Baltasar and Blimunda.

New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1987. First American edition of Saramago's first book to be translated into English. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by the author on the half-title page, "Para Gus cordialmente Jose Saramago 13.5.2005." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket art by Giotto. Translated from the Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero. The New York Times Book Review has said that Baltasar and Blimunda "[m]uch reverberates in memory after reading this enchanting novel, but most of all the love story which soars over the rest of the action like a flute above a heavy orchestra. Mr. Saramago, a writer of sharp intelligence, keeps this love story under strict control, free of pathos or sentimentality. It is of, and on, the earth." Indeed, "Saramago has produced a novel that is deeply imbedded in the history of his land yet moves in mystical realms. It is a romance and an adventure, a rumination on royalty and religion in 18th century Portugal and a bitterly ironic comment on the uses of power" (Walter Goodman, The New York Times).