The Elephant's Journey
{{Short description|2008 novel by José Saramago}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{essay-like|date=March 2015}}
{{infobox book |
| name = The Elephant's Journey
| title_orig = A Viagem do Elefante
| translator = Margaret Jull Costa
| image = TheElephantsJourney.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = José Saramago
| cover_artist =
| country = Portugal
| language = Portuguese
| series =
| genre =
| publisher = Caminho
| release_date = 2008
| english_pub_date = 2010
| media_type =
| pages = 285
| isbn = 978-0547574110
| dewey=
| congress=
| oclc=
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
The Elephant's Journey ({{langx|pt|A Viagem do Elefante}}) is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago. It was first published in 2008 with an English translation in 2010.
Plot
In 1551, King João III of Portugal gave Archduke Maximilian an unusual wedding present: an elephant named Solomon or Suleiman. This elephant's journey from Lisbon to Vienna was witnessed and remarked upon by scholars, historians, and ordinary people.{{Cite web |url=http://www.suleymantheelephant.ch/index2.html |title=Suleiman The Elephant |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=14 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614202314/http://www.suleymantheelephant.ch/index2.html |url-status=dead }} Out of this material, José Saramago has spun a novel already heralded as "a triumph of language, imagination, and humor" (El País).{{full citation needed|date=December 2012}}
Solomon and his keeper, Subhro, begin in dismal conditions, forgotten in a corner of the palace grounds. When it occurs to the king and queen that an elephant would be an appropriate wedding gift, everyone rushes to get them ready: Subhro is given two new suits of clothes and Solomon a long overdue scrub. They cross the border into Spain at Castelo Rodrigo and meet the Archduke at Valladolid.
Accompanied by the Archduke, his new wife, the royal guard, Soloman and Subhro cross a continent riven by the Reformation and civil wars. They make their way through the storied cities of northern Italy: Genoa, Piacenza, Mantua, Verona, Venice, and Trento, where the Council of Trent is in session. They brave the Alps and the terrifying Isarco and Brenner Passes; they sail from Rosas across the Mediterranean Sea and later up the Inn River (elephants, it turns out, are natural sailors). At last they make their grand entry into the imperial city. The Elephant's Journey is a tale of friendship and adventure.
Topics
Saramago shows the sentimental side of all people and animals,{{Citation |title=EL PODER DEL PRÍNCIPE DE ESTE MUNDO |date=2012-11-20 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvt7x84v.6 |work=Un cristiano en la senda de Buda |pages=19–36 |publisher=Herder |doi=10.2307/j.ctvt7x84v.6 |access-date=2022-05-24}} regardless of their social status. The characters are thus full of different nuances, such as the ignorance of kings, the convenient flexibility of a cleric in the middle of the night,{{Citation |title=El conquistador conquistado en la nueva novela histórica latinoamericana: la transculturación religiosa de Cabeza de Vaca, el camino secreto del chamán y el surgimiento de una teología de la liberación indígena en El largo atardecer del caminante de Abel Posse |date=2008-12-31 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.31819/9783964565976-045 |work=El viaje en la literatura hispanoamericana |pages=575–588 |publisher=Vervuert Verlagsgesellschaft |doi=10.31819/9783964565976-045 |isbn=9783964565976 |access-date=2022-05-24}} the intelligence of a mahout to sell elephant hair to alleviate any evil.{{Citation |title=EL MANDATO. |date=2003-08-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv23dxb7k.36 |work=Sentencias escogidas de José Hernández Arbeláez |pages=419–423 |publisher=Editorial Utadeo |doi=10.2307/j.ctv23dxb7k.36 |s2cid=244352148 |access-date=2022-05-24}}
Editions
The novel was translated into English by Margaret Jull Costa and published in 2010.
Reception
Upon release, The Elephant's Journey was generally well-received. Culture Critic gave it an aggregated critic score of 93 percent based on an accumulation of British and American press reviews.{{Cite web |title=José Saramago - The Elephant's Journey|url=http://www.culturecritic.co.uk/books/the-elephants-journey-jose-saramango/|access-date=12 July 2024|website=Culture Critic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930160746/http://www.culturecritic.co.uk/books/the-elephants-journey-jose-saramango/|archive-date=30 Sep 2010}} On Bookmarks Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a {{rating|4|5}} (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary saying, "Saramago's "vividly imagined alternate history" (Milwaukee Jrnl Sentinel) charmed the critics with its vibrant characters, rich irony, and droll, but astute, observations".{{Cite web |title=The Elephant's Journey By José Saramago|url=http://bookmarksmagazine.com/book-review/elephants-journey/jos%C3%A9-saramago|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905181616/http://bookmarksmagazine.com/book-review/elephants-journey/jos%C3%A9-saramago|archive-date=5 Sep 2015}}
Awards and recognitions
- 2009 São Paulo Prize for Literature — Shortlisted in the Best Book of the Year category (Portuguese original){{cite web |url=http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u574439.shtml |title=Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura divulga finalistas |work=Folha de S.Paulo |author=Folha Online |date=31 May 2009 |accessdate=6 April 2013}}
- 2011 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize — Winner (English translation).{{Cite web|url=http://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-weidenfeld-translation-prize/prevwinners.html|title=Previous winners|access-date=3 May 2012|archive-date=23 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423101105/http://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-weidenfeld-translation-prize/prevwinners.html|url-status=dead}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{José Saramago}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elephants Journey}}
Category:Novels by José Saramago
Category:21st-century Portuguese novels
Category:Novels about elephants
Category:Novels set in the 1550s
Category:Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
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