false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179765987m/953394.jpg 2529 19 <I>"A man went to knock at the king's door and said, Give me a boat."</I><p> Even without the "Once upon a time," it's clear from the opening sentence of José Saramago's mischievous and wise <I>The Tale of the Unknown Island</I> that we have entered a somewhat fractured fairy tale. Of course, it could be argued that all of his works are, in some form or another, fairy tales, from the whimsical, revisionist <I>History of the Siege of Lisbon</I> to the darker dystopia of <I> Blindness</I>. Originally published as a short story in Portugal, <I>Unknown Island</I> contains all of the elements Saramago is famous for--dry wit, a seemingly simple plot that works on many levels, and an idiosyncratic use of punctuation, among other things. It begins as a satire concerned with the absurdity of bureaucracy as supplicants arrive at the king's door for petitions while the king himself waits by the door for favors: <blockquote> Since the king spent all his time sitting at the door for favors (favors being offered to the king, you understand), whenever he heard someone knocking at the door for petitions, he would pretend not to hear, and only when the continuous pounding of the bronze doorknocker became not just deafening, but positively scandalous, disturbing the peace of the neighborhood (people would start muttering, What kind of king is he if he won't even answer the door), only then would he order the first secretary to go and find out what the supplicant wanted, since there seemed no way of silencing him. </blockquote> On this particular occasion, the man at the door asks for a boat so that he can search for an unknown island. When the king assures him that all the islands have already been discovered, he refuses to believe it, explaining that one <I>must</I> exist "simply because there can't possibly not be an unknown island." A palace cleaning woman overhears the conversation, and when the king finally grants his supplicant a boat, she leaves the royal residence via the door of decisions and follows the would-be explorer. Saramago then moves from satire to allegory as his two dreamers prepare for their voyage of discovery--and nearly miss the forest for the trees. <I>The Tale of the Unknown Island</I> packs more charm and meaning into 50 tiny pages than most novels accomplish at five times the length. Readers already familiar with the Nobel Prize-winning Saramago will find everything they love about his longer works economically sized; for those who have not yet experienced the pleasures of his remarkable imagination, <I>Unknown Island</I> provides a charming introduction. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 520855 book 1999 The Tale of the Unknown Island total:556|5:187|4:184|3:138|2:39|1:8| 556 2171 828 55 2529 0156013037 9780156013031 435 43 3.90 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054078m/2529.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2529.The_Tale_of_the_Unknown_Island 4 0 true Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 29 14:35:35 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 14:37:27 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 2529 0156013037 9780156013031 435 43 3.90 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054078m/2529.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2529.The_Tale_of_the_Unknown_Island 4 0 false Sun Jul 12 22:14:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 09:21:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2529 0156013037 9780156013031 435 43 3.90 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054078m/2529.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2529.The_Tale_of_the_Unknown_Island 5 0 false Sun Jan 25 05:08:30 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 05:08:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2529 0156013037 9780156013031 435 43 3.90 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054078m/2529.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2529.The_Tale_of_the_Unknown_Island 5 0 false Thu Feb 26 04:25:56 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 04:26:57 -0800 2009 2529 0156013037 9780156013031 435 43 3.90 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054078m/2529.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2529.The_Tale_of_the_Unknown_Island 4 0 false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 05:40:45 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 05:43:23 -0800 2009 a.) the point of "it all"
b.) planning vs. accident
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"Liking is probably the best form of ownership, and ownership the worst form of liking" -25

"There is no law... that going in search of an unknown island must necessarily be a warlike enterprise." -29]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=953394