Manual of Painting and Calligraphy
A Novel
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A disgruntled portrait artist in 1970s Portugal turn to writing in the Nobel Prize-winning author’s debut novel, now available in English translation.
Manual of Painting and Calligraphy was José Saramago’s first novel. Written eight years before the critically acclaimed Baltasar and Blimunda, it is a story of self-discovery set in Portugal during the last years of Antonio Salazar’s dictatorship. It tells the story of a struggling artist who is commissioned to paint a portrait of an influential industrialist.
Disheartened by his squandered talent, the artist soon undergoes a creative and political awakening when he discovers the possibilities of writing. The brilliant juxtaposition of a passionate love story and the crisis of a nation foreshadows the themes of Saramago’s major works.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After publication of the late Nobel Prize winner's final novel, Cain, along comes the first English-language translation of this early work. The first-person narrative centers on H., a disgruntled artist who paints flattering yet vapid portraits for wealthy clients while living in 1970s Portugal. H. has a circle of friends that he rarely sees, and midway through the book, his girlfriend breaks up with him. Increasingly alienated and dissatisfied with his painting, H. turns to writing. While he claims that "life is extremely simple," H. tends to overthink things and sees himself in everything. The question becomes, will H. find a way to reconcile his art, writing, and philosophy with his relationship to people? Themes that flourish in Saramago's later work including leftist politics and alternative histories of Christianity are also present in H.'s diatribes. Saramago's novel succeeds as a meditation on the writing process and a philosophical look at fiction and reality for Saramago devotees, this is an insightful and meaningful book.
