"José Saramago, one of the most critically acclaimed writers world-wide, was distinguished with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. This honour, the first to be bestowed on a Portuguese language writer marked one of the high points in a long and multiple career. Largely an auto-didact, Saramago never let fame obscure his clear vision of the world, tempered by a lifelong acquaintance with severe inequality, political struggle, but also success, be it in terms of the 1974 revolution that freed Portugal from nearly fifty years of dictatorship, be it in the growing acclaim he received since deciding to focus on writing. The Nobel Prize provided Saramago with a wider, perhaps more effective, base for expressing his opinions; but it did not bring about a rupture, neither with his political convictions, nor with his writing. In the large bibliography on Saramago sustained critical studies in English are still relatively scarce. This volume, composed by many diverse voices, and the first to focus on Saramago's late works, strives to address that gap. As 2022 marks Saramago's centenary, this volume is dedicated especially to his enduring memory and to all the futures his works made possible to envision"--

サラマーゴという巨星がノーベル賞受賞後に到達した、さらなる文学的深淵を解明する本作は、単なる評論を超えた「魂の対話」の記録です。独特の長い文章と句読点を排した独自の文体が生む、意識の奔流のような語り口。そこには、老境に入ってもなお衰えることのない権力への抵抗と、人間への深い慈愛が、より純化された形で息づいています。 多様な論者たちが彼の「後期作品」に焦点を当て、名声に甘んじることなく進化し続けた作家の不屈の精神を浮き彫りにします。不平等の是正と政治的闘争を書き続けた彼の鋭い眼差しは、現代を生きる私たちが新たな未来を構想するための灯火となるでしょう。サラマーゴの文学が切り拓いた無限の可能性を、この一冊を通して今こそ全身で受け止めてください。