The Stone Raft
by José Saramago
Original title: A Jangada de Pedra. Translated in English in 1994
Joana Carda scratches the ground with an elm branch and the mute dogs of Cerbere begin to bark, portending doom. The earth cracks open and the Iberian peninsula separates from Europe and floats off into the Atlantic. The people flee the coastal areas in a mass exodus, to wander, disoriented, across the floating, spinning island's interior. Among them are a group of strangers who wind up in the home of Maria Guavaira: Joaquim Sassa, who threw a stone into the sea and then found himself in Maria's bed; Joana Carda, who cut the earth in two; Jose Anaico, the king of the starlings; Pedro Orce, who can make the earth tremble with his feet; and a dog with no name and every name. At once an epic adventure and a timely political fable about the vicissitudes of the European Community, The Stone Raft is a narrative tour de force.
Rate this book
José Saramago
José Saramago (1922–2010) was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor rather than the officially sanctioned story. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998. He founded the National Front for the Defense of Culture (Lisbon, 1992) with among others Freitas-Magalhaes.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
