Baltasar and Blimunda (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Saramago, Jose

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156005204 ISBN 13: 9780156005203

Publisher: Mariner Books, 1998

Synopsis

From the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, a "brilliant...enchanting novel" (New York Times Book Review) of romance, deceit, religion, and magic set in eighteenth-century Portugal at the height of the Inquisition. Portugal, 1711: an amorous friar is pursued naked through the rubble-strewn streets of Lisbon; an enthusiastic procession of flagellants roars with pleasure over the damnation of adultery; a royal prince uses hapless sailors for target practice; and women dressed in colorful finery watch as lapsed converts and sorcerers are put to death by flames. In the midst of the terrors of the Inquisition and the plague, a seemingly mismatched couple discover the wonders of love. This poetic tale, graced with exquisite historical details and full of magic and adventure, is a tapestry of human folly and human will.

About this title

Review:

"A romance and an adventure, a rumination on royalty and religion in eighteenth century Portugal and a bitterly ironic comment on the uses of power."--New York Times

"A charming and really moving love story... An unexpected gem."--USA Today

"An enchanting novel [with a] love story which soars over the rest of the action like a flute above a heavy orchestra."--New York Times Book Review

Book Description:

An intense and surreal romance set against the politics of eighteenth-century Lisbon from Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0156005204
• ISBN 13: 9780156005203
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 354