Synopsis
In eighteenth-century Portugal, fifty thousand laborers carry stones on their backs across mountains to build the king's convent, a heretical priest devises a magic flying machine--the Passarola--and two lovers' dream of flight sets them apart
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Reviews
Saramago has blended fact and fiction in much the same way as Marquez and others use magical realism, to create an elegantly written, surrealistic reflection on life in 18th century Portugal. It is a time of astonishing excessautos-da-fe, the Inquisition, an outbreak of the plague, colonialismand the two central characters, Baltasar, a soldier just home from the wars, and Blimunda, a clairvoyant who can actually see inside people, are enlisted by the renegade priest, Bartolomeu Lourenco de Gusmao, to help him construct a flying machine. (A mad genius, Bartolomeu actually existed and is now considered a pioneer of aviation.) The machine does fly, but with disastrous consequences for all involved. This is a dark, philosophical tale that shows off the talents of Portugal's premier contemporary writer.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Saramago's epic novel is set in 18th-century Portugal, a kingdom bloated with plundered wealth and top-heavy with churches and priests. Real events (the erection of an enormous convent in the tiny village of Mafra) and real personages (an heretical priest bent on building a flying machine) figure prominently. But the maimed soldier and his visionary lover named in the title are bit players, for the real protagonist here is Portugal itself in travail. Distanced and ironic, Saramago's novel might well have been written to illustrate Walpole's dictum that "the world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel." Recommended for collections emphasizing modern continental fiction. Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda
Published by
Harcourt Trade Publishers, 1987
ISBN 10: 0151105553
ISBN 13: 9780151105557
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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Baltasar and Blimunda (English and Portuguese Edition)
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hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Black remainder mark on bottom page edges. Laid in is the obituary notice of the author Unread. No markings in book. Binding is fine. DJ, in mylar, is fine. 336pp. Seller Inventory # mon0000032621
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Baltasar and Blimunda
Seller: Southampton Books, Sag Harbor, NY, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Like New. First Edition. First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Harcourt, 1987. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is like new. Dust jacket is like new with light shelf wear.100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York. Seller Inventory # 363517