Up until now, I've been reading Saramago's fictional output. But I recently learned that he also wrote a travelogue, when he drove all over Portugal, travelling all over his home country. And after reading this book, I must say I enjoyed it. I even think he would have been a great road trip companion. Too bad he's a few generations ahead of me, and he isn't with us anymore for this road trip to be possible.
See, Saramago isn't your average tourist. He is a traveler. He meanders, he drives to places the typical tourist would probably not even think of visiting. He likes visiting remote villages and little towns hidden behind rivers and mountain ranges. And his encounters with the locals are always fun. He always has his witty eye and anthropological approach to things that makes the mundane actually very interesting. And he always finds church doors shut. So he needs to find the key.
I suppose his acute powers of observation are very much evident here in this book. It's a skill that perhaps made his fictional output very likeable for me. He can find interesting aspects of otherwise boring scenes. Villages that are deserted and almost dead come to life. As I said, he would have been a great road trip companion.
I definitely recommend this book. Not only if you like Saramago's works in particular, but also if you just want to experience a travelogue that is most likely not like the other travelogues you have read before. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
See my other book reviews here.
