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This title in other formats:

The Stone Raft

by Jose Saramago

The Stone Raft Cover

ISBN13: 9780156004015
ISBN10: 0156004011
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Staff Pick

Called "the most gifted novelist alive in the world today" by critic Harold Bloom, Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. This, the most fantastical of all his novels, is the lyrical and richly imagined tale of five strangers (and a dog that doesn't bark) whose fates become intertwined whence the Iberian Peninsula breaks off from the European continent and begins to sail forth into the Atlantic Ocean. Deeply allegorical, Saramago's vivid prose and unique style (he omits quotation marks and employs periods very sparingly) collide to form this moving story full of humor, wit, philosophy and parable. The Stone Raft is a brilliant book, its success coming as much from Saramago's love of language as his capacity to tell an absolutely riveting tale.
Recommended by Jeremy, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

When the Iberian Peninsula breaks free of Europe and begins to drift across the North Atlantic, five people are drawn together on the newly formed island-first by surreal events and then by love. “A splendidly imagined epic voyage...a fabulous fable” (Kirkus Reviews). Translated by Giovanni Pontiero.

Synopsis:

One day, quite inexplicably, the Iberian Peninsula simply breaks away from France and the rest of the continent and begins to drift as if it were a sort of stone raft. Pandemonium sets in; tourists panic; crowds gather on Spanish cliffs to watch as the newly formed island sails by. Meanwhile five people on the island are drawn together, first by a string of surreal events and then by love. As the bewildered government ponders what to do about the disaster, the intertwined lives of the five strangers are clarified and forever changed by their geographical, spiritual, and sexual voyage to an unknown destination.

Synopsis:

Joana Carda scratches the ground with an elm branch and the mute dogs of Cerbere begin to bark, portending doom. The earth cracks open and the Iberian peninsula separates from Europe and floats off into the Atlantic. The people flee the coastal areas in a mass exodus, to wander, disoriented, across the floating, spinning island's interior. Among them are a group of strangers who wind up in the home of Maria Guavaira: Joaquim Sassa, who threw a stone into the sea and then found himself in Maria's bed; Joana Carda, who cut the earth in two; Jose Anaico, the king of the starlings; Pedro Orce, who can make the earth tremble with his feet; and a dog with no name and every name. At once an epic adventure and a timely political fable about the vicissitudes of the European Community, The Stone Raft is a narrative tour de force.

About the Author

José Saramago was born in Portugal in 1922. He is the author of six novels, including Baltasar and Blimunda and The History of the Siege of Lisbon, Blindness, and All The Names. His backlist is available in Harvest editions.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780156004015
Author:
Saramago, Jose
Publisher:
Harvest Books
Translator:
Pontiero, Giovanni
Author:
Pontiero, Giovanni
Location:
San Diego :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Continental european fiction (fictional works
Subject:
Fantastic fiction
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Subject:
Portuguese fiction
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
General Fiction
Copyright:
Edition Number:
1st Harvest ed.
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
June 1996
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
300
Dimensions:
7.97x5.34x.73 in. .62 lbs.

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