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哥倫布行動
法蘭西院士、龔固爾文學獎得主顛峰之作
船隻並非只能從港口出發，它們被夢想推著向前航……
分派任務時，海與潮水歸他；風的國度歸他；天空與星子歸他；
航海、挑選船艦、招聘船員，都歸他。
歸我管的是地圖，以及，最重要的──島嶼。
哥倫布，我的兄長，整片汪洋都在他的腦袋裡……
哥倫布的地理大發現，已有許多歷史學者評論過，
往後還會有更多評論，並辯論其影響。
但身為他的親弟弟，唯一一個從他幼年就與他熟識的人，
我親眼見證他的想法萌生，他的狂熱日與俱增。
我想述說的，即是這場誕生，這場瘋狂……
一四七六年八月十三日，葡萄牙外海，克里斯多福．哥倫布發生船難。日後的大航海家當時剛滿二十五歲，奇蹟般地成功游抵岸邊。他來到里斯本，找到以地圖繪製師為業的弟弟巴托羅密歐，尋求庇護。
在里斯本這座當時的知識之都裡，匯聚了船隻出航必要的各種人才：數學家、天象專家、地理學家、造船師傅、航海器具工匠以及製圖師。於是，整整八年，兩兄弟一起工作，一起為克里斯多福的航行準備，那是他孩提時就懷抱的夢想：印度行動，目的地包括日本國和天可汗的國度（中國）。但是，他不願走傳統的絲路朝東，他要挑戰怒海，向西航行。
一位地圖繪製師、一頭犀牛、一名寡婦製造者、一隻鷸鳥、一名以耳朵聞名的妓女、馬可波羅、幾名道明會修士、活吞印第安土著的猛犬……皆是這場敘事中的登場人物。字裡行間充滿彷若天方夜譚般的奇珍異事，除了令人嘖嘖稱奇的趣聞外，更有不少荒謬情事讓人忍不住搖頭嘆息。
歐森納以他詼諧而諷刺的筆觸，重現這段人類搜奇史上鮮為人知的時期，並提出種種反思：為什麼對地理大發現的熱情會造成當地原住民的滅絕？為什麼？為什麼要發現，若發現只是為了戮殺航海家的發現？
借用歐森納的話說：「船與書有個共通點，兩者都用於發現」、「讀一本書，就像乘一艘船，也能翱遊四海，且不怕暈浪嘔吐或感染敗血症」。請翻開書頁，跟著歐森納出航吧，一同見證哥倫布的好奇、狂熱與殘酷。
船隻並非只能從港口出發，它們被夢想推著向前航……
分派任務時，海與潮水歸他；風的國度歸他；天空與星子歸他；
航海、挑選船艦、招聘船員，都歸他。
歸我管的是地圖，以及，最重要的──島嶼。
哥倫布，我的兄長，整片汪洋都在他的腦袋裡……
哥倫布的地理大發現，已有許多歷史學者評論過，
往後還會有更多評論，並辯論其影響。
但身為他的親弟弟，唯一一個從他幼年就與他熟識的人，
我親眼見證他的想法萌生，他的狂熱日與俱增。
我想述說的，即是這場誕生，這場瘋狂……
一四七六年八月十三日，葡萄牙外海，克里斯多福．哥倫布發生船難。日後的大航海家當時剛滿二十五歲，奇蹟般地成功游抵岸邊。他來到里斯本，找到以地圖繪製師為業的弟弟巴托羅密歐，尋求庇護。
在里斯本這座當時的知識之都裡，匯聚了船隻出航必要的各種人才：數學家、天象專家、地理學家、造船師傅、航海器具工匠以及製圖師。於是，整整八年，兩兄弟一起工作，一起為克里斯多福的航行準備，那是他孩提時就懷抱的夢想：印度行動，目的地包括日本國和天可汗的國度（中國）。但是，他不願走傳統的絲路朝東，他要挑戰怒海，向西航行。
一位地圖繪製師、一頭犀牛、一名寡婦製造者、一隻鷸鳥、一名以耳朵聞名的妓女、馬可波羅、幾名道明會修士、活吞印第安土著的猛犬……皆是這場敘事中的登場人物。字裡行間充滿彷若天方夜譚般的奇珍異事，除了令人嘖嘖稱奇的趣聞外，更有不少荒謬情事讓人忍不住搖頭嘆息。
歐森納以他詼諧而諷刺的筆觸，重現這段人類搜奇史上鮮為人知的時期，並提出種種反思：為什麼對地理大發現的熱情會造成當地原住民的滅絕？為什麼？為什麼要發現，若發現只是為了戮殺航海家的發現？
借用歐森納的話說：「船與書有個共通點，兩者都用於發現」、「讀一本書，就像乘一艘船，也能翱遊四海，且不怕暈浪嘔吐或感染敗血症」。請翻開書頁，跟著歐森納出航吧，一同見證哥倫布的好奇、狂熱與殘酷。
316 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2010
17 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Érik Orsenna
174 books94 followersÉrik Orsenna, pseudonyme d'Erik Arnoult est un romancier français. Après des études de philosophie et de sciences politiques, il a fait des études en Angleterre (London School of Economics). Son pseudonyme Orsenna est le nom de la vieille ville du Rivage des Syrtes, de Julien Gracq.
Érik Orsenna, nom de plume of Erik Arnoult is a French novelist. After studying philosophy and political science, he studied economics at the London School of Economics. His pseudonym Orsenna is the name of the old town of The Opposing Shore by Julien Gracq.
Érik Orsenna, nom de plume of Erik Arnoult is a French novelist. After studying philosophy and political science, he studied economics at the London School of Economics. His pseudonym Orsenna is the name of the old town of The Opposing Shore by Julien Gracq.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 16, 2019
Dizem que Cristóvão Colombo inspirou tantos livros como a II Guerra Mundial. A ser verdade, é obra!
«Empresa das Índias» (2010) é um saboroso livro escrito com um grande sentido de humor (pelo menos até meio da narrativa) por Erik Orsenna, vencedor do Prémio Goncourt em 1988 com o romance «A Exposição Colonial»
Através dos olhos do irmão Bartolomeu, cartógrafo em Lisboa, conta-se a história da vivência e aprendizagem portuguesa do outro Colombo, o ruivo de «cabelo da cor do sol poente» que tinha o sonho de chegar à Índia por Oeste.
Uma grande variedade de personagens onde até existe um fabricante de viúvas – afinal, as portuguesas da época dos Descobrimentos não tinham tanta vocação para Penélopes como eu pensava!
Numa entrevista ao Diário de Notícias, Orsenna explica, porém, que Lisboa é a verdadeira personagem principal do seu romance e descreve a cidade portuguesa como sendo na época «a capital da curiosidade.»
As páginas dedicadas - e são muitas - a essa Lisboa, capital do «glorioso país da mentira», vibrante e cosmopolita da época, onde coabitavam conhecimento, verdades e mentiras ao serviço do secretismo que caracterizou a saga dos Descobrimentos, são as mais interessantes do livro.
Gostei de ler, ou não fosse eu uma apaixonada pelos séculos XV e XVI espanhol e português.
«Empresa das Índias» (2010) é um saboroso livro escrito com um grande sentido de humor (pelo menos até meio da narrativa) por Erik Orsenna, vencedor do Prémio Goncourt em 1988 com o romance «A Exposição Colonial»
Através dos olhos do irmão Bartolomeu, cartógrafo em Lisboa, conta-se a história da vivência e aprendizagem portuguesa do outro Colombo, o ruivo de «cabelo da cor do sol poente» que tinha o sonho de chegar à Índia por Oeste.
Uma grande variedade de personagens onde até existe um fabricante de viúvas – afinal, as portuguesas da época dos Descobrimentos não tinham tanta vocação para Penélopes como eu pensava!
Numa entrevista ao Diário de Notícias, Orsenna explica, porém, que Lisboa é a verdadeira personagem principal do seu romance e descreve a cidade portuguesa como sendo na época «a capital da curiosidade.»
As páginas dedicadas - e são muitas - a essa Lisboa, capital do «glorioso país da mentira», vibrante e cosmopolita da época, onde coabitavam conhecimento, verdades e mentiras ao serviço do secretismo que caracterizou a saga dos Descobrimentos, são as mais interessantes do livro.
Gostei de ler, ou não fosse eu uma apaixonada pelos séculos XV e XVI espanhol e português.
January 31, 2022
The younger brother of Christopher Columbus speaks,...he says about the Hispañola Island (*): he himself and brother didn't discover paradise, Bible's,...but got close to it.
(One of the three maplets, or map sketches, attributed to Bartholomew Columbus showing the new discoveries “attached to Asia”, also shown is western Africa)
(A re-drawing of all three map sketches illustrating Columbus’ view of the world)
Bartolomeo recounts the inflamed church sermons of Frei [Friar] Antonio Montesinos: in defense of the native Indians, victims of exploitation. And there's this man who travelled with Colombo in his second voyage (1493) to the New World: Bartolomeo de las Casas. Both Bartolomeos talk about the Discoveries and the cruelty it brought to the Island.
It's 1511, Christmas time. The Bartolomeos try to find the answer to the problem in the Bible. Columbus and his brother used to read a chapter of the Book every Sunday, back in Lisbon.
Oh Lisbon! once, so great you were...!
It seems all started in Lisbon, Bartolomeo recalls. He had spent childhood in Genova, Italy, with his brother. Mother Susana had arranged them to attend the worst school in the place; a school where Bartolomeo was educated in the "Holy Ignorance" spirit- the religious one...the one that made Bartolomeo think for some time that the Earth was flat.
(The “Columbus map” which perhaps was drawn by Christopher Columbus and his brother Bartolomeo in Lisbon around 1490 before the discovery of the New World, showing the known world in their time)
And then 1469: he arrives to Lisbon, and with some difficulty and luck gets a job in the office of the great Cartographer Andrea. This one will open his eyes in what concerns geography knowledge. Andrea teaches Bartolomeo: Erastotenes, Hiparco of Niceia and the Jew Abraham Cresques (author of the Catalan Atlas). Bartolomeu goes through rebellion feelings towards his previous education. He still remembers with some jealousy back in Genova: "Christopher's only interest was his Enterprise [of the Indies] and everybody cared only about Christopher".
In Lisbon, it´s a new vision of the world, timid Bartolomeo develops: Earth as a sphere.
(The "Colombus map" was drawn circa 1490 in the workshop of Bartolomeo and Christopher Columbus in Lisbon)
In the city there's so much agitation and people rush constantly to see the ships arriving; like that one that brought a rhinoceros; what a creature from another world! A mix of animal and rock...a beast not created by God,says a priest in his church: an entity issued from a "hole in time"; let's burn it!! And then the crowd wants more: a fight! the rhinoceros versus an elephant in a public plaza; it seems the rhino charged...the elephant got away,...and later, with rhino tusks, a business thrived for a short while: the magic virility tusks...powder.
I won't resist quoting Erik Orsenna vision of the Portuguese: "Inhabitants of a lovely country, and so tempered, sometimes too quiet, the Portuguese could not avoid falling in love with the wild life". Correct.
After the rhinos came the turtles and the leprosy remedies; and there's this feverish endeavor to name (in Portuguese! No savage syllables allowed!) all the wild species imported; so, "mogno" for a tree, and "lamantin" for a kind of seal, and so on.
The King expressly instituted an Academy of Translation. Yes, Italian/Genovese Bartolomeo was witnessing these manoeuvres in Portuguese land. Bartolomeu learned that the Lie is daughter of the Truth...and at the Cartographer's he understands why two kinds of maps are being made: the true ones for the King and the false ones to fool the enemies.
In 1473 he receives one visitor: red-hair brother Christopher, so busy, it's been years, voyaging through the Atlantic Ocean. Bartolomeu now is no more a child; Christopher mocks about the maps of Andrea and is obsessed with the "Journey Around"...; and reveals a true faith in the stars, the sea currents and the winds; it's a brief encounter.
Bartolomeu felt the older brother, the wizard of his childhood, wanted to hire him.
Amazing description of Lisbon of those times; one unforgettable detail: a garden for the blind...
(*) A major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
(One of the three maplets, or map sketches, attributed to Bartholomew Columbus showing the new discoveries “attached to Asia”, also shown is western Africa)
(A re-drawing of all three map sketches illustrating Columbus’ view of the world)
Bartolomeo recounts the inflamed church sermons of Frei [Friar] Antonio Montesinos: in defense of the native Indians, victims of exploitation. And there's this man who travelled with Colombo in his second voyage (1493) to the New World: Bartolomeo de las Casas. Both Bartolomeos talk about the Discoveries and the cruelty it brought to the Island.
It's 1511, Christmas time. The Bartolomeos try to find the answer to the problem in the Bible. Columbus and his brother used to read a chapter of the Book every Sunday, back in Lisbon.
Oh Lisbon! once, so great you were...!
It seems all started in Lisbon, Bartolomeo recalls. He had spent childhood in Genova, Italy, with his brother. Mother Susana had arranged them to attend the worst school in the place; a school where Bartolomeo was educated in the "Holy Ignorance" spirit- the religious one...the one that made Bartolomeo think for some time that the Earth was flat.
(The “Columbus map” which perhaps was drawn by Christopher Columbus and his brother Bartolomeo in Lisbon around 1490 before the discovery of the New World, showing the known world in their time)
And then 1469: he arrives to Lisbon, and with some difficulty and luck gets a job in the office of the great Cartographer Andrea. This one will open his eyes in what concerns geography knowledge. Andrea teaches Bartolomeo: Erastotenes, Hiparco of Niceia and the Jew Abraham Cresques (author of the Catalan Atlas). Bartolomeu goes through rebellion feelings towards his previous education. He still remembers with some jealousy back in Genova: "Christopher's only interest was his Enterprise [of the Indies] and everybody cared only about Christopher".
In Lisbon, it´s a new vision of the world, timid Bartolomeo develops: Earth as a sphere.
(The "Colombus map" was drawn circa 1490 in the workshop of Bartolomeo and Christopher Columbus in Lisbon)
In the city there's so much agitation and people rush constantly to see the ships arriving; like that one that brought a rhinoceros; what a creature from another world! A mix of animal and rock...a beast not created by God,says a priest in his church: an entity issued from a "hole in time"; let's burn it!! And then the crowd wants more: a fight! the rhinoceros versus an elephant in a public plaza; it seems the rhino charged...the elephant got away,...and later, with rhino tusks, a business thrived for a short while: the magic virility tusks...powder.
I won't resist quoting Erik Orsenna vision of the Portuguese: "Inhabitants of a lovely country, and so tempered, sometimes too quiet, the Portuguese could not avoid falling in love with the wild life". Correct.
After the rhinos came the turtles and the leprosy remedies; and there's this feverish endeavor to name (in Portuguese! No savage syllables allowed!) all the wild species imported; so, "mogno" for a tree, and "lamantin" for a kind of seal, and so on.
The King expressly instituted an Academy of Translation. Yes, Italian/Genovese Bartolomeo was witnessing these manoeuvres in Portuguese land. Bartolomeu learned that the Lie is daughter of the Truth...and at the Cartographer's he understands why two kinds of maps are being made: the true ones for the King and the false ones to fool the enemies.
In 1473 he receives one visitor: red-hair brother Christopher, so busy, it's been years, voyaging through the Atlantic Ocean. Bartolomeu now is no more a child; Christopher mocks about the maps of Andrea and is obsessed with the "Journey Around"...; and reveals a true faith in the stars, the sea currents and the winds; it's a brief encounter.
Bartolomeu felt the older brother, the wizard of his childhood, wanted to hire him.
Amazing description of Lisbon of those times; one unforgettable detail: a garden for the blind...
(*) A major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
March 20, 2017
Celui ci est l'un parmi nombreux livres qui parlent de cristophe Colomb et de sa découverte des Indes.
Erik Orsenna nous emporte dans ce roman sur les chemins de l'histoire, il nous parle de cristophe un peu, mais sur tout de son frère Bartolomé ainsi sa vision des choses et sa participation à l'établissement du rêve de son frère.
On découvre aussi Lisbonne et la vie des cartographes.
C'est un livre a mettre entre tous les mains.
Erik Orsenna nous emporte dans ce roman sur les chemins de l'histoire, il nous parle de cristophe un peu, mais sur tout de son frère Bartolomé ainsi sa vision des choses et sa participation à l'établissement du rêve de son frère.
On découvre aussi Lisbonne et la vie des cartographes.
C'est un livre a mettre entre tous les mains.
November 5, 2019
Au risque de passer pour une snob je n'ai pas tellement accrochée avec ce livre et son histoire.
Je pensais lire l'envers du décors du voyage de Christophe Colomb, ne serait-ce que des détails inédits mais malheureusement il ne se passe absolument rien dans ce livre.
Le style est très bon et si le lien n'était pas fait avec Colomb, le livre serait, je pense, meilleur. On passe son temps a attendre qu'il se passe quelque chose, l'auteur flirte avec la supposée folie de son frère, les choses terribles qu'il a vue... Il faut attendre les dernières pages pour que le personnage avoue, du bout des lèvres, des secrets qui laissent un peu sur la faim.
Cela ressemble à un exercice de style litteraire, raconter une histoire d'un autre point de vue. Dans ce cas-là, l’exercice est réussi. Cependant cela n'en fait pas forcément un roman.
Je pensais lire l'envers du décors du voyage de Christophe Colomb, ne serait-ce que des détails inédits mais malheureusement il ne se passe absolument rien dans ce livre.
Le style est très bon et si le lien n'était pas fait avec Colomb, le livre serait, je pense, meilleur. On passe son temps a attendre qu'il se passe quelque chose, l'auteur flirte avec la supposée folie de son frère, les choses terribles qu'il a vue... Il faut attendre les dernières pages pour que le personnage avoue, du bout des lèvres, des secrets qui laissent un peu sur la faim.
Cela ressemble à un exercice de style litteraire, raconter une histoire d'un autre point de vue. Dans ce cas-là, l’exercice est réussi. Cependant cela n'en fait pas forcément un roman.
July 13, 2020
Aunque una mención al Rey de Cataluña (sic) en la primera página y una aseveración sobre la menor crueldad del colonialismo portugués sobre el español, basado sólo en que aquel actuó sobre uns porción de terreno menor, hace que dudes de la fiabilidad de lo escrito, el libro va discurriendo como una carabela sobre el mar. Interesante sobre todo para amantes de cartografía y navegación
August 4, 2023
Erik Orsenna tem um estilo maravilhoso de escrever. Mistura poesia com ironia e bom humor. Esse livro trata da preparacao da viagem de descoberta. Tudo aqui se passa antes da viagem. O Livro é escrito na forma de descricao dessa preparacao pelo seu irmao mais jovem Bartolomeu. Extremamente interessante no que diz respeito à cartografia da época.
September 19, 2024
J’aime le style d’Orsenna et sa capacité à nous immerger dans un espace / une époque. De plus point de vue intéressant que de découvrir la découverte de l’Amérique via le point de vue du frère de Christophe Colomb
May 27, 2021
The Sory of Cristovão Colombo and Lisbon before Colombo's voyage.
Want to read
February 23, 20252010
December 9, 2012
Loved this book. I picked it up from a "leave a book, take a book" shelf at a conference center in Singapore (the book I left was IN COLD BLOOD by Capote). Orsenna pulls off a tough challenge with this volume: the "less successful younger brother" shtick. But he nails it. The book isn't about exploration, maps, or history. It's about an idea - the idea of this "enterprise of the Indies," Christopher Columbus's dream of sailing west to find the Indies. Narrating to a Dominican friar, Bartolomeo Columbus recounts his childhood in Genoa with his older brother, the brother's long years away at sea in the 1470s and '80s, and his obsessive - almost desperate - efforts to assess the size of the Asian continent as it extends eastward, away from Europe. The farther Asia reaches, the smaller the expanse of ocean that Columbus will have to cross to land there from the East.
There is a focus, of course, on Bartolomeo's many years as a mapmaker, and those interested in cartography (or the idea of it, even) will find the first half of the book very engaging, just on that basis.
The language is tinged with enough detail to evoke the 15th century European setting, but the narrative moves quickly enough between the worldly and the personal to keep the story interesting. Orsenna avoids the mistake (of which AS Byatt and Charles Frazier are among the worst offenders) of giving too much period detail in an attempt to legitimize the setting. Not needed: the ideas carry the work forward, not the recipes or the style of hat.
I knew nothing about Orsenna before reading this, but will seek out more of his works, based on L'ENTREPRISE.
(Note: This book is in French.)
There is a focus, of course, on Bartolomeo's many years as a mapmaker, and those interested in cartography (or the idea of it, even) will find the first half of the book very engaging, just on that basis.
The language is tinged with enough detail to evoke the 15th century European setting, but the narrative moves quickly enough between the worldly and the personal to keep the story interesting. Orsenna avoids the mistake (of which AS Byatt and Charles Frazier are among the worst offenders) of giving too much period detail in an attempt to legitimize the setting. Not needed: the ideas carry the work forward, not the recipes or the style of hat.
I knew nothing about Orsenna before reading this, but will seek out more of his works, based on L'ENTREPRISE.
(Note: This book is in French.)
August 5, 2012
La construction du roman m'a laissée dubitative. Le récit-cadre n'a pas une grande importance. Celui des années de jeunesse est intéressant, mais
August 19, 2014
Qué mejor para alguien apasionado de la historia moderna un libro sobre este periodo contado por uno de sus protagonistas? Claro que en clave de ficcion, el hermano de Cristobal Colon relata como fueron los hechos que llevaron a su hermano a pensar y planificar su famoso viaje por occidente para alcanzar las Indias.
Mas que recomendable.
Mas que recomendable.
January 2, 2013
2.5 would have been a more fair rating, as it was an interesting and original way to tell about the discovery of America; on the other hand, the first person and the voice used for the narrative never convinced me.
July 2, 2013
Orsenna réussit à nous faire partager la tristesse d'un Bartholomé vieillissant. Il ressuscite une Lisbonne - ah, Lisbonne- du XVIème siècle.
Avant tout, c'est un beau livre sur la cartographie et la relation fraternelle - sur la mer et les îles.
Avant tout, c'est un beau livre sur la cartographie et la relation fraternelle - sur la mer et les îles.
June 30, 2014
Eu, que costumo gostar de tudo o que esteja relacionado com a história, não gostei muito deste livro.
O autor relata os preparativos da viagem de Cristóvão Colombo mas, na minha opinião, não consegue prender o leitor.
O autor relata os preparativos da viagem de Cristóvão Colombo mas, na minha opinião, não consegue prender o leitor.
May 3, 2015
Il est toujours intéressant et agréable de découvrir une histoire que l'on connaît à travers un autre point de vu mais on ne s'attache pas vraiment à un des personnages et les anecdotes historiques qui pourraient compenser cette distance ne sont pas au rendez-vous. Un peu déçu par le tout.
June 24, 2012
3,5/5
October 22, 2012
I enjoyed this book, I wanted to read more about the younger Columbus, his story was fascinating, and I just know he had lots more stories to tell.
December 29, 2012
Découvrez le voyage de Christophe Colomb a travers les yeux de son frère. Passionnant, vibrant, et très bien agencé.
June 3, 2014
Un livre intéressant ,mais le ton assez geignard du narrateur m'a empêchée d'être captivée
May 17, 2016
The live of Bartholomew Columbus, younger brother of Christopher and governor of Hispaniola. He talks about his young adult life in Lisbon before his brother's voyages. An okay work of fiction.
March 31, 2020
Si en vez de un sólo libro de 500 páginas, fueran 5 de 100, sería una serie de libritos maravillosos. Pero como no es así, el libro es un tostón aburridísimo e infumable.
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August 11, 2011Trés intelligent et agréable à lire.
January 14, 2015
Die Geschichte von Christoph Kolumbus aus der Sicht seines Bruders Bartolomeo erzählt.
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