Book Review
May. 26th, 2025 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe History of the Siege of Lisbon
by José Saramago
This quiet novel centers around Raimundo Silva, a humble middle-aged proofreader in Lisbon. One day, out of a perverse impulse, he inserts the word "not" into a key sentence in a history of Lisbon that he is proofreading. This one act sets off a series of small but monumental changes in Raimundo's life: he begins a love affair with the editor of the book he has altered, and he begins writing his own book, an alternate history exploring the consequences of that inserted "not". Tus, not much happens, but what does happen is given a lot of weight and meaning. Through this story of seemingly small alterations, Saramago explores the weight of words, the significance of even small changes, and the role of the imagination in determining the truth of history.
by José Saramago
This quiet novel centers around Raimundo Silva, a humble middle-aged proofreader in Lisbon. One day, out of a perverse impulse, he inserts the word "not" into a key sentence in a history of Lisbon that he is proofreading. This one act sets off a series of small but monumental changes in Raimundo's life: he begins a love affair with the editor of the book he has altered, and he begins writing his own book, an alternate history exploring the consequences of that inserted "not". Tus, not much happens, but what does happen is given a lot of weight and meaning. Through this story of seemingly small alterations, Saramago explores the weight of words, the significance of even small changes, and the role of the imagination in determining the truth of history.
