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A review by uhambe_nami
The History of the Siege of Lisbon by José Saramago
5.0
Did the crusaders help the Portuguese to take Lisbon back from the Moors, or did they not help them? A little word makes all the difference, and when Raimundo Silva adds that little word, on an impulse, to the draft of a book that he is proofreading, he finds himself confronted with the task to rewrite the History of the Siege of Lisbon, which is really the history of how Portugal became Portugal.
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!
The facts of the past become interwoven with the present as we follow Raimundo strolling along the streets of Lisbon and the Moorish castle of São Jorge, planning the attack of the Portuguese to oust the Moors. Whether or not the crusaders helped the Portuguese in the siege soon becomes less important than the impact that the rewriting of the history of the Siege of Lisbon has on Raimundo's own life.
The lyrical prose, the history, and the Lisbon backdrop made this novel, at least for me, a very enjoyable read. This is Saramago at his best!