A stunningly powerful novel of man's will to survive against all odds, by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. "This is a shattering work by a literary master."--The Boston Globe A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers--among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears--through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses--and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit.

Portuguese Literature and the Environment explores the relationship between Portuguese literature and the environment from Medieval times to the present. From the centrality of nature in Medieval poetry, through the bucolic verse of the Renaissance, all the way to the Romantic and post-Romantic nostalgia for a pristine natural or rural landscape under threat in the wake of industrialization, Portuguese literature has frequently reflected on the connection between humans and the natural world. More recently, the postcolonial turn in contemporary literature has highlighted the contrast between the environment of the former colonies and that of Portugal. Contributors to the collection examine how Portuguese writers engage with the environment and have incorporated nature in their texts not only to prompt social, political or philosophical reflections on human society, but also as a way to learn from non-humans. The book is organized into three sections. The first explores the relationship between Portuguese philosophy, historiography, culture, and environmental issues. The second section discusses the link between literary texts and the environment from the Renaissance to 1900. The final section analyzes the connection between literary movements or specific authors and environmental change from 1900 to today. Scholars of literature, Latin American studies, literature, and environmental studies will find this volume especially useful.

Portuguese and Cape Verdean immigrants have had a significant presence in North America since the nineteenth century. Recently, Brazilians have also established vibrant communities in the U.S. This anthology brings together, for the first time in English, the writings of these diverse Portuguese-speaking, or "Luso-American" voices. Historically linked by language, colonial experience, and cultural influence, yet ethnically distinct, Luso-Americans have often been labeled an "invisible minority." This collection seeks to address this lacuna, with a broad mosaic of prose, poetry, essays, memoir, and other writings by more than fifty prominent literary figures--immigrants and their descendants, as well as exiles and sojourners. It is an unprecedented gathering of published, unpublished, forgotten, and translated writings by a transnational community that both defies the stereotypes of ethnic literature, and embodies the drama of the immigrant experience.

This companion volume offers an introduction to European Portuguese literature for university-level readers. It consists of a chronological overview of Portuguese literature from the twelfth century to the present day, by some of the most distinguished literary scholars of recent years, leading into substantial essays centred on major authors, genres or periods, and a study of the history of translations. It does not attempt an encyclopaedic coverage of Portuguese literature, but provides essential chronological and bibliographical information on all major authors and genres, with more extensive treatment of key works and literary figures, and a particular focus on the modern period. It is unashamedly canonical rather than thematic in its examination of central authors and periods, without neglecting female writers. In this way it provides basic reference materials for students beginning the study of Portuguese literature, and for a wider audience looking for general or specific information. The editors have made a principled decision to exclude both Brazilian and African literature, which demand separate treatment. STEPHEN PARKINSON, CLAUDIA PAZOS ALONSO and T. F. EARLE are all members of the Sub-Faculty of Portuguese at the University of Oxford. CONTRIBUTORS: Vanda Anast cio, Helena Carvalhao Buescu, Rip Cohen, T. F. Earle, David Frier, Lu s Gomes, Mariana Gray de Castro, Helder Macedo, Patricia Odber de Baubeta, Hilary Owen, Stephen Parkinson, Cl udia Pazos Alonso, Juliet Perkins, Teresa Pinto Coelho, Phillip Rothwell, Mark Sabine, Claire Williams, Clive Willis.

More than 200 million people worldwide speak the beautiful and alluring language of Brazilian Portuguese. Tapped as a language with the highest possibility for growth internationally, beginners everywhere have begun to study Portuguese, making it one of the most popular languages in the world! This book is the ideal workbook if you're looking to learn the basics of the language, whether you're a beginner or intermediate student. Featuring interactive exercises and lessons that help you: Study nouns, conjugate verbs, and perfect pronunciations Learn common words and phrases Have a conversation with a native speaker Read and write the language Master past, present, and imperfect tenses Complete with a Portuguese-English glossary and an arsenal of useful vocabulary, this book will have you speaking and writing Portuguese in no time!

1) This book gives an overview of Goan Literature in Portuguese – for students and experienced scholars of Portuguese wanting an overview of this production 2) Consideration of works from colonial and post-colonial period – for above and students of colonial and post-colonial South Asia. 3) It gives an overview of Goan Literature in Portuguese – for teachers and students of survey courses on literary production in Portuguese.

I was thirteen. Being thirteen is like being in the middle of nowhere. Which was accentuated by the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere. In a house that wasn't mine. In a city that wasn't mine, in a country that wasn't mine, with a one-man family that, in spite of the intersections and intentions (all very good), wasn't mine. When her mother dies, thirteen-year-old Vanja is left with no family and no sense of who she is, where she belongs, and what she should do. Determined to find her biological father in order to fill the void that has so suddenly appeared in her life, Vanja decides to leave Rio de Janeiro to live in Colorado with her stepfather, a former guerrilla notorious for his violent past. From there she goes in search of her biological father, tracing her mother's footsteps and gradually discovering the truth about herself. Rendered in lyrical and passionate prose, Crow Blue is a literary road trip through Brazil and America, and through dark decades of familial and political history.

For a more encompassing and stimulating picture of Modernism seen as a movement of the 20th century, a broad spectrum of work across many countries we must explore its diversity. Portuguese Modernism manifested itself both in visual art and in literature, and made a vigorous contribution to this time of profound cultural change. Indeed, the sociocultural transformations that marked the early 20th century in Portugal are still current. This volume provides a critical guide for students and teachers, contributed by an array of scholars with unparalleled knowledge of the period, its artists and its writers. Steffen Dix is Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Science, University of Lisbon; Jeronimo Pizarro is Research Fellow at the Linguistics Centre, University of Lisbon.

Folklore and Literature shows how modern folklore supplements an understanding of the early oral tradition and enhances the knowledge of the early literature. Besides documenting how writers incorporated folklore into their works, this book allows us to understand crucial passages whose learned authors took for granted a familiarity with the oral tradition, thus enabling us to restore those passages to their intended meaning. Studying the vicissitudes of oral transmission in great detail, this is the first book exclusively dedicated to the relationship between folklore and literature in a Luso-Brazilian context, taking into account the pan-Hispanic and other traditions as well. Some of the folkloric passages included are: Puputiriru; Celestina; El idolatra de Maria; Remando Vao Remadores; Barca Bela; Flerida; and Don Duarodos.