The History of the Siege of Lisbon — Jose Saramago

A proofreader realizes his power to edit the truth on a whim, in a “brilliantly original” novel by a Nobel Prize winner (Los Angeles Times Book Review).
 
Raimundo Silva is a middle-aged, celibate clerk, proofing manuscripts for a respectable publishing house. Fluent in Portuguese, he has been assigned to work on a standard history of the country, and the twelfth-century king who laid siege to Lisbon. In a moment of subversive daring, Raimundo decides to change just one single word of text -- a capricious revision that completely undoes the past. When discovered, his insolent disregard for facts appalls his employers -- save for his new editor, Maria Sara. She suggests that Rainmundo take his transgressions even further.
 
Through Rainmundo and Maria's eyes, what transpires is an alternate view of history and a colorful reinvention of a debatable truth. It's a serpentine journey through time where past and present converge, fact becomes myth, and fiction and reality blur -- especially for Rainmundo and Maria themselves, who begin to find themselves erotically drawn to each other.
 
“Walter Mitty has nothing on Raimundo Silva . . . this hypnotic tale is a great comic romp through history, language and the imagination.” -- Publishers Weekly
 
Translated by Giovanni Pontiero