Solomon the elephant's life is about to be upturned. For two
years he has been in Lisbon, brought from the Portuguese colonies
in India. Now King Dom Joao III wishes to make him a wedding gift
for the Hapsburg archduke, Maximilian. It's a nice idea, since
it avoids the Portuguese king offending his Lutheran cousin with an
overtly Catholic present.
"It is extremely funny. Old Saramago writes with a masterfully light hand, and the humour is tender, a mockery so tempered by patience and pity that the sting is gone though the wit remains vital... a series of contained miracles of absurdity, quiet laughter rising out of a profound, resigned, affectionate wisdom" -- Ursula K Le Guin Guardian "The novel has a charming fairy tale quality, with its kings and courtiers, it pachyderm protagonist and his mysterious mahout: this is amoung the most charming of Saramago's works" -- Michael Kerrigan Times Literary Supplement "The Elephant's Journey is well worth picking up" Syndicated review to local papers "Jose Saramango wrote his final book with great panache" -- Margaret Reynolds The Times "Saramago enjoys filling out the details with improvisatory skill and imagination" -- John Spurling Sunday Times
José Saramago, geboren am 16. November 1922 in Azinhaga in der portugiesischen Provinz Ribatejo, entstammt einer Landarbeiterfamilie. Nach dem Besuch des Gymnasiums arbeitete er als Maschinenschlosser, technischer Zeichner und Angestellter. Später war er Mitarbeiter eines Verlags und Journalist bei verschiedenen Lissabonner Tageszeitungen. Ab 1966 widmete er sich verstärkt der Schriftstellerei. Während der Salazar- Diktatur gehörte er zur Opposition. Der Romancier, Erzähler, Lyriker, Dramatiker und Essayist erhielt 1998 den Nobelpreis für Literatur. Er starb am 18. Juni 2010 auf Lanzarote.
