Status
Disponible
Call number
Publication
Alfaguara (1999), 412 pages
Description
A large crack along the Pyrenees separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe. Spain and Portugal become a great floating island, without oars, sails and propellers, drifting toward a new utopia. The cultural encounter between Europeans and Latin Americans will help to establish an equilibrium between the people of these two worlds.
User reviews
LibraryThing member pgmcc
[The Stone Raft] by José Saramago, translated into English from Portugese by Giovanni Pontiero, is entertaining, insightful and, at times, intense. The translator's note informs the reader that Saramago limits his punctuation to full stops and commas. This appears peculiar at first but it works
Saramago believed that what has been spoken is destined to be heard and he wrote this novle with a rhythm and with the intention that his words would have the same impact as music. Not reading this in the original Portugese I cannot comment on how well he succeeded in this objective but I can say the translator certainly produced prose that have an energy and a continuous flow that brings the narrative to life. While the long sentences which include multiple sides of conversations may seem strange, they do work and they work well if you imagine yourself listening to the conversational flow rather than reading it.
The story itself is driven by the events surrounding the Iberian Penninsula breaking away from Europe and drifting into the Atlantic. The event itself is unimportant as it is simply the tool used to set the characters in motion and to create an environment in which human reactions and motivations, from the personal to the global politics level, are exposed and commented upon.
This book is about highlighting the peculiarities and contraditions of social order at all levels. Saramago presents his arguments and philosophies in a humerous fashion and with a deep understanding of human nature.
Those of you familiar with the BBC TV series, Yes Minister, will recognise some similarities between the humour of that series and the actions of the various public bodies in The Stone Raft. We have local authorities getting together to address a local issue followed by the national governments overruling the local entities with governments coming together urgently to take action and the action being the formation of a commission of investigation that will meet to organise investigations and discussions aimed at deciding what should be done with all possible haste. National governments, the EU, NATO and other bodies all come in for ridicule with meaningless communiqués being issued by various agencies and equally meaningless speeches being made by national presidents and world leaders.
This is a very clever book but I suspect the prose style could tire some people out. I have a couple more of Saramago's works and I will be reading them some time soon.
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well. Saramago believed that what has been spoken is destined to be heard and he wrote this novle with a rhythm and with the intention that his words would have the same impact as music. Not reading this in the original Portugese I cannot comment on how well he succeeded in this objective but I can say the translator certainly produced prose that have an energy and a continuous flow that brings the narrative to life. While the long sentences which include multiple sides of conversations may seem strange, they do work and they work well if you imagine yourself listening to the conversational flow rather than reading it.
The story itself is driven by the events surrounding the Iberian Penninsula breaking away from Europe and drifting into the Atlantic. The event itself is unimportant as it is simply the tool used to set the characters in motion and to create an environment in which human reactions and motivations, from the personal to the global politics level, are exposed and commented upon.
This book is about highlighting the peculiarities and contraditions of social order at all levels. Saramago presents his arguments and philosophies in a humerous fashion and with a deep understanding of human nature.
Those of you familiar with the BBC TV series, Yes Minister, will recognise some similarities between the humour of that series and the actions of the various public bodies in The Stone Raft. We have local authorities getting together to address a local issue followed by the national governments overruling the local entities with governments coming together urgently to take action and the action being the formation of a commission of investigation that will meet to organise investigations and discussions aimed at deciding what should be done with all possible haste. National governments, the EU, NATO and other bodies all come in for ridicule with meaningless communiqués being issued by various agencies and equally meaningless speeches being made by national presidents and world leaders.
This is a very clever book but I suspect the prose style could tire some people out. I have a couple more of Saramago's works and I will be reading them some time soon.
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LibraryThing member mattviews
Like BLINDNESS, Jose Saramago nimbly spins off another what-if tale in THE STONE RAFT with a tinge of a political overtone between his native country and Europe. The Iberian peninsula simply breaks free from the European continent: drifting away at an awestruck speed of 750 kilometers a day,
At the initial stage a most innocent crack manifests at the Spanish-French border and evolves into a 20-meter ditch into which a major river plunges down into an abyss like a waterfall. What follows is an inconsolable shudder of fear that sweeps through the peninsula and nearby Europe. Terror-stricken inhabitants begin to evacuate the region. No sooner than the news make headlines than hundred and thousands of tourists hastily cut short their vacations and fled.
All of the above is so quintessential of the Portuguese writer. But the charivari is too predictable and so tip-of-the-iceberg for an author who is down for delving in deeper meaning of the strange occurrence. Some decide not to leave and accept the event as an irreversible act of fate, a plausible demonstration of mother nature. Some see it as an imperious sign of destiny. Others opt for silence and conform to what future will bring. Among those who brave the danger are five strangers who find company and comfort with one another. A man who throws a rock far out to the horizon of sea. A man who charms a swarm of starlings. A man who is literally a human seismograph. A woman who draws an indelible line that splits the earth with a woodstick. A woman whose thread of her sock never exhausts.
Like in BLINDNESS, Saramago puts his characters face-to-face with an unusual predicament and the outcome of which forever changes their lives. THE STONE RAFT again serves as a steel proof and a confession of humility of human beings at the extreme adversity, which forces the strangers to reflect on their lives, especially their experience accumulated and the mistakes perpetrated.
The scope of this audaciously creative novel transcends the consequences of the unprecedented geological event. It does not make light of the panicky reactions, pandemonium, massive exodus, and the altered contested political spheres. But more profusely it examines the entwined fate of the five sang froid strangers whose surreal experience have conincided to the Iberian fracture. In the midst of risk-savvy milieu, the five recognize their inescapable fate that has overlapped. And as bureaucrats baffle and bungle at handling the crisis, they surrender to what best serves the deeper interest of humanity and human beings: carnal pleasure.
THE STONE RAFT is a passionate questing tale against the backdrop of a world that finds itself in a state of suspense, something that is ulterior to any human being.
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splitting, parching, stretching the earth and bringing down cables with it and sailing as if it is a gargantuan stone raft. At the initial stage a most innocent crack manifests at the Spanish-French border and evolves into a 20-meter ditch into which a major river plunges down into an abyss like a waterfall. What follows is an inconsolable shudder of fear that sweeps through the peninsula and nearby Europe. Terror-stricken inhabitants begin to evacuate the region. No sooner than the news make headlines than hundred and thousands of tourists hastily cut short their vacations and fled.
All of the above is so quintessential of the Portuguese writer. But the charivari is too predictable and so tip-of-the-iceberg for an author who is down for delving in deeper meaning of the strange occurrence. Some decide not to leave and accept the event as an irreversible act of fate, a plausible demonstration of mother nature. Some see it as an imperious sign of destiny. Others opt for silence and conform to what future will bring. Among those who brave the danger are five strangers who find company and comfort with one another. A man who throws a rock far out to the horizon of sea. A man who charms a swarm of starlings. A man who is literally a human seismograph. A woman who draws an indelible line that splits the earth with a woodstick. A woman whose thread of her sock never exhausts.
Like in BLINDNESS, Saramago puts his characters face-to-face with an unusual predicament and the outcome of which forever changes their lives. THE STONE RAFT again serves as a steel proof and a confession of humility of human beings at the extreme adversity, which forces the strangers to reflect on their lives, especially their experience accumulated and the mistakes perpetrated.
The scope of this audaciously creative novel transcends the consequences of the unprecedented geological event. It does not make light of the panicky reactions, pandemonium, massive exodus, and the altered contested political spheres. But more profusely it examines the entwined fate of the five sang froid strangers whose surreal experience have conincided to the Iberian fracture. In the midst of risk-savvy milieu, the five recognize their inescapable fate that has overlapped. And as bureaucrats baffle and bungle at handling the crisis, they surrender to what best serves the deeper interest of humanity and human beings: carnal pleasure.
THE STONE RAFT is a passionate questing tale against the backdrop of a world that finds itself in a state of suspense, something that is ulterior to any human being.
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LibraryThing member lriley
What to make of a novel where the unexplained remains a riddle but continues on its own course anyway. The Stone Raft has the Iberian Peninsula (or Spain and Portugal) breaking away from the rest of the European continent and floating out to sea. The characters of Joaquim Sassa, Jose Anaico (both
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Portugese) meet up with the much older Spaniard Pedro Orce to try to figure out what is going on--each of them believe that some recent event in their lives has led to this inexplicable happening and as they later meet up with two other Portugese women; first Joana Carda who pairs up with Jose and then Maria Guavaira who does the same with Joaquim; and both of whom also believe an event occuring to them has also led to this floating Iberian island. And then there is the nameless dog witness to events of its own that becomes their guide and in particular the friend of the Spaniard Pedro. More or less a--what if--novel which runs the course of the very familiar philosophical preoccupations of the Portugese Nobelist Jose Saramago is what we find. In any case these musings are usually very deftly posed and insightfully thought out. Some might find it rough going--others not entertaining enough. I actually liked it but it is IMO very typical of other works of this writer such as Blindness which is based more on conjecture and less on a real historical background such as The history of the siege of Lisbon--which is my favorite of his works. Show Less
LibraryThing member lunacat
The Iberian Peninsula, encompassing Spain and Portugal, has broken free from mainland Europe and is now floating across the Atlantic. First there is intrigue and panic, but as the huge raft speeds up and seems determined to head somewhere, four people meet.
One man threw a rock an inordinate
These strangers are drawn together, and as the world as they know it changes forever, so do their lives.
This was written in the same form as Blindness, the only punctuation being used are full stops and commas, so concentration is required. It takes some time to get into the flow of the story, and not be distracted by the style of the writing, and unfortunately I never found myself able to become as immersed in this as I did his previous book.
While the characters are interesting, and the coincidences that bring them together mean that it stays intriguing to read, I couldn't help but feel I would have enjoyed this more as a more conventional novel. The idea was fantastic, but I remained with the sensation that Saramago was trying to desperately tell me something I just wasn't understanding.
Unlike Blindness, I didn't find the answers clear, and found myself at times wishing the story would speed up a little. I'm glad I have read it, but it didn't pull me in enough to think that I'm ever going to read it again. The storyline and the impact it had on me just wasn't worth the intensity and concentration it required to read.
If you want to try something by Saramago, this isn't the place to start. Blindness is far superior.
In one line: A thrilling idea slightly bogged down in trying to be too much.
One man threw a rock an inordinate
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distance into the sea, a feat physically impossible. Another is followed by a flock of starlings. A woman draws a line in the sand which cannot be erased. And a spanish man can feel the earth shaking, despite there being no tremors recorded.These strangers are drawn together, and as the world as they know it changes forever, so do their lives.
This was written in the same form as Blindness, the only punctuation being used are full stops and commas, so concentration is required. It takes some time to get into the flow of the story, and not be distracted by the style of the writing, and unfortunately I never found myself able to become as immersed in this as I did his previous book.
While the characters are interesting, and the coincidences that bring them together mean that it stays intriguing to read, I couldn't help but feel I would have enjoyed this more as a more conventional novel. The idea was fantastic, but I remained with the sensation that Saramago was trying to desperately tell me something I just wasn't understanding.
Unlike Blindness, I didn't find the answers clear, and found myself at times wishing the story would speed up a little. I'm glad I have read it, but it didn't pull me in enough to think that I'm ever going to read it again. The storyline and the impact it had on me just wasn't worth the intensity and concentration it required to read.
If you want to try something by Saramago, this isn't the place to start. Blindness is far superior.
In one line: A thrilling idea slightly bogged down in trying to be too much.
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LibraryThing member jdsettell
I had such high expectations for this book, especially since Blindness was one of the best books I read last year. But this was boring, convoluted, and a chore to read. What a disappointment.
LibraryThing member technodiabla
The concept for this book is so exciting and original that I had really high expectations. But, somehow it just didn't deliver. The first half was really slow (until all 5 people are in the picture) and the last half was only somewhat more compelling. The particular narrative style Saramago uses--
I can see why this is considered an important book and I think it would be fascinating to study in a class on Iberian Studies or something. But for the casual (and ignorant) reader, it's just a bit boring. Too bad, I LOVED All the Names. I'll read some more Saramago and hope The Stone Raft is not representative.
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where the narrator takes numerous asides to speak directly to the reader-- was really irritating and overused. There are also many long philosophical diatribes which I eventually started skipping. I can see why this is considered an important book and I think it would be fascinating to study in a class on Iberian Studies or something. But for the casual (and ignorant) reader, it's just a bit boring. Too bad, I LOVED All the Names. I'll read some more Saramago and hope The Stone Raft is not representative.
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LibraryThing member thorold
I'm not really sure what to make of this book, but I enjoyed reading it very much. I think the pleasure in reading it must come mostly from Saramago's unique narrative style, the subtle mix of story and digression, the delicate satire in the background story contrasted with his warm affection for
I suppose it's an affirmation of the strength of basic human values in the face of challenges that reason, knowledge and authority can't cope with. The Iberian peninsula breaks free from the Pyrenees and roams around the Atlantic ocean, much to the consternation of the authorities, whilst a little group of anarchic individuals brought together by illogical events roam around the ex-peninsula, first in a Deux Chevaux and then in an actual two-horse cart. It's a similar sort of idea to Blindness, but much more upbeat and optimistic in its mood. The central characters are cut off from their past lives, like those in Blindness, but this time they all have names and backgrounds and are clearly meant to be individuals, not types. The imagery is very concerned with land and fertility: it's a predominantly rural novel, with only brief ventures into the city.
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the central characters.I suppose it's an affirmation of the strength of basic human values in the face of challenges that reason, knowledge and authority can't cope with. The Iberian peninsula breaks free from the Pyrenees and roams around the Atlantic ocean, much to the consternation of the authorities, whilst a little group of anarchic individuals brought together by illogical events roam around the ex-peninsula, first in a Deux Chevaux and then in an actual two-horse cart. It's a similar sort of idea to Blindness, but much more upbeat and optimistic in its mood. The central characters are cut off from their past lives, like those in Blindness, but this time they all have names and backgrounds and are clearly meant to be individuals, not types. The imagery is very concerned with land and fertility: it's a predominantly rural novel, with only brief ventures into the city.
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LibraryThing member bodachliath
This early novel can be seen as the precursor or model for Saramago's later surreal modern parables Blindness, Seeing, and Death at Intervals, all of which explore the consequences of changing one of the natural laws society takes for granted. It has a similar mixture of philosophy, humour and the
This time the starting point occurs when a crack opens up along the French border in the Pyrenees, and the Iberian peninsula starts moving into the Atlantic towards the Azores. The first section brings together a group of people all of whom have been touched by apparently miraculous events at the same time as the gap appeared. This personal story, which has elements of the picaresque, is set against a wider imagining of the political, geographical and social consequences of such an upheaval. Once again Saramago places little faith in the governments he portrays, and his imagination spans both big ideas and quotidian details.
The oddly assorted group of three men, two women (three Portuguese and two Spanish) and a dog travel round the new island on a desultory quest, initially by car and later in a horse drawn wagon (both Deux Chevaux). To say much more would spoil the book for new readers, and this one stands comparison with Saramago's best books.
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political and personal. As in all of his novels, Saramago's style is idiosyncratic, with long and apparently rambling sentences broken only by occasional commas.This time the starting point occurs when a crack opens up along the French border in the Pyrenees, and the Iberian peninsula starts moving into the Atlantic towards the Azores. The first section brings together a group of people all of whom have been touched by apparently miraculous events at the same time as the gap appeared. This personal story, which has elements of the picaresque, is set against a wider imagining of the political, geographical and social consequences of such an upheaval. Once again Saramago places little faith in the governments he portrays, and his imagination spans both big ideas and quotidian details.
The oddly assorted group of three men, two women (three Portuguese and two Spanish) and a dog travel round the new island on a desultory quest, initially by car and later in a horse drawn wagon (both Deux Chevaux). To say much more would spoil the book for new readers, and this one stands comparison with Saramago's best books.
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LibraryThing member Castlelass
This has to be one of the most unusual and creative books I have ever read. The Iberian Peninsula breaks off from Europe and becomes a traveling island. It threatens to crash into the Azores. The storyline focuses on three men and two women that feel a sense of responsibility, expressed in terms of
Saramago examines the social and geopolitical ramifications of profound change, while inserting a good dose of dry humor, especially with regard to how governments (Spain, Portugal, France, US, Russia) respond to the crisis. It is written in a literary style, with Saramago’s standard long sentences and embedded dialogue. I am not sure I took away all the author intended, but I did find thought-provoking observations about the roles of coincidence and interconnectedness in life.
Memorable passages:
“Life is full of little episodes that seem unimportant, while others at a certain moment absorb all our attention, when we reappraise them later, in the light of their consequences, we find that our memory of the latter has faded while the former have come to seem decisive or, at least, a link in a chain of successive and meaningful events…”
“No journey is but one journey, each journey comprises a number of journeys, and if one of them seems so meaningless that we have no hesitation in saying it was not worthwhile, our common sense, were it not so often clouded by prejudice and idleness, would tell us that we should verify whether the journeys within that journey were not of sufficient value to have justified all the trials and tribulations.”
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magical realism, for the breakaway. They are joined by a dog and two horses. They travel around Spain and Portugal, witnessing the responses to this unexpected event. Saramago examines the social and geopolitical ramifications of profound change, while inserting a good dose of dry humor, especially with regard to how governments (Spain, Portugal, France, US, Russia) respond to the crisis. It is written in a literary style, with Saramago’s standard long sentences and embedded dialogue. I am not sure I took away all the author intended, but I did find thought-provoking observations about the roles of coincidence and interconnectedness in life.
Memorable passages:
“Life is full of little episodes that seem unimportant, while others at a certain moment absorb all our attention, when we reappraise them later, in the light of their consequences, we find that our memory of the latter has faded while the former have come to seem decisive or, at least, a link in a chain of successive and meaningful events…”
“No journey is but one journey, each journey comprises a number of journeys, and if one of them seems so meaningless that we have no hesitation in saying it was not worthwhile, our common sense, were it not so often clouded by prejudice and idleness, would tell us that we should verify whether the journeys within that journey were not of sufficient value to have justified all the trials and tribulations.”
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Subjects
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1986
Physical description
412 p.
ISBN
9681906683 / 9789681906689