The Tale of the Unknown Island

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Summary: The tale of a quixotic quest
Review: "The Tale of the Unknown Island," by Jose Saramago, has been translated from Portuguese into English by Margaret Jull Costa and is accompanied by illustrations by Peter Sis. It's a short book--only 51 pages long. A capsule bio on the dustcover notes that Saramago was born in Portugal and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.

This short tale has the flavor of a parable or fable. It concerns a man on a quest to find an unknown island. The story opens in an unnamed kingdom, and none of the characters have proper names; this gives the tale a sort of universal, mythic feel.

The story is well enhanced by Sis's charming, surreal illustrations. Saramago weaves some nice concrete details into the story. His prose style, as translated by Costa, is smooth and clear. This is a story of discovery with an open-ended but satisfying conclusion.

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Summary: The Dreamer & The Charwoman...
Review: ...And the dream, the Dream!
For something that you can read in twenty minutes or so, this wee fable packs a lot of story into itself. It is not a children's story, really, I think it is a grown-up's story. For one thing, it is written in J.S.'s inimitable run-on style. It's easy to follow, but not exactly a textbook study in conventional punctuation!
And to mention too much about the actual story itself, well, I wouldn't want to ruin even one minute of the new reader's twenty. It is wonderful, and wonderfully done. The quest. The dreamer's quest.
What I find remarkable about the book is that in these few short pages, the author (and really, is there anyone quite like J.S.?) shows us that the Dreamer's confidence and assurance can quickly inspire the same sort of quest in the heart of someone who has been living their life in the mundane (dreamless?) state. And not only this. But this newly inspired (transferred) dream, which causes the second person to leave their comfort zone and embrace the dream with their own very being can quickly become the principal motivating force behind the FULFILLMENT of the dream. The first dreamer now finds that they NEED their new companion, their new dream-partner.
To say more is to say too much. It is really a wonderful little story.
Light a candle, and read. And before the candle really gets going, you will be done the reading.
J.S. is the wizard of storytelling.

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Summary: An entrancing delight...
Review: As with all good stories, this one satisfies on many different levels; for my five year old and seven year old, an introduction to dreaming, asking for what you want, and another spin on the classic boy meets girl story that little ones find so enchanting (and big ones, too!); for the literary sophisticate, metaphor, allegory and wonderful imagery; for the philosopher, little tidbits along the lines of "If you don't step outside yourself, you'll never discover who you are..."; for the lover of a good story that comes in a small package, a good story, one that slips up and down inside you with the tides.

I'll leave my review at that. From experience, I have learned that fairy tales and fables are best left untouched, underanalyzed, and simply breathed in.

Rating:
Summary: Just right!
Review: I am not familiar with the author's other books, but I really liked this short story. As with a small amount of other foreign writers whose works are translated to English, the story is a huge metaphor. A man wants a boat to explore the unknown island, which can be compared to any personal ventures we have in our own minds. A cleaning woman overhears and wants to go, too. This short book might be the key to simply letting my friend know how I feel about him. It's the journey, not the destination, and keep your eyes open to the people right next to you. You may be missing out and not even know it!

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Summary: from the teens point of veiw
Review: I read this book in maybe 20 minutes, but it was the most enjoyable 20 minutes that I have ever spent reading a book. Now, I'm not going to write a long, flourishing review that the people before me have done, because I'm a teenage girl that really isnt into writting reveiws, but I am going to tell you that it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Jose Saramago has a way of writting that just captures you. There are no quotation marks, and few periods. None of the characters have birth names, but I felt that things like "The king, the cleaning lady, and the man" where perfect enough. I even read it outloud, and gave everyone a voice, imagining that I was there with them. It was really quite a marvelous read, and I encourage anyone to read it. Do it for yourself - you and your mind deserve it :)

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Summary: More than a tale
Review: It's the Portuguese version of History. The king D joao, The Island- America, the Man knocking at the door- Columbus .
It's part of History that Columbus went first to the Portuguese King to Ask for a Armada to reach India sailing West,
the Portugues king denied a Armada so they say cause there's was prior knowledge the land was here. they just did not had any interest cause has not their share .
During the "Treat of Tordesillas", Portugal and Spain divide the Globe in two, A mark mile was set by the Spanish king
from Azores Islands, The portuguese king ask for 500 miles more due West, that's how they end up with Brazil, note: at the time everybody believed that to be Sea, so why ask for additional 500 miles of Water? Portugal had over 900 ships till 1580, and the king denies a Armada? Also Portugal had been sailing the Coast of North Africa since the early 1400', Armadas use to set sail early Spring/Summer, studying the currents of the Atlantic any lost Ship will be pulled to the caribbean, a few Ships got lost and none came back to tell the tale?
Now most of the Documentation got 'lost' from the portuguese and also the boats from 1580 to 1640 during the spanish occupation of Portugal, then came the English and the spanish 'lost' the gold they had aboard those ships .
The final tragedy came on november 1st of 1755, that's why
everbody goes to Seville to research those days, Lisbon was burned to the Ground .
This Guy is more than a tale teller. He is a History teller .
He's other book "the siege of Lisbon" is just another Chapter of Portuguese History, but that's for another day .

Nautical History: the Portuguese had the technology in Cartoprapy at the time, they also perfected the use of the Sextant and the Astrolabe(sp) "astrolabio" that can only be compared to USA satelitte technology nowadays, more or less we can tell where everything is, so did the Portuguese 500 years ago.
I Compare Saramago to Luis Camoes the Greatest Portuguese
Writter of all times "Lusiadas" being the masterpiece .
Just is such a hard to understand book if you do not have the
King history and the Portuguese background to understand what he is talking about .
Mr Saramago does it in a more simple way but he is still telling Episodes of an Old Empire.

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Summary: It Could Have Been and Should Have Been So Beautiful
Review: Jose Saramago's book, The Tale of the Unknown Island is a little book that presents a little story. Both a love story and a fable, The Tale of the Unknown Island presents an elegant and exquisite premise that is disappointingly flawed in its execution.

The book begins beguilingly enough, when a man with a quest knocks at the door of a king and begs for a boat to make an expedition to an unknown island. The king is not immediately agreeable but our hero finds an unlikely ally in the king's cleaning woman and, after receiving the ship he has asked for, he and the woman join forces.

There is one problem. There are no unknown islands. All that exist have already been mapped and claimed by the king. When the harbormaster attempts to dissuade the man from his dream, and no one signs on board as crew members, the hero of this little tale finds that only the cleaning woman will help him pursue his seemingly impossible dream.

The island is discovered, but unfortunately, the journey taken is literally one of which the stuff of dreams are made. REM sleep and narcoleptic love play a big part in this story. It is here, in the land of dreams, where the story really falls apart and our suspension of disbelief grows harder and harder to suspend.

Nobel Prize winner, Jose Saramago, is the author of breathtakingly beautiful books such as Baltasar and Blimunda and The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, and works of stunning originality like Blindness, so I expected far more from The Tale of the Unknown Island. Perhaps these high expectations were a part of the problem.

The book is written in Saramago's signature style: a breathless, barely punctuated, almost stream-of-consciousness manner that is, as always, flawless, and that captures the innocence and high spirits of the protagonist perfectly. The metaphors created, however, are highly overstated and, at times, highly irritating.

Thematically, The Tale of the Unknown Island should have worked so beautifully. There is a lazy and wicked antagonist in the guise of the king, there is the pure and innocent hero, there is the classic quest necessary for the hero to prove himself and become whole and there is the requisite healing power of true love. The key to the ending is faith and the key to that faith is love.

With all of the required elements of fairy tales and fables, why, then did this book fail to hit the mark?

Fairy tales and fables are, by their very nature, simple little tales. The Tale of the Unknown Island is quite complex but told in a simplified manner. And, as we all know, "simplified" does not quite equal the beauty inherent in "simple." Saramago's abrupt switch from satire to allegory was jarring, to say the least, and definitely detracted from the book's could-have-been charms.

The gemlike playfulness and grace embodied in a tale such as The Princess Bride or The Last Unicorn is sorely lacking in The Tale of the Unknown Island.

The illustrated edition, however, is still well worth the time and money. Peter Sis' drawings, composed of clean lines and classical beauty have a fey air of antiquity about them and achieve all that the story set out to do but did not.

Saramago is a world class writer. That cannot be denied. The fact that The Tale of the Unknown Island failed to make the grade is a flaw as tiny and insignificant as is the book itself.

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Summary: A tale that will keep you thinking
Review: The Tale of the Unknown Island was a very short read but there were important points to be made in the story. In my opinion, this book had an underlying moral which said that what you are really looking for may be right in front of you. In the case of this book, the man who is searching for the island may not realize that he could find true satisfaction, and happiness with the cleaning woman who joins him on his journey. The tale also implied that you should always believe in a dream, nomatter what or who discourages you. The man in the story was persistent when he was preparing to search for the island and I believe that this was very significant. Even after I read this book, it kept me thinking about how you may not have to search very far for what you really are looking for. Sometimes the most important things that you need may be very close to you.

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Summary: Fast Read But You Think About It for Long Days
Review: This is a terrific book. As is so difficult to do, Saramago manages to present a little story that speaks to many issues. This little book puts things in perspective, and has inspired me more than I can describe in this little box. If you don't like this book, you're closed-minded and don't understand Saramago's intent.

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Summary: don't miss the point!
Review: To understand this perfect gem one must remember that J.S is a life lone Marxist/Anti-Capitalist. In light of the failiar of the masses to prosue a just society, what alternatives are there for the rare individual prosuer? The unknown island is the Just Society at first at last a Just Love. Both would be beautiful. J.S. represents the losers and his beauty is revenge against the uglyness of the winners. I would love emails with any other interpetation.