Summary of José Saramago's Journey to Portugal

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The first traveler ever to pull up in his car with the engine already in Portugal but the petrol tank still in Spain was heard preaching to the fish in the river. He told them to gather around and advice him which language they spoke when they crossed the watery frontiers beneath.
#2 The traveller was greeted by a sudden breeze that ruffled the waters. He fell silent, and soon after, nothing could be seen except for the river and its shores. He was forced to acknowledge his own shortcomings and learn about miracles.
#3 The traveler can confirm that the Portuguese have a sense of humor, as the town of Miranda do Douro, located on the banks of the Duero River, has graffiti that is obscenely anti-Spanish.
#4 The traveler was unable to contain his vanity. He came from so far away and was admitted to the mysteries simply because of his honest face. He began to question his motives. A journey is not supposed to be a matter of moving on, but of being.

Sujets

• Travel
• Spain
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 23 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822546349
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on José Saramago's Journey to Portugal
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12 Insights from Chapter 13 Insights from Chapter 14 Insights from Chapter 15 Insights from Chapter 16 Insights from Chapter 17 Insights from Chapter 18 Insights from Chapter 19 Insights from Chapter 20 Insights from Chapter 21 Insights from Chapter 22 Insights from Chapter 23 Insights from Chapter 24 Insights from Chapter 25 Insights from Chapter 26 Insights from Chapter 27 Insights from Chapter 28 Insights from Chapter 29 Insights from Chapter 30 Insights from Chapter 31 Insights from Chapter 32 Insights from Chapter 33 Insights from Chapter 34 Insights from Chapter 35 Insights from Chapter 36 Insights from Chapter 37 Insights from Chapter 38 Insights from Chapter 39 Insights from Chapter 40 Insights from Chapter 41 Insights from Chapter 42 Insights from Chapter 43 Insights from Chapter 44 Insights from Chapter 45 Insights from Chapter 46 Insights from Chapter 47 Insights from Chapter 48 Insights from Chapter 49 Insights from Chapter 50 Insights from Chapter 51 Insights from Chapter 52 Insights from Chapter 53 Insights from Chapter 54 Insights from Chapter 55
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first traveler ever to pull up in his car with the engine already in Portugal but the petrol tank still in Spain was heard preaching to the fish in the river. He told them to gather around and advice him which language they spoke when they crossed the watery frontiers beneath.

#2

The traveller was greeted by a sudden breeze that ruffled the waters. He fell silent, and soon after, nothing could be seen except for the river and its shores. He was forced to acknowledge his own shortcomings and learn about miracles.

#3

The traveler can confirm that the Portuguese have a sense of humor, as the town of Miranda do Douro, located on the banks of the Duero River, has graffiti that is obscenely anti-Spanish.

#4

The traveler was unable to contain his vanity. He came from so far away and was admitted to the mysteries simply because of his honest face. He began to question his motives. A journey is not supposed to be a matter of moving on, but of being.

#5

The traveller continued to observe and memorize everything he saw, and when he reached the village of Malhadas, he asked about the river named Fresno. The village residents told him that the river had always been called that, and that they couldn’t explain why.

#6

The traveller arrived in Caçarelhos, a village in the lands of Trás-os-Montes. It was a plateau, and the traveler was not going to gainsay his imagination, which had transformed the church into a tortoise. Two leagues further on lies Camilo Castelo Branco, who had made fun of Samardã, a town in the lands of Trás-os-Montes.

#7

The traveler stopped his car and picked a spiky sweet chestnut as a simple reminder for many months to come. Now it had dried out, it was time for him to return and visit the great chestnut tree beside the main road.

#8

The main road towards Vimioso winds its way through beautiful countryside. The traveler passes through a town called Vimioso, which is built on a gentle slope. The town seems peaceful, but the traveler has no intention of staying there.

#9

The traveller arrives in Portugal and goes to eat at a restaurant in the town of Sendim. He is served a delicious vegetable soup, accompanied by bread and wine. While he is eating, he thinks about the past and future landscapes that are filling his mind.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The traveller was a native of the lowlands, and had hoped for something on a grander scale. He was already saying that the mountains were not as impressive as they seemed from a distance.

#2

The village of Azinhoso sparkles the traveller's passion for the rural Romanesque regions of the North. The more he thinks about it, the more he decides that's the word for it: repentance. Villages are like people, we approach them slowly, a step at a time, not like this, a sudden ambush under cover of darkness.

#3

The traveler was en route to an estate that lay beyond the dark forest, and he couldn't even determine if the banks rising up the roadside verges were rising or falling. He struggled to find his way in an ink blot sky without even stars to guide him.

#4

The traveller was ready to move on from works of art. He had taken to the byways, leading onto a bridge crossing over the River Vilariça, to climb and climb. The main road unraveled endlessly, and the traveller began to fear a puff of wind might carry him off.

#5

The traveler arrived in the village of Adeganha, where they told him about a lovely Romanesque church. He was amazed by the village's granite flagstone, which served as a main square, threshing floor, and bed for the moonlight.

#6

The traveller makes his descent down a road in even worse condition. His car suspension is creaking and protesting, and it comes as a relief when, in among the puddles and quagmires, Junqueira emerges.

#7

The traveller reaches Mirandela, a stopping point for him. He decides to continue to Braganza, and heads towards the north. He passes through communities that have become known as improvement villages, which were founded by former ministers of Public Works.

#8

From the heights, you can see Braganza. The afternoon is quickly fading, and the traveler is growing weary. There must be a hotel here, somewhere to eat and sleep.
Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The road to Rio de Onor is a desert. There are occasional villages along the way, but you travel through them only to regain the primitive wilderness. There are no virgin forests or rocky outcrops, and the only evidence of cultivation is the occasional house.

#2

The Rio de Onor is a river that runs through Rio de Onor. The traveler had wanted to visit the village, but he was told that the main road was poor. However, he decided to act in character and go down the street. The man offered him spirits, and the traveler felt his stomach explode.

#3

The traveler returned to Rio de Onor, and met with Daniel São Romão and his wife. They served him some brandy, and he listened as they explained how the liquor was made. He was surprised by how honest and onor the producer was.
Insights from Chapter 4

#1

The traveller arrives at Braganza, and it begins to rain. He goes inside the Abade de Baçal's museum, and is shocked by the care and orderliness of the objects there. He compares the painting by Roeland Jacobsz showing Orpheus calming wild savages with music, and realizes that there was a Golden Age.

#2

The traveller was not interested in Braganza, but he had to see it to understand how people could be so absorbed in their own thoughts that they fail to notice it has stopped raining.

#3

The traveller had a taste for visiting graveyards, and he enjoyed the deathly scenography of the statues, headstones, and inscriptions. He visited the grave of José Jorge, who had been sentenced to death in 1843.

#4

The traveller was intrigued by the question of why the man was born, and why he died. He thought about it and eventually admitted that there are miracles and other forms of justice, including posthumous ones.
Insights from Chapter 5

#1

The traveler falls between the two extremes of confessing nothing without swearing to it and refusing to pledge more than a simple yes or no. He doesn’t make any formal vows never to travel in the misty, rainy autumn seasons, when the sky is hidden and leaves are falling.

#2

The traveler went from Vinhais to Chaves, and visited Outeiro Seco, a village three kilometers to the north. The church there was famous for its weddings and baptisms, because the local upper classes came from far away to attend them.

#3

The town of Chaves is pleasant and large enough to be a pleasant place to live. The Largo do Arrabalde is where it all happens, and a focal point of departure. The traveller visited the parish church, which boasted two porches with only a hand's span between them.

#4

The traveller doesn't visit all the castles he sees. Some are locked, but they seem to be the best. The traveler eventually decides to visit Carrazedo de Montenegro, a small but beautiful valley.

#5

The town of Carrazedo de Montenegro, though, boasts two granite statues from the 1400s, valuable examples of the expressive power of a material with little plasticity.

#6

The road runs alongside the disproportionately high church, a gigantic edifice considering that it's not intended to compete with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The traveler parked his car and took a turn around the church, his nostrils in the air, inspecting the masonry. He met an image of an Our Lady with angels at her feet, and another grabbing her hand.

#7

The road continues its high route but stops running alongside the River Curros. These are wide desert lands, and when you suddenly encounter a village, it's called by the pretty name of Jou.

#8

The traveller enters Murça, a place of fame and renown that in olden days boasted a great sense of humor. The traveller buys a couple of bottles of wine and takes in a glimpse of the past by visiting the Chapel of Mercy.