Seven Stories Press

Works of Radical Imagination

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9781609809331123

Illustrated by J. Borges

Translated by Nick Caistor and Lucia Caistor

A story by Nobel Prize-winning writer Jose Saramago, gorgeously illustrated in woodcuts by one of Brazil's most famous artists.

When a lizard appears in the neighborhood of Chiado, in Lisbon, it surprises passers-by, and mobilizes firefighters and the army. With a clear and precise style, the fable offers a multitude of senses, reaching audiences of all ages. "The Lizard" is a short story included in A Bagagem do Viajante (1973), a volume that brought together the Saramago chronicles for the newspaper A Capital and the weekly Jornal do Fundão between 1971 and 1972. Translated by Nick Caistor and Lucia Caistor, The Lizard, is an illustrated version of the chronicle by J. Borges.

9781609809331-f_feature
9781609809331123

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“This memorable fable about the arrival of a giant, fork-tongued but seemingly harmless lizard artfully combines the mythmaking sensibilities of the Portuguese Nobel laureate Saramago and the Brazilian artist Borges. The mysterious lizard shows up in an ordinary town, and 'panic filled the air.' As forces gather to attack it, the creature is transformed into a rose, possibly by fairies. The winsome language and striking woodcut art in bold colors and lots of black capture the ominous rush to judgment and the sweet possibility of wonderment.”

“Borges contributes bold, rustic woodcuts that leave plenty of room for symbolic interpretations. ... A pensive, allegorical fairy tale for readers ready to sit with perplexity.”

“Ably translated by the Caistors, this surreal fable by Nobel Prize–winner Saramago imagines a monstrously outsize military response to the appearance of a lizard. ... the fable serves as a reminder that in toxic political situations, nothing—not even a fairy lizard—is safe. Ages 6–9.”

José de Sousa Saramago, (November 1922 - June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor. More than two million copies of Saramago's books have been sold in Portugal alone and his work has been translated into 25 languages. He was a founding member of the National Front for the Defense of Culture in Lisbon in 1992, and co-founder with Orhan Pamuk, of the European Writers' Parliament (EWP).