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The History of the Siege of Lisbon

Published
May 1997
Main Genre
General Fiction General Fiction
Rating
Pages
324

About This Book

A proofreader realizes his power to edit the truth on a whim, in a "brilliantly original" novel by a Nobel Prize winner (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

 


Raimundo Silva is a middle-aged, celibate clerk, proofing manuscripts for a respectable publishing house. Fluent in Portuguese, he has been assigned to work on a standard history of the country, and the twelfth-century king who laid siege to Lisbon. In a moment of subversive daring, Raimundo decides to change just one single word of text—a capricious revision that completely undoes the past. When discovered, his insolent disregard for facts appalls his employers—save for his new editor, Maria Sara. She suggests that Rainmundo take his transgressions even further.


 


Through Rainmundo and Maria's eyes, what transpires is an alternate view of history and a colorful reinvention of a debatable truth. It's a serpentine journey through time where past and present converge, fact becomes myth, and fiction and reality blur—especially for Rainmundo and Maria themselves, who begin to find themselves erotically drawn to each other.


 


"Walter Mitty has nothing on Raimundo Silva . . . this hypnotic tale is a great comic romp through history, language and the imagination." —Publishers Weekly

 

Translated by Giovanni Pontiero

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Formats & Editions

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Paperback

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Trade Paperback
Sep 1998 Harvest ISBN 0156006243
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Feb 2011 HarperCollins (UK) ISBN 1860467229
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Hardcover

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Hardcover
First Edition May 1997 Harcourt ISBN 015100238X
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Dec 1996 HarperCollins (UK) ISBN 1860461328
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eBook

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Sep 1998 Harcourt ISBN 0547540345
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Sep 1998 Houghton Mifflin ISBN B003T0GIHM
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Jan 2012 Vintage ISBN 1448128536
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Audio

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Audible
Dec 2011 Audible Studios ISBN B006O521AM
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MP3 CD
Aug 2016 Brilliance Audio ISBN 1522697497
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Audio CD
Jul 2020 Brilliance Audio ISBN 179973790X
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