Saramagos labyrinths A journey through form and content in Blindness and All the Names

by Atkin, Rhian

• ISBN13: 9780719086304
• ISBN10: 0719086302
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-30
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

Saramago's labyrinths is the first book-length study to focus on the relationship between form and the content in Saramago's writing, paying particular attention to Ensaio sobre a Cegueira (Blindness) and Todos os Nomes (All the Names). Atkin provides a close textual analysis of Blindness and All the Names, and suggests that the labyrinth pervades Saramago's work, both in the form of the text, and as a literary and philosophical trope. She makes clear connections between these novels and Saramago's other literary works, and identifies ways in which Saramago causes the reader to return to and consider the philosophical, epistemological and ethical concerns and dilemmas that are recurrent in his literary output. Atkin's jargon-free approach to Saramago's complex ideas, and her thorough understanding of Portuguese history, culture and society, make this an accessible yet challenging guide to Saramago's fiction, for undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars with or without prior knowledge of the Portuguese context.

Author Biography

Rhian Atkin is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. From September 2012, she will be Lecturer in Portuguese and Lusophone Studies at the University of Bristol

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. vii
Preface	p. viii
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Abbreviations	p. xiv
Introduction: Into the labyrinth	p. 1
Beware the Minotaur: labyrinth imagery	p. 20
A maze of words	p. 59
A maze of works	p. 99
Conclusion: Rhizome or the way home?	p. 131
Bibliography of works cited	p. 141
Index	p. 151
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