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alebuu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jess_mango's review against another edition
3.0
This is somewhere around 3.5 stars. Saramago is one of my favorite authors but this isn't one of my favorite books by him. Once again, this novel features a lead character who is a bit of a fade-into-the-background, sad sack, everyman who finds himself in a unique situation. I just didn't find this book's unique situation quite as compelling as some of those in Saramago's other works.
robertlashley's review against another edition
5.0
I first thought the style got in the way of the book. Saramago is often associated with the boom writers, and you can glaringly see it in the writers he's channeling with the maximalist-beyond-all convention prose. In the 2 to 3 page sentences, one can hear much-more-than-faint-echoes of Faulkner's The Bear, and Garcia Marquez's The General And His Labyrinth. What perturbed me is how form met function in the aforementioned two novels, and-upon my first reading of it- did't seem to to meet function in Lisbon. The Bear had the the tension of Lucas's symbol laden hunt for the animal and the kinetic outburst of moral decay from General Compson. In Labyrinth Garcia Marquez had created his own general Compson, an ur dictator-and the prose from start to finish encapsulated the claustrophobic violence that could create such a tyrant, and does so in nuanced and complicate ways.
My first impression was that the tense yet grandiose style didn't work here. The story- of a historian who changes a sentence of a pre-eminent part in Portuguese history, almost loses his job gets' supported by a new boss who he falls in love with-and proceeds to go all crazy in writing a new history-is rich and dynamic in it's own right, and the El0000n-gaaaaaaa-teeeeed sentences brought too much attention to themselves.
What changed my mind in re-reading was the Protagonists view of history. Upon rewriting the Siege Of Lisbon, Raimundo Silva sees and analyzes history and sees it not as a triumph but as a bloodbath, a showcase of un-relenting cruelties and it shakes his mindset set to the core. In that sense, Silva is Saramago's own Lucas Mccaslin, the protagonist of the Bear( and Go Down Moses, where the story was published in), a human being who has a slow, nuanced, and complex climb to reason and kinship with his fellow human beings.There is also how he weaves that narrative into his relationship with his editor, Maria Bello, and the complex push and pull they have. Not only does she both champion and challenge him in complex ways, she establishes her own boundaries when he gets all conventionally gushy about their love affair( which Silva-in response-is cool with).
A great, complex novel that is worth it.
My first impression was that the tense yet grandiose style didn't work here. The story- of a historian who changes a sentence of a pre-eminent part in Portuguese history, almost loses his job gets' supported by a new boss who he falls in love with-and proceeds to go all crazy in writing a new history-is rich and dynamic in it's own right, and the El0000n-gaaaaaaa-teeeeed sentences brought too much attention to themselves.
What changed my mind in re-reading was the Protagonists view of history. Upon rewriting the Siege Of Lisbon, Raimundo Silva sees and analyzes history and sees it not as a triumph but as a bloodbath, a showcase of un-relenting cruelties and it shakes his mindset set to the core. In that sense, Silva is Saramago's own Lucas Mccaslin, the protagonist of the Bear( and Go Down Moses, where the story was published in), a human being who has a slow, nuanced, and complex climb to reason and kinship with his fellow human beings.There is also how he weaves that narrative into his relationship with his editor, Maria Bello, and the complex push and pull they have. Not only does she both champion and challenge him in complex ways, she establishes her own boundaries when he gets all conventionally gushy about their love affair( which Silva-in response-is cool with).
A great, complex novel that is worth it.
anagorgulho's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Não desassossegou.
uhambe_nami's review against another edition
5.0
Did the crusaders help the Portuguese to take Lisbon back from the Moors, or did they not help them? A little word makes all the difference, and when Raimundo Silva adds that little word, on an impulse, to the draft of a book that he is proofreading, he finds himself confronted with the task to rewrite the History of the Siege of Lisbon, which is really the history of how Portugal became Portugal.
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!
uhambe_nami's review against another edition
5.0
Did the crusaders help the Portuguese to take Lisbon back from the Moors, or did they not help them? A little word makes all the difference, and when Raimundo Silva adds that little word, on an impulse, to the draft of a book that he is proofreading, he finds himself confronted with the task to rewrite the History of the Siege of Lisbon, which is really the history of how Portugal became Portugal.
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!
rain_of_tacos's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Great book; the discussion on the possible alternative history was very entertaining, and it was surprisingly immersive and incredibly interesting
mankalita's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ihfdayton's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0