The History of the Siege of Lisbon
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The History of the Siege of Lisbon (Portuguese: História do Cerco de Lisboa) is a novel by Portuguese author José Saramago, first published in 1989. It tells the story of a proofreader and the story of the Siege of Lisbon as it both is and is not told in the book he is charged with correcting. It discusses many themes including language, history and historiography, and war in the medieval world.
[edit] Synopsis
Raimundo Silva, assigned to correct "The History of Siege of Lisbon" by his publishing house, decides to alter the meaning of a crucial sentence by inserting the word "not" in the text, so that the book now claims that the Crusaders did not come to the aid of the Portuguese king in taking Lisbon from the Moors. This has repercussions both for himself and for the historical profession. The second plot is Saramago's simultaneous recounting of the siege in the style of an historical romance, where Saramago can display his talent for description of the Medieval world of Islam and Christianity in all its facets.
[edit] External links
| José Saramago |
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| Terra do Pecado • Os Poemas Possíveis • Provavelmente Alegria • Deste Mundo e do Outro • A Bagagem do Viajante • As Opiniões que o DL teve • O Ano de 1993 • Os Apontamentos • Manual de Pintura e Caligrafia • Objecto Quase • Viagem a Portugal • Baltasar and Blimunda • The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis • The Stone Raft • The History of the Siege of Lisbon • The Gospel According to Jesus Christ • Blindness • All the Names • The Tale of the Unknown Island • The Cave • The Double • Seeing • Don Giovanni ou o Dissoluto Absolvido • As Intermitências da Morte •As Pequenas Memórias |
