[.ca] The History of the Siege of Lisbon (ISBN 0156006243)

From Amazon.com:
"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.

One Word Can Make All the Difference:
I've read everything Jose Saramago has published and, although BALTASAR AND BLIMUNDA remains my all time favorite, I simply couldn't choose a second favorite from among Saramago's books; I love them all. THE HISTORY OF THE SIEGE OF LISBON is another masterpiece from Saramago. It centers around a shy, mild mannered proofreader, Raimundo Silva, who, one day, does something quite out of character for a very shy, mild mannered man. Assigned to correct proofs of a history of Portugal, Silva decides to change Portugal's history with one word and one stroke of his proofreader's pen, simply by inserting the word "not" into the text. His superiors do find his act of folly, but the ramification aren't as severe as one might expect and Silva is given another chance, and, more importantly, another boss. His new boss, Maria Sara, is fascinated by Silva's creativity and, surprisingly, she encourages rather than discourages, it. I think it would be unfair to tell you whether Silva continues to "alter" the history of the siege of Lisbon, but he is fascinated with Maria Sara's suggestion and with Maria Sara, herself. At this point in the book, the narrative expands to encompass, not only the modern day, but the twelfth century, Silva's obsession with Maria Sara and a pair of twelfth century lovers, Mogueime and Ouroana. Saramago's transitions are, of course, beautifully and seamlessly written. I know many people who believe Saramago's writing is difficult to read and demands much from the reader. I'm just the opposite. Saramago is such a great writer and his prose is so fluid, that it simply pulls the reader into the narrative and reading a book by Saramago is effortless rather than difficult, the hallmark of truly superior writing. I think THE HISTORY OF THE SIEGE OF LISBON is a "lighter," more playful book than some of Saramago's others, especially when he is writing about the budding romance between Raimundo Silva and Maria Sara. Saramago also takes the opportunity to poke a little fun at himself, something I really enjoyed. THE HISTORY OF THE SIEGE OF LISBON should be a better known and more widely read book, as it is definitely a masterpiece. It is, sadly, greatly overshadowed by BLINDNESS, which of course is also a masterpiece, simply because BLINDNESS is more universal in theme than is THE HISTORY OF THE SIEGE OF LISBON. Still, if you like Saramago, give this book a try. I don't see any way you can go wrong.

telling stories to impress:
After reading two Saramagos novels (Balthasar and Blimunda, Blindness), this one is quit down to earth. It has two main strands, one being essay on (re)writing the history, and the other is about two love stories. As for the former we are not reading some dry philosophical musing, but one concrete 'example': the siege of Lisbon in the AD 1147. We can find some fine points (which are not stated explicitely by Saramago): main sources are 'professional' christians (monks, friars, bishops) and in this particular case winners (losers are Moors), so their bias must be taken into account for example how can you trust the author who wrote down the miracles of the dead knight (here soem apologies might be in order, but that is not in the spirit of Saramago). So Raimundo Silva who worked as proofreader for just issued 'official' version of The History of the Siege of Lisbon, starts to write alternative version of The History of the Siege of Lisbon - from more or less from the same sources but with different accents and with some artistic liberty. And where did impetus for this rewriting come from? From the Maria Sara, his new boss. It may be speculated, he writes new history to impress here and yes they fall in love. And they are mirrored in the year 1147 with Mogueime - a foot soldier - and Ouroana - kidnapped girl who serves as concubine to before mentioned miracle-doing knight. Their story is depicted zen like; they have just two lines - he: What is your name? .. I'm Mogueime. she: My name is Ouroana. Of course Saramago tells this much more beautiful and not only once.

Prose of a lover; not an academic:
A man no longer needs a woman. He has his work. And he has the prostitutes downtown. He is too old. He is too conservative. He is content to live his life through the books he proofreads. In a process of professional malpractice he alters history and encounters a love he never expected. In 'The History of the Seige of Lisbon,' Saramago has created an epic love story. Where many love stories stumble over cliches of plot and word, 'The History' is about the emotions, confusions, and distractions of new love: the angst of imagining our objet with another, the pain of waiting for the phone to ring, and the primal need to distract ourselves from obsessing on our own vices and virtues. Conventional prose fails to capture these emotions. Saramago give us something else. Saramago reveals the intimacy of all our relationships --with others, with places, and with history. His description of Lisbon isn't that of a travel guide but of an intimate. His retelling of the crusader's seige of Lisbon shows the patience and care of a father rather than the reserved impartiality of an academic. Not since Mordecai Richler's 'Barney's Version' have I read such a brilliant story that reveals a love for person, place, and time.

Once you get past the style...:
If you can handle a reworking of the concept of 'punctuation' as we know it, Saramago's History of the Siege of Lisbon is well worth reading. It's not easy, by any stretch of the imagination: dialogue becomes a single block of text, single paragraphs go on for pages with no breaks and often without a period, and the whole concept of 'run-on sentence' is mostly ignored. But it adds an incredible flow to this book. Based on a fairly simple premise--adding a single word to a history to change the entire course of the story--the book rises above plot, due in large part to the aforementioned style. Once you get used to it, the dialogue feels completely natural, not forced at all, and the sub-story of love between the proofreader and his editor falls into place perfectly. The characters are well developed to a fault, and by the end of the novel, you feel like you know them on a personal basis. And it's got a two-page discussion of the beauty of toast. How can you not be fascinated? ("...it is so perfect and crunchy golden brown that one thinks one could go without the butter entirely, but you'd be a fool, only a fool would forego the butter...") Overall, it took me a solid two weeks to finish this book, but it was worth my time: I completely understand why Saramago won the Nobel Prize.

Mature story of love:
Raimundo Silva, 50+,is a proofreader living alone in the oldest part of Lisbon. The publishing house he works for has trusted his corrections to many of their texts for years, yet one day on impulse he decides to alter a book, "The History of the Siege of Lisbon", by inserting a word of his own. Where the author writes that the crusaders on their way to the Holy Land stayed to help the Portugese conquer the city of Lisbon and drive out the Muslims, Raimundo inserts the word "not" saying the crusaders did not help the Portugese changing the whole meaning of what the author had written. His employers are embarrassed when the book makes it to publication and Raimundo is reprimanded, made to write a letter of apology and told he'll be reporting to a new boss, a woman, responsible for checking all his corrections. His new boss and lover to be, Maria Sara convinces him to re-write the history of Lisbon with the word "not", and as he reimagines the siege of Lisbon, he reimagines his own life and falls in love for the first time. Slow moving, philosophical, this is a romantic & sensual love story, especially for mature readers as well as being great historical fiction. This book was my introduction to Portugese history some years ago. Saramago's style is challenging as usual, single paragraphs that go on for 2 pages, sentences that meander for half a page, whole conversations in a single sentence. Personally I find his way of writing fluid and beautiful, like being right inside the character's head flowing along with his thoughts. He certainly deserved to win the Nobel Prize for literature.