Genre Fiction
![Jose Saramago - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000APB7VQ.jpg)
Baltasar and Blimunda
From José Saramago, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Baltasar and Blimunda is a "brilliant...enchanting novel" (The 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.
Editorial Reviews
"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
"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
Readers Top Reviews
Ronnie TylerJ C E Hi
Absolutely loved this book. Saramago’s style of writing is always beautiful, and here he tells a story of two characters deeply in love, during early 1700’s. Wonderful descriptions, humor and pathos together, I didn’t want the book to end. Super novel.
MMH
Saramago uses his beautiful prose and magical language to weave a story of love and history that entertains and informs the reader about life in 18th Century Portugal.
Barbara Meas
Took a side trip to Mafra, the Portuguese town just north of Lisbon which is the setting of this book's main endeavor, the building of a grand and huge palace by King Jao in the 17th century. The title characters are the hapless, but resourceful victims of a clueless king who blows through all the wealth brought into his kingdom from Portuguese exploration to satisfy his ego. The lack of punctuation is a challenge but one I was rewarded for taking on by my enjoyment of the wit and humor and sardonic observations of this prizewinning author. Some what fantastical the tale includes flying machines, snippers of the Inquisition and clairvoyance. For me the book offered the opportunity to acquire a frame of reference as a one week tourist in Portugal and to discover a wonderful writer whom I otherwise would not have sought-after .
Kindle
I enjoyed this book, but I cannot pretend to know whet was going on, especially at the end. It seems to be a love story wrapped in a historical series of events wrapped in magical realism and finally wrapped in a religious environment made of one part allegory and two parts sarcasm.
Libbey StantonAimee
What a difference a paperback can make in the editting. To get this wonderful book in fewer pages they eliminated the paragraphing and some of the punctuation. It reads poorly. The original translator, who did the hardback so well, had died by the time they came out with a paperback, and he would be rolling in his grave to see how they butchered his careful editting and phrasing.
