No portico, farmhouse or ancient church is left undisturbed in Saramago's readable, if labyrinthine, tale of travelling across his homeland in 1979
- Samuel Muston, Independent
None but a Portuguese could have written this book; none but Saramago could produce travel writing like this. It is a wholly appropriate tribute to that astonishing juncture where the sea ends and the land begins
- Henry Sheen, New Statesman
A book that...is a search for his country's heartbeat... The writing is, as always with Saramago, dense: a labyrinth of meaning and innuendo. But what is clear is that he loves Portugal.
- Simon Blow, Independent on Sunday
One feels privileged to be in his company... This book is a joy to pick up and a delight to read
- Hugh O'Shaughnessy, Tablet