{"product_id":"9780547640228-secondhand-manual-of-painting-and-calligraphy","title":"Manual of Painting and Calligraphy","description":"From the Nobel Prize winning author--a novel that takes us into the last days of Salazar's dictatorship when a second-rate artist is commissioned by a wealthy client to paint a portrait and the political and intellectual struggles that ensue. Manual of Painting and Calligraphy  was Jose Saramago's first novel. Written eight years before the critically acclaimed  Baltasar and Blimunda , it is a story of self-discovery set against the background of the last years of Salazar's dictatorship. A struggling young artist, commissioned to paint a portrait of an influential industrialist, learns in the process about himself and the world around him. The brilliant juxtaposition of a passionate love story and the crisis of a nation foreshadows all of Saramago's major works. A must-have for any devotee of the great Portuguese Nobel laureate,  Manual of Painting and Calligraphy  is now available in the United States. \"Taut and compelling.\" --  Los Angeles Times Book Review \"Beautifully realized, heartbreakingly honest.\" --  Providence Journal-Bulletin \"Almost impossible to put down.\" --  Austin American-Statesman","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48918186918107,"sku":"9780547640228-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/cbd523a5-0b36-4f9b-b0bc-b0dda77e28d8.jpg?v=1782763186","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/9780547640228-secondhand-manual-of-painting-and-calligraphy","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}