it, for the one that knows it, or for the one that want to know it. Down the Rio Douro, where the border with Spain is, the road trip begins. Saramago refers to himself as the traveler throughout the entire boo...more
This is a book for any traveler, but more important for the people that have some sort of sentimental attachment to Portugal, for the one that has traveled it, for the one that knows it, or for the one that want to know it. Down the Rio Douro, where the border with Spain is, the road trip begins. Saramago refers to himself as the traveler throughout the entire boo...more
I think this book would have been better served to me after going to Portugal. But it is a comprehensive road trip across the country, looking at the churches and some of the people who find themselves living in their small town, either affected or unaffected by the religious and folkloric artifacts around them. Very thorough - perhaps too much so for the casual reader about this Iberian nation. But I'll take anything Saramago serves.
Apr 24, 2013
Angel Serrano
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
821-134-3-3-literatura-en-lengua-po
El autor recorre Portugal de Norte a Sur y de Este a Oeste visitando gran parte de los monumentos religiosos y artísticos del camino. Especial predilección tiene por las iglesias y los museos. Se echa de menos una línea argumental sólida y más interacción con la gente, comida, costumbres...
I am about a quarter of the way through right now ( 17 Agosto '10 ). Savoring every sentence as I wish to explore Portugal someday on a leisurely tour. Since I check books out from the public library system, I am going to have to return this tome. I am concurrently reading José Saramago's Stone Raft. This too , from the library system. I can see that both books I must purchase as I do not want to rush through them or feel the tick of the due date clock ticking. His writing style really excites m...more
Letto mentre viaggiavo dal nord al sud del Portogallo, è quasi una guida turistica che racconta l'anima di quel Paese. Emozionante scoprire i luoghi che fanno da cornice alle storie (di lotta, di miserie e di grandezza umana) raccontate nel libro.
Aug 03, 2011
Pamala Hansford
added it
The prose is beautiful, but a little heavy going for me at the moment. So I read about the places I knew and then sent it back to the library. Try again later!
Fue muy aburrido.
Sufrí demasiado, Creo que ya he tenido suficiente de Saramago para toda mi vida, no es una guía de viaje, es, mejor dicho, la descripción de un viaje a Portugal por alguien obsesionado con la descripción que además abusa de las referencias.
No obstante, a pesar de ser excesivamente descriptivo de las situaciones usa sólo 6 o 7 palabras para describir los objetos que sí podrían ser importantes, las palabras se repiten muchísimo:
Jónico
Visigodo
Quinientisa
Setecentista
Octocentista
Manu...more
Sufrí demasiado, Creo que ya he tenido suficiente de Saramago para toda mi vida, no es una guía de viaje, es, mejor dicho, la descripción de un viaje a Portugal por alguien obsesionado con la descripción que además abusa de las referencias.
No obstante, a pesar de ser excesivamente descriptivo de las situaciones usa sólo 6 o 7 palabras para describir los objetos que sí podrían ser importantes, las palabras se repiten muchísimo:
Jónico
Visigodo
Quinientisa
Setecentista
Octocentista
Manu...more
Giving up on this one,at least for now. I'm bored out of my mind. Sorry, Saramago, but this is your first fail.
Jan 07, 2012
Donna Desroches
is currently reading it
Delving into this book brings back wonderful memories of my travels with good friends.
Este livro faz-me ainda mais orgulhoso de ser portugues!
I have tried to read this book twice, both times never making it past 30 pages or so.
I lived in Portugal for a little more than a year and a half, from 1998 to mid 1999. I love Portugal and the Portuguese, and was excited to read this book both times I tried. Maybe it is the narrative voice he uses. He speaks of himself in the unfamiliar third person.
Perhaps I will pick up the book in Portuguese and try it one more time. With how rusty my Portuguese is, I'm not optimistic of the results.
I lived in Portugal for a little more than a year and a half, from 1998 to mid 1999. I love Portugal and the Portuguese, and was excited to read this book both times I tried. Maybe it is the narrative voice he uses. He speaks of himself in the unfamiliar third person.
Perhaps I will pick up the book in Portuguese and try it one more time. With how rusty my Portuguese is, I'm not optimistic of the results.
BOOM GO PORTUGAL ;)
long
this could be the most quirky travel book you will ever read. if you stick with it you will get in to his rhythm. the rhythm of a grumpy genius old man motoring around Portugal's back roads. if you get stuck behind him in a car it could take DAYS to pass him. If you talk to him in a bar or the cloister of a monastery if could change your life.
oh man is this book ever translated. badly. and badly edited. perhaps the worst edited book i've ever read, typo-wise. there's something slightly charming about the author's voice, nevertheless, and a few gems squealch their way through. a church-and-museum tour of portugal led by your grandpa is basically how i'd describe this book.
I read this for two reasons: I love Saramago and I wanted to learn more about Portugal.
Both goals were met and exceeded. Saramago's humanity, sense of humor/irony, and understanding of the human spirit are in every page, every line - you just want to read slower to relish his writing.
Portugal...can't wait to go!
Both goals were met and exceeded. Saramago's humanity, sense of humor/irony, and understanding of the human spirit are in every page, every line - you just want to read slower to relish his writing.
Portugal...can't wait to go!
I sure am learning a lot about Portugal, especially manueline architecture. As they say on the back jacket, it's the personality that makes the book. Saramago is very strong on nooks. And crannies. He kind of gets tired and impatient towards the end, but then so does the reader, so that works out nicely.
I couldn't finish it. Dear José, I tried to get into "the traveler" form of prose, but it just didn't happen for me. I still think Portugal is wonderful, but your book bored me to tears!
Alas I didn't finish this; although Saramago's affection for his country shines through, the travelogue aspect of it—going from one little town to another—was ultimately rather boring. It is a trip that I would more enjoy taking than reading about.
I have a hard time with third-person recountings, and the continuous references to "the traveler" made it difficult to get more than a chapter or two into this book before allowing it to be shuffled back into the stacks in favor of less labored prose.
Barf. Saramago and nonfiction apparently do not mix. For such an eloquent writer of fiction, I couldn't get past the first chapter of this. Neither could my Portugal-traveling friends. I think I finally gave it away.
è la seconda volta che lo prendo in biblioteca...riuscirò a finirlo prima di tornare in Portogallo??? :)
Ala; otro buen somnífero; para qué voy a hablar
Mar 30, 2012
Nick Jones
marked it as to-read
Diane loves this.
Journey to Portugal is divided into six sections as Saramago covers his native country from north to south by car, apparently alone. The book’s subheading is A Pursuit of Portuguese History and Culture and it does include interesting accounts and anecdotes about history and legends, which is all well and good. My main problem with this book however is the amount of time the author (who refers to himself in the third person “the traveller” throughout) spends visiting and describing churches and o...more
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José de Sousa Saramago (pronounced [ʒuˈzɛ sɐɾɐˈmagu]) is a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, playwright and journalist. He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party.
His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor rather than the officially sanctioned story. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for...more
More about José Saramago...
His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor rather than the officially sanctioned story. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for...more
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