text: A gold sticker on this book's cover reads "WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE."  Don't be mislead. The sticker must refer to the author not the book.  While he no doubt received the prize, after wading through the work I can't believe it was for this piece of work.  I found the book exceedingly boring, a chore to read every step of the way.  As the Iberian peninsula physically separates from Europe, several unengaging and underdeveloped characters (the most interesting of which was a dog) wander from one destination to another with meager purposes, certainly none I cared about. While the book may have been intended as an allegory for Portugal's relationship with the rest of Europe and the European Union, it failed to strike a chord.  I'll chalk this book up as something only a Pulitzer Prize judge would love
  