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fcsleo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
olhaoqueeujali's review against another edition
4.0
Até agora foi o livro de Saramago que achei mais difícil de ler.
Uma história de miséria, injustiças e desigualdades, mas principalmente de uma luta constante por melhores condições de vida.
Uma história de miséria, injustiças e desigualdades, mas principalmente de uma luta constante por melhores condições de vida.
teachocolateandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I started this book with mixed emotions. Thrilled to have the new Saramago novel, disappointed that there wouldn't be new books. I started reading this three years ago, but I couldn't get into the book so I put the book away and decided to finally start reading in November. I hate this book. The story doesn't really start until page 100. Until that point you are introduced to different characters only to be told how they're going to die, but, it hasn't happened yet, but it will. Okay, now this thing happened and the character I told you died hasn't died yet. Now, after more action the character is dead. Twice this happens. And twice I wanted to throw the book.
Basically, the story concerns the farm workers in the 20th Century in Portugal. If that had been the full story it could have been written in 200 pages. Once the story gets going the narrator goes off on tangents. And then there's the issues with the narrator. First, it's third person omniscient, then it;s a farmer worker, then it's back to third person omniscient, and then there are two!
If you're a fan of Saramago's you'll want to read the book to fully see the arch of his writing. If you're looking for a good book to read go to The History of the Seige of Lisbon, Blindness, Seeing, or the Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
Basically, the story concerns the farm workers in the 20th Century in Portugal. If that had been the full story it could have been written in 200 pages. Once the story gets going the narrator goes off on tangents. And then there's the issues with the narrator. First, it's third person omniscient, then it;s a farmer worker, then it's back to third person omniscient, and then there are two!
If you're a fan of Saramago's you'll want to read the book to fully see the arch of his writing. If you're looking for a good book to read go to The History of the Seige of Lisbon, Blindness, Seeing, or the Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
rita_readsalot's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mariaruiz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kk25's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
inesferreira's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful history in Saramago’s epic way of write!! I had listen those history’s from my grandmother and parents and their experience through the past century!! It was a lovely to remember our history and to value the ones that fight for the country and liberty as we know nowadays!
elenasquareeyes's review against another edition
1.0
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa.
A multigenerational family saga set in twentieth-century Portugal. Raised from the Ground follows the Mau Tempo family, a family of poor landless peasants, as they try and make a life for themselves as national and international events take place around them. But nothing really impinges on their grim reality until the first communist stirrings in the country.
The way Raised from the Ground is written took me a long time to get my head around. It’s like there’s an omniscient and omnipresent narrator, telling the lives of the different members of the family as each generation grows up. This style means there’s no speech marks when people talk and there often are very long sentences with many commas in them. The long sentences aren’t so bad, it’s the paragraphs that are anywhere between a page long and four-pages long that cause problems. It is very easy to get lost in those long paragraphs.
The story itself is not memorable and the characters, of which there are a lot, are not well developed. When the story shifts focus from one character or relationship to the other, it’s hard to remember or keep track of who is related to who. While the first 80 pages or so are engaging, the dreary existence of this peasant family becomes repetitive and dull as there is little chance for them to better themselves. No doubt this is the point of Raised from the Ground, but a novel can’t just make a point, it must also be interesting and unfortunately this one wasn’t.
Raised from the Ground pans around sixty years and the verbose narrator also talks about events that happened before the books beginning multiple times. Across those years different national and international events are referenced (including two World Wars) and the little footnotes that explained a reference to an important event in Portugal was appreciated. Though the way the book is written, focusing so closely on one family’s struggles, meant that the historical context was never fully explained so the impact of these events on the family and their community was never really felt.
I’ve read multigenerational family sagas before and on the whole I rather enjoy them. However, Raised from the Ground is not one of the ones I enjoyed. The combination of the writing style and the story meant I often felt my eyes glazing over. I did like the little titbits of Portuguese history speckled throughout the novel, though there wasn’t enough of that to keep me interested.
A multigenerational family saga set in twentieth-century Portugal. Raised from the Ground follows the Mau Tempo family, a family of poor landless peasants, as they try and make a life for themselves as national and international events take place around them. But nothing really impinges on their grim reality until the first communist stirrings in the country.
The way Raised from the Ground is written took me a long time to get my head around. It’s like there’s an omniscient and omnipresent narrator, telling the lives of the different members of the family as each generation grows up. This style means there’s no speech marks when people talk and there often are very long sentences with many commas in them. The long sentences aren’t so bad, it’s the paragraphs that are anywhere between a page long and four-pages long that cause problems. It is very easy to get lost in those long paragraphs.
The story itself is not memorable and the characters, of which there are a lot, are not well developed. When the story shifts focus from one character or relationship to the other, it’s hard to remember or keep track of who is related to who. While the first 80 pages or so are engaging, the dreary existence of this peasant family becomes repetitive and dull as there is little chance for them to better themselves. No doubt this is the point of Raised from the Ground, but a novel can’t just make a point, it must also be interesting and unfortunately this one wasn’t.
Raised from the Ground pans around sixty years and the verbose narrator also talks about events that happened before the books beginning multiple times. Across those years different national and international events are referenced (including two World Wars) and the little footnotes that explained a reference to an important event in Portugal was appreciated. Though the way the book is written, focusing so closely on one family’s struggles, meant that the historical context was never fully explained so the impact of these events on the family and their community was never really felt.
I’ve read multigenerational family sagas before and on the whole I rather enjoy them. However, Raised from the Ground is not one of the ones I enjoyed. The combination of the writing style and the story meant I often felt my eyes glazing over. I did like the little titbits of Portuguese history speckled throughout the novel, though there wasn’t enough of that to keep me interested.
anaritasilva's review against another edition
5.0
"Acham eles que passando nós fome nas nossas terras nos devíamos sujeitar a tudo, mas aí é que se enganam, que a nossa fome é uma fome limpa, e os cardos que temos de ripar, ripam-nos as nossas mãos, que mesmo quando estão sujas, limpas são, não há mãos mais limpas do que as nossas, é a primeira coisa que aprendemos quando entramos no quartel, não faz parte da instrução de arma, mas adivinha-se, e um homem pode escolher entre a fome inteira e a vergonha de comer o que nos dão, quando também é certo que a mim me vieram chamar a Monte Lavre para servir a pátria, dizem eles, mas servir a pátria não sei o que seja, se a pátria é minha mãe e meu pai, dizem também, de meus verdadeiros pais sei eu, e todos sabem dos seus, que tiraram à boca para não faltar à nossa, e então a pátria deverá tirar à sua própria boca para não faltar à minha, e se eu tiver de comer cardos, coma-os a pátria comigo, ou então uns são filhos da pátria e os outros filhos da puta."