(x) book design • (x) viagem a portugal

travel novel viagem a portugal by josé saramago. all elements of this work are handmade. the account of the author's journey through his home country is highly subjective and direct. i considered saramago an explorer who experiences his own country in a new way and grants the reader an insight into his unadulterated manuscript. thus, the classical book form was too stiff, too inflexible: respecting the six regions that saramago travels through, i divided the book into six booklets, which are held together by a single leather strap in the fold edge. this simple binding shall communicate the simplicity and directness of a manuscript. afterwards, the booklets have been pulled over a classical book cover for them to also work as a proper book. the reader is able to freely choose the way he wants to experience saramago's work. a hand drawn map at the end of each booklet offers access to the route of saramago on any page, that can either be hidden or present all the time.