Synopsis

From the misty mountains of the north to the southern seascape of the Algarve, the travels of Nobel laureate Jose Saramago are a passionate rediscovery of his own land as it hovers on the edge of the modern world. He is no typical guide - he avoids the "sight" in favour of a remote Romanesque church, a cobweb-ridden chapel, the local and the domestic - but, with his deep fount of memory and erudite knowledge, each encounter evoking the spam of Portugal's history, he is anyone's idea of a delightful travelling companion.

What the Critics Say

"None but a Portuguese could have written this book; none but Saramago could produce travel writing like this. It is a wholly appropriate tribute to that astonishing juncture where the sea ends and the land begins" -Henry Sheen, New Statesman

"A book that...is a search for his country's heartbeat... The writing is, as always with Saramago, dense: a labyrinth of meaning and innuendo. But what is clear in that he loves Portugal" -Simon Blow, Independent on Sunday

"One feels privileged to be in his company ... This book is a joy to pick up and a delight to read" -Hugh O'Shaughnessy, Tablet