Quote:
Originally Posted by desertblues
I would like to nominate a book of the Nobel prize winner of 1998 José Saramago, The Elephants journey.
review from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010...aramago-review
History attests that in 1551, an elephant made the journey from Lisbon to Vienna, escorted first by officers of King João III of Portugal, then by officers of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Solomon the elephant and his mahout had already made a long sea voyage from Goa and spent a couple of years standing about in a pen in Lisbon, before setting off for Valladolid as a present from the king to the archduke, who travelled with him to Italy by ship and across the Alps to Vienna. In the novel, Solomon and his mahout Subhro (whom the archduke renames, with true Habsburg infelicity, Fritz) proceed through various landscapes at an unhurried pace, attended by various functionaries and military men, and meeting along the way with villagers and townsfolk who variously interpret the sudden enigma of an elephant entering their lives. And that's the story.
(Currently his collected novels (including the Elephant's journey) for Kindle are on sale at Amazon for $6.60, which is an excellent bargain.) |
desertblues, is this non-fiction?