José Saramago: History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error

Mark Sabine

José Saramago
History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error

Mark Sabine

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José Saramago (1922-2010), Portuguese novelist

2 other titles

Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures 23

Legenda

19 December 2016 • 292pp

ISBN: 978-1-781884-53-9 (hardback) • RRP £80, $110, €95

ISBN: 978-1-781884-54-6 (paperback, 30 September 2018) • RRP £10.99, $14.99, €13.49

ISBN: 978-1-781884-55-3 (JSTOR ebook)

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Although best known internationally for his ‘allegorical’ novels such as Blindness (1995), in his native Portugal, José Saramago remains most acclaimed for his earlier, richly poetic ‘historical’ novels. This new study of five of these works focuses on José Saramago's engagement with political and social philosophy from across Europe, so as to track his commitment to libertarian socialism in an era of neo-liberal economics and disillusion. Though deeply pessimistic about human being’s capacity to deliver social justice, Saramago never abandons the progressive cause. Making use of insights from Gramsci, Walter Benjamin, and Marcuse, among others, this study argues that Saramago sought to engage his reader with a skeptical but vibrant utopianism: teaching us to abandon absolutes and embrace error as inevitable, and, indeed, even necessary. From this post-humanist perspective, humanity becomes understood as ongoing project rather than essence, challenging individuals to strive for self-knowledge and reinvention.

Mark Sabine is Lecturer in Lusophone Studies at the University of Nottingham.

Reviews:

‘Beyond providing a rigorous, detailed and elegant analysis of those novels, Sabine offers a model for reading Saramago that will serve as reference point for any future work.’ — Paulo de Medeiros, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 95, 2018, 579-80
‘This volume is of tremendous use to both seasoned scholars of Saramago and those who, like many in the English-speaking world, are familiar only with his later novels.’ — unsigned notice, Forum for Modern Language Studies 54.3, July 2018, 377
‘Likely to be welcomed by specialists and non-specialists looking for a critical grounding in the author’s initial and decisive novels of the 1980s.’ — Ana Paula Ferreira, Journal of Lusophone Studies 4.2, 2019, 299-301 (full text online)
‘From a broad perspective which accepts the idea of an inherent political project and its utopian message, this book excellently resumes the possible justifications, together with scholarly well founded contextualizations, thus offering an outstandingly solid basis from which to depart towards further fruitful debates.’ — Burghard Baltrusch, Portuguese Studies 36.1, July 2020, 115-19 (full text online)

Contents:

ix-x	Acknowledgements Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.3	Cite
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xi-xii	Notes On the Text Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.4	Cite
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1-28	Introduction Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.5	Cite
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29-70	Chapter 1 Levantado Do Chão Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.6	Cite
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71-117	Chapter 2 Memorial Do Convento Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.7	Cite
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118-159	Chapter 3 O Ano Da Morte De Ricardo Reis Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.8	Cite
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160-204	Chapter 4 A Jangada De Pedra Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.9	Cite
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205-242	Chapter 5 História Do Cerco De Lisboa Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.10	Cite
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243-250	Afterword Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.11	Cite
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251-270	Bibliography Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.12	Cite
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271-280	Index Mark Sabine doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km1dn.13	Cite
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Bibliography entry:

Sabine, Mark, José Saramago: History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error, Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures, 23 (Legenda, 2016)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ Mark Sabine, José Saramago: History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error, Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures, 23 (Legenda, 2016), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ Sabine, p. 47.

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Cite this volume in MHRA author-date style

Bibliography entry:

Sabine, Mark. 2016. José Saramago: History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error, Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures, 23 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Sabine 2016: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ Sabine 2016: 21.

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www.mhra.org.uk/publications/José-Saramago
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José SaramagoHistory, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error

Mark Sabine

José Saramago
History, Utopia, and the Necessity of Error