The Elephants Journey
by By Saramago, Jose and Costa, Margaret Jull (TRN)
Category: Fiction , Literary

The Enchanting Tale of an elephant, his keeper, and their journey through sixteenth-century Europe, based on a true story"A Quixote-esque journey, in the company of porters, guards, priests, officials, lords and ladies...and at the same time, a meditation, a reflection on humanity, on its flaws and weaknesses, on power, on friendship-La Repubblica (Italy)"A novel of wit, warmth and wonder...JosT Saramago once again shows why he's a master storyteller."ùYann Martel"A triumph of language, imagination, and humor."-El Pais (Spain)In 1551, King Jopo III or Portugal decided to give Archduke maximilian an unusual wedding present: an elephant named Solomon, along with his keeper, Subhro. The two have been living in dismal conditions, forgotten in a corner of the palace grounds. When it occurs to the king and queen that an elephant might 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.Accompanied by the archduke, his new bride, and the royal guard, our unlikely heroes traverse a continent riven by the Reformation and civil war. They make their way through the storied cities of northern Italy: Genoa, Piacenza, Mantua, Verona, Venice, and Trent, where the Council of Trent is in session. They brave the Alps and the Terrifying Isarco and Brenner passes; they sail across the Mediterranean Sea and up the Inn River. (Elephants, it turns out, are natural sailors.) At last they make their grand entry into the imperial city of Vienna.