Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

I eventually struggled through to the end of "Journey to Portugal", more as a duty than a pleasure. After the first third, the sameness of the descriptions of churches, buildings and art works became a bit boring.Sarmago certainly writes with insights that would resonate with readers who are familiar with the history, culture and art works of Portugal. I am not, so many of Saramago's allusions and comments on the churches and buildings he saw were opaque to me.Having read (and reviewed) "Seeing", "Blindness" and "The Cave" by Saramago, I was a little disappointed at first with "Journey to Portugal". However, my disappointment was relieved by beautiful passages sprinkled through the text.Saramago was born in Portugal and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. "Journey to Portugal" is nominally a travel book, but of a special kind: it describes spiritual as well as spatial journeys.The book is written in the third person, with Saramago referring to himself throughout as "the traveller".Reflective travellers will understand when Sarmago says "...when the street descends once more to the old cathedral so does the rain; it overflows the gutters and, as one idea follows another, the traveller remembers how the waters of the Minho ran down the hard shoulders beside the street, how small the world is, all its memories jumbled together in the minimal space inside the traveller's head."He also gives beautiful little word pictures of the lives and people he encountered on his journey. These are the real gems in this book, and why it is worth reading.In one especially memorable story ("The Man Who Could Not Forget") Saramago gets into conversation with the waiter at dinner about his travel plans and learns that the waiter was born in Cidadelhe, one of the small, remote villages Saramago plans to visit.Many years ago, when the waiter was a child, his sick young sister died on the way to get medical help, because none was available in their impoverished village. The waiter has never forgotten this family tragedy. His emotions are still raw as he talks to Saramago, who asks the waiter to come with him to the village and show him where he lived.Saramago concludes thus: "The traveller returns to his room. He spreads out his big map on the bed and looks for Pinhel. There it is, and the road which heads off into the hills. At some point in this space a seven-year-old girl died; then the traveller finds Cidadelhe, on the heights, between the Rivers Coa and Massueime, it really is at the ends of the earth, the end of life. If there is no one to remember."The book resonated with me for another reason. To quote Saramago: "The traveller preferred to admire the late afternoon gazing down towards the River Torto . . . . and then spent a long while leaning back against a wall . . . because from behind it there wafted the most exquisite perfume of flowers . . ."Far too often in our travels we are driven onwards by an inexorable schedule that allows little time to stop and actually enjoy moments such as Saramago describes.

This is Jose Saramago's spiritual journey through (primarily rural) Portugal. It's not a light-reading travel narrative. The feeling of this book is something of a cross between Henry Adams and James Michener. It's a book to read slowly and savor, in order to appreciate Saramago's tremendous metaphorical skill. He paints the picture slowly, with deliberate brush-strokes that reveal the masterpiece when viewed from a distance.Yes, his descriptions of churches, winding roads, rain and his seemingly unconscious cultural insecurity (his came from a poor family and was not a university graduate) can become tedious, but that's only if you don't grasp the larger picture: Portugal is a settled land with hundreds of years of historic layers. Saramago wants to peel those layers back for you to expose the core. Only the reader can decide if he's been successful.

A very literary travel guide (as Umberto Eco in Italy or Gabriel Marquez visits Columbia). A bit repetitious about how he had to go look for someone to open a site for him to visit... until I went to Portugal and realized that's the way you have to do it!

This book is a labour of love about Portugal by the country's most respected and laureate contemporary write. Saramago takes us on a journal to the regions and cities, past and present. The writing is a bit dense and this is not a typical history book, more of a free-flow narrative.

Many descriptions which lack any insight, poetry, or emotion. Read 3/4 of the book and didn't have the desire to finish. Use it to prop up a table top, now.

I love travelogues and this one is no exception. I'm planning a trip to Portugal and wanted to read this before going. Saramago is a bit difficult to read at times but his wit and insight bring a warmth to the book that can sometimes be missing. I'm already planning on reading it again.

The author takes you on a journey to all parts of Portugal in an unforgettable way. He mixes observances and facts with dry humor and wit. You'll fall in love with Portugal by reading his book.

What can I say- in this book Nobel Prize-winning Jose Saramago reflects on Portugal as his journey through his beautiful homeland leads him to its heart and soul. It is not a travel log, per se, but as you read it you are drawn to visit the places and follow the trail that he describes.

This book was purchased as a gift.

Hard going overall. If you love churches, you'll like this. If not, this is quite a difficult way to discover Portugal. Beautifully translated into English but I suspect it's better in the original Portuguese.

車に乗って、ポルトガルを北から南へくまなくまわるひとり旅。その旅行記が本書である。ドゥーロ川のせせらぎからファロの岬まで、その場所の過去、現在、伝説、暮らしをこと細かく紹介している。日本の1/4にも満たない国土を４５０ページほどに渡って美しい言葉と決して多くはないが、想像をかきたてるには十分な写真（白黒）で綴っている本書は心の奥に眠っている旅への憧れを呼び起こす良書である。本書の英語は格調高いとはいかないまでも、それなりに文学的な表現が多いため、ちょっとした小説がすらすら読める実力でも辞書に手が伸びる。しかし、辞書片手でもこのすばらしい旅に同行する価値は十分あるように思う。

The traveller aims to tell the story of the people in context to enlighten the reader but did not succeed for me. Too many churches and not enough people.

Prompt delivery, impeccable item.