On Emerging from Hyper-nation Saramago's "historical" Trilogy

On Emerging From Hyper-Nation represents Ronald W. Sousa's attempt to answer the question, “Why do I smile on reading one of Saramago's 'historical' novels?” Why that reaction of emotional release? To answer the “smile question” the book engages in a critical mode that could be described as “discourse analysis.” It combines several critical strains and relies on basic concepts from Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, Adlerian psychology, and contemporary cognitive psychology for their discourse-analytical value rather than as entrées into psychoanalytical reading per se. The discussion brings to light a number of textual phenomena that bear upon the “smile question.” The reading of Sousa's reading, then, ends up being a reading of some of the cultural forces at work in postrevolutionary Portugal.