The City and the Mountains (Portuguese: A Cidade e as Serras) is a satirical novel comparing the emptiness of upper-class life in Paris with the pleasures found in rural Portugal. It was written in 1895 by José Maria de Eça de Queirós (1845–1900), also known as Eça de Queiroz, when he was living in Paris. The novel was published posthumously in Portuguese in 1901 with a final edit and an ending contributed by his friend, Ramalho Ortigão.[1] The first English version, translated by Roy Campbell, was published by the Ohio University Press in 1967.[2] A new translation by Margaret Jull Costa was published by Dedalus Books in 2008, and republished in 2018.
The City and the Mountains
Cover of the 2018 English-language version published by Dedalus
The story reflects the author's own experiences. For many years he had angled to get the post of Portuguese consul in Paris but, once there, he found the city "very coarse as regards manners and ideas, and it's completely black! In 1892 he had inherited an estate in the Douro valley of Portugal, which he found to be very beautiful, while noting the poverty of the inhabitants."[1]
Plotedit
Jacinto is well-educated and rich, and mixes with the cream of Parisian society. He lives in an apartment on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in which he has installed the latest technology, much of which has a tendency to go wrong. He has 30,000 books and knows of all the latest ideas on the secrets of happiness, but is not happy. When Zé Fernandes, a long-time friend and the narrator of the story, visits him after an absence of seven years, Jacinto is starting to find Parisian society boring.[3][4] His formula for a good life has “contorted itself into a debilitating kind of retail therapy”.[5]
Jacinto finally decides to visit his country estate in Portugal after a landslide occurs that destroys the 16th-century chapel where the remains of his ancestors were housed. However, he cannot travel there without first boxing up many of his Parisian possessions and sending them to the estate. But fate intervenes amusingly during the journey and Zé and Jacinto arrive there with no possessions. Jacinto enjoys rural living and becomes involved in the management of his estates. He is appalled by the rural poverty, including that experienced by his tenants, and tries to do something about it by improving housing and handing out money. He eventually marries Zé's cousin and becomes a father. Half-hearted suggestions that they should visit Paris are conveniently forgotten and Jacinto becomes “well and truly settled”.[6]
Reviewsedit
A reviewer in the UK's The Independent considered the novel to be "a smart balance of satire, irony and lyric grace – the progress of a rich brat who quits the city to find fulfilment in rural life".[3] Another review felt that the novel offered a "wry take on fin-de-siècle life as experienced by two secular, well-heeled young men in the bustle of Paris and in the quietude of the Portuguese countryside". However, the same reviewer argued that the book was not particularly profound and was basically a second-string work by a major author. This was due not to the quality of the prose, but to the reliance upon the most easily caricatured subjects, unlike the novelist's other books.[5]
Several reviewers comment adversely on the end of the book, written by Eça's friend, Ramalho Ortigão, which is seen as being too flowery, predictable and sentimental for the satirical tone of the novel.[1][4]
Referencesedit
^ abcJull Costa, Margaret (2018). Introduction to The City and the Mountains. Dedalus. pp. 9–11. ISBN9781903517710.
^"The city & the mountains Eça de Queiroz ; translated from the Portuguese by Roy Campbell". Trove. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
^ abTonkin, Boyd. "The City and the Mountains". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
^ abThe City and the Mountains by Eça de Queirós. Retrieved 7 July 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ abByrd, Christopher. "The City and the Mountains By JOSE MARIA de ECA de QUEIROS". Barnes and Noble. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
^Costa, Eça de Queiroz ; translated with an introduction by Margaret Jull (2008). The city and the mountains. Sawtry [England]: Dedalus. p. 223. ISBN9781903517710.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
April 14, 2024
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The City and the Mountains Portuguese A Cidade e as Serras is a satirical novel comparing the emptiness of upper class life in Paris with the pleasures found in rural Portugal It was written in 1895 by Jose Maria de Eca de Queiros 1845 1900 also known as Eca de Queiroz when he was living in Paris The novel was published posthumously in Portuguese in 1901 with a final edit and an ending contributed by his friend Ramalho Ortigao 1 The first English version translated by Roy Campbell was published by the Ohio University Press in 1967 2 A new translation by Margaret Jull Costa was published by Dedalus Books in 2008 and republished in 2018 The City and the MountainsCover of the 2018 English language version published by DedalusAuthorJose Maria de Eca de QueirosOriginal titleA Cidade e as SerrasTranslatorMargaret Jull CostaCover artistMarie Lane Carlos BotelhoCountryPortugalLanguagePortugueseSeriesDedalus European ClassicsGenreSatirePublisherDedalusPublication date1901Published in English1967 Ohio University Press 2008 Dedalus Pages237ISBN9781903517710 Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 3 Reviews 4 ReferencesBackground editThe story reflects the author s own experiences For many years he had angled to get the post of Portuguese consul in Paris but once there he found the city very coarse as regards manners and ideas and it s completely black In 1892 he had inherited an estate in the Douro valley of Portugal which he found to be very beautiful while noting the poverty of the inhabitants 1 Plot editJacinto is well educated and rich and mixes with the cream of Parisian society He lives in an apartment on the Champs Elysees in Paris in which he has installed the latest technology much of which has a tendency to go wrong He has 30 000 books and knows of all the latest ideas on the secrets of happiness but is not happy When Ze Fernandes a long time friend and the narrator of the story visits him after an absence of seven years Jacinto is starting to find Parisian society boring 3 4 His formula for a good life has contorted itself into a debilitating kind of retail therapy 5 Jacinto finally decides to visit his country estate in Portugal after a landslide occurs that destroys the 16th century chapel where the remains of his ancestors were housed However he cannot travel there without first boxing up many of his Parisian possessions and sending them to the estate But fate intervenes amusingly during the journey and Ze and Jacinto arrive there with no possessions Jacinto enjoys rural living and becomes involved in the management of his estates He is appalled by the rural poverty including that experienced by his tenants and tries to do something about it by improving housing and handing out money He eventually marries Ze s cousin and becomes a father Half hearted suggestions that they should visit Paris are conveniently forgotten and Jacinto becomes well and truly settled 6 Reviews editA reviewer in the UK s The Independent considered the novel to be a smart balance of satire irony and lyric grace the progress of a rich brat who quits the city to find fulfilment in rural life 3 Another review felt that the novel offered a wry take on fin de siecle life as experienced by two secular well heeled young men in the bustle of Paris and in the quietude of the Portuguese countryside However the same reviewer argued that the book was not particularly profound and was basically a second string work by a major author This was due not to the quality of the prose but to the reliance upon the most easily caricatured subjects unlike the novelist s other books 5 Several reviewers comment adversely on the end of the book written by Eca s friend Ramalho Ortigao which is seen as being too flowery predictable and sentimental for the satirical tone of the novel 1 4 References edit a b c Jull Costa Margaret 2018 Introduction to The City and the Mountains Dedalus pp 9 11 ISBN 9781903517710 The city amp the mountains Eca de Queiroz translated from the Portuguese by Roy Campbell Trove Retrieved 7 July 2018 a b Tonkin Boyd The City and the Mountains The Independent Retrieved 7 July 2018 a b The City and the Mountains by Eca de Queiros Retrieved 7 July 2018 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a website ignored help a b Byrd Christopher The City and the Mountains By JOSE MARIA de ECA de QUEIROS Barnes and Noble Retrieved 7 July 2018 Costa Eca de Queiroz translated with an introduction by Margaret Jull 2008 The city and the mountains Sawtry England Dedalus p 223 ISBN 9781903517710 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The City and the Mountains amp oldid 1192184344, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
