This Friday the new edition of the book Historia del sitio de Lisboa in the cultural center Koldo Mitxelena de Donostia-San Sebastián has been presented. The editorial Elkar is republishing in the Urrezko Biblioteka collection the translations that were once discatalogued from the Universal Literature collection, and within that collection has seen the light of this new edition.

The presentation of the book was attended by the translator Jon Alonso and the president of EIZIE, Itziar Diez de Ultzurrun, along with the editor of Elizegi Elkar, Xabier Mendiguren. While it is true that someone who was present in the publication of the translation was missing for the first time: In 1999 José Saramago himself attended the presentation of the book in Bilbao. It was not just any question: the fact that last year the Portuguese writer, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, went through the Basque capital with the subject of Basque translation, gave much to talk in the press.

In 2010, with the death of Saramago, Alonso reported the plot before and after the visit in an article published in ARGIA.

Transgression that changes history

As for the novel, Historia del asedio de Lisboa focuses on the story of the proofreader Raimundo Silva. He's a little bit of age, he's a single, and he's living a boring life until one day he's doing a little transgression. As he runs a book on the siege of Lisbon, he puts “no” in the place where he had to put “yes” and with that change he will put upside down Portugal’s history and Silva’s life.

This novel that tries to own destiny, history, humanity, fiction and self-love offers a good sample of Saramago’s special writing. In addition, this is the only book by Saramago that can be read in Basque.