Jose de Sousa Saramago, (November 1922 - June 2010), was a
Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in
Literature. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories,
commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events,
emphasizing the theopoetic human factor. More than two million
copies of Saramago's books have been sold in Portugal alone and his
work has been translated into 25 languages. He was a founding
member of the National Front for the Defense of Culture in Lisbon
in 1992, and co-founder with Orhan Pamuk, of the European Writers'
Parliament (EWP).
Nick Caistor is an award-winning translator of more than fifty
works from Spanish and Portuguese. He has also published short
biographies of Octavio Paz, Fidel Castro and Ernesto 'Che' Guevara,
as well as cultural histories of Buenos Aires and Mexico City. His
daughter, Lucia Caistor, is a social researcher focusing on cities
and how people experience them. She lives between London and
Lisbon, and has translated several works from Argentina, Brazil,
and Portugal.
Jose Francisco Borges (Bezerros, Brazil, 1935) is one of the
greatest popular artists of Brazil, and a key figure in the
tradition of string (loose sheets with texts and images that tell
stories). In 1964 he published his first work in the genre- O
encontro de dois vaqueiros no Sert o de Petronila, which would be
followed by more than two hundred cords to present. His work has
been the subject of exhibitions in the United States, France,
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico and Venezuela. He currently
resides in his hometown, where he teaches the art of wood engraving
(xilogravura) to his family.
"This memorable fable about the arrival of a giant, fork-tongued
but seemingly harmless lizard artfully combines the mythmaking
sensibilities of the Portuguese Nobel laureate Saramago and the
Brazilian artist Borges. The mysterious lizard shows up in an
ordinary town, and 'panic filled the air.' As forces gather to
attack it, the creature is transformed into a rose, possibly by
fairies. The winsome language and striking woodcut art in bold
colors and lots of black capture the ominous rush to judgment and
the sweet possibility of wonderment." —Maria Russo, New York Times
Book Review
"Borges contributes bold, rustic woodcuts that leave plenty of room
for symbolic interpretations. ... A pensive, allegorical fairy tale
for readers ready to sit with perplexity." —Kirkus Reviews
"Ably translated by the Caistors, this surreal fable by Nobel
Prize–winner Saramago imagines a monstrously outsize military
response to the appearance of a lizard. ... the fable serves
as a reminder that in toxic political situations, nothing—not even
a fairy lizard—is safe. Ages 6–9." —Publishers Weekly
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