The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
Language: English
Published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.zenosbooks
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 1997
Condition: Used
£ 28.06
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
San Diego. 1991. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0151997357. Translated from the Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero. 358 pages. hardcover. keywords: Europe Portugal Literature Translated World Literature. DESCRIPTION - The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (in Portuguese: O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis) is a 1984 novel by Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in literature. It tells the story of the final year in the life of the title character, Ricardo Reis, one of the many heteronyms used by the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. In the novel, Ricardo Reis returns to Lisbon from Brazil, upon receiving word of Pessoa's death. While there, he chooses not to resume his practice of medicine, but rather takes up residence in a hotel where he wastes his days reading newspapers and wandering the streets of Lisbon. The novel was translated into English by Giovanni Pontiero in 1991 and won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The novel addresses several powerful literary themes, but most of them indirectly. For instance, Reis reads of the events leading to the Spanish Civil War, and he sees floods of Spanish immigrants arrive in Lisbon seeking refuge, but he himself never expresses strong feelings or even a cogent understanding of the meaning of the conflict. Reis also carries on a lackluster love affair, but even in what seem to be his most intimate relationships, he is continually and voluntarily alienated from society. The most revealing glimpse of Reis is in a series of conversations with the spirit of Fernando Pessoa, over the course of which Reis loses a clear concept of the nature of life and death and the difference between the two. In the novel's final scene, Reis dies by calmly putting on his jacket and following Pessoa to the graveyard. Ultimately, it is a story of one man's attempt to resist any sort of cultural contextualization and reject any place in society whatsoever. This book is also, in some sense, an exercise in meta-literature. Fernando Pessoa created the character of Ricardo Reis fifty years or more before this novel was written, giving him a biography and writing many poems in that name. That Saramago would place the two characters side by side suggests a deliberate blurring of the boundaries between fantasy and reality, a theme common in Saramago's work, and a rejection of traditional limitations on narrative practices. Reis spends much of his time reading a novel called The God of the Labyrinth, a fictional novel mentioned by Jorge Luis Borges and attributed to the title character of his short story A Survey of the Works of Herbert Quain. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis is written in Saramago's distinctive style, in which he uses no punctuation except commas and periods, denoting dialogue and changes of speaker using only capital letters. He uses long, flowing sentences and paragraphs often several pages in length. Saramago also digresses from the story frequently, occasionally even in the first person, remarking philosophically on the significance of images, objects or situations encountered in the story. Saramago's writing technique often has strong magical-realist elements. inventory #9829.…
Seller Inventory # z9829
- Title
- The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
- Author
- Saramago, Jose
- Publisher
- Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Publication year
- 1991
- Condition
- Very Good in Dustjacket
- Dust jacket
- Very Good
- Binding
- hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0151997357
- ISBN 13
- 9780151997350
- Edition
- First Edition.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
"Lovely...a work of fluent and amazing gracefulness" ( Independent)
"A capacious, funny, threatening novel" ( New York Times Review of Books)
"He has created a body of work of luminous power: ironic, intellectually playful, dense and strange" ( Scotsman)
"Shows Saramago to be a novelist of the grandest sort...it is a dramatic work of great philosophical weight, filtered through a refined contemplative intelligence" ( Independent)
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
zenosbooks
San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 1997
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 4.54 | £ 9.08 |
Payment methods
- Paypal
Store description
Zenobooks.com is a secondhand and out-of-print Internet bookstore. While our stock is general, we specialize in Literature, Mysteries, Latin American Literature, African-American interest, and Translated Literature...Zeno's Web Page - www.zenosbooks.com
Specialty
modern 1sts, latin america, mystery, african american studies, translated literature, literature, modern 1sts, latin america, mystery, african american studiesTerms of sale
All books subject to prior sale. Payment via ABE or via PAYPAL or check in U.S. dollars. We generally ship priority mail (1st class) for orders within the USA and charge $6.00 for the first book, $3.00 for each additional book. If you would like your book(s) shipped via Media Rate you must indicate that to us. International orders are shipped U.S. Postal Service Global Priority unless otherwise instructed. All international shipping at cost. Books are returnable for any reason within 10 days of purchase. California residents add 9.5 % sales tax. California dealers please include resale card and number in lieu of tax.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to zenosbooks, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.