{"product_id":"9780547640242","title":"Manual of Painting and Calligraphy","description":"\u003ci\u003eManual of Painting and Calligraphy\u003c\/i\u003e was José Saramago’s first novel. Written eight years before the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eBaltasar and Blimunda\u003c\/i\u003e, it is a story of self-discovery set against the background of the last years of Salazar’s dictatorship. A struggling young artist, commissioned to paint a portrait of an influential industrialist, learns in the process about himself and the world around him. The brilliant juxtaposition of a passionate love story and the crisis of a nation foreshadows all of Saramago’s major works. A must-have for any devotee of the great Portuguese Nobel laureate, \u003ci\u003eManual of Painting and Calligraphy\u003c\/i\u003e is now available in the United States.","brand":"Houghton Mifflin Harcourt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47107116335344,"sku":"9780547640242","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780547640242_p0.jpg?v=1769915077","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780547640242","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}