Cadernos de Literatura Comparada: Utopia e Espiritualidade (review)

This volume comprises fifteen essays and two book reviews and originated from papers given at the interdisciplinary colloquium "Utopia e Espiritualidade," held in the Faculty of Letters, Porto University, October 17-18, 2008. Divided into three sections, following the typical structure of the series Cadernos de Literatura Comparada, the present collection is a testament to the transdisciplinary nature of utopian studies and goes a long way to explore the extent of the relationship between utopia and spirituality.

The first part offers a thematic section on utopia and spirituality and presents a series of eleven essays. The range of discussion here is impressive. Useful topics include the utopian biblical code, explored by José Eduardo Reis, who, based on Northrop Frye's belief that the Bible constitutes the great Western literary code, goes on to assess the relationship between utopia and Christianity in an attempt to identify the "Bible's mythological universe," which integrates utopia's secular expression. Reis's text cleverly sets the tone for the remaining articles. Indeed, one of the strongest accomplishments of this volume, especially regarding the thematic section, is its sense of coherence. The articles often seem to overlap and debate with each other in the most fascinating and unexpected ways. In fact, the three following essays (by Pedro Vilas Boas Tavares, Abdul Rehman, and Paulo Borges) all dwell on the relationship between religion and utopian writing through the analysis of three distinct religions—Christianity, Islamism, and Buddhism, respectively—and are successful at both extending and challenging utopia's reach beyond the limits of the modern Western tradition. Tavares explores the "non-utopian character of the Christian existence" in the work of António Ferreira by exposing Ferreira's belief in the possibility of reaching the utopian ideal through a movement of social regeneration and reform in Portuguese society. Rehman's text, on the other hand, promotes Islamic faith and its dogmas by exposing the seven steps of Sufism as the Muslim nears the realization of the Islamic utopia—the meeting with God after death—which represents the ultimate spiritual perfection. Despite Rehman's clear considerations, the text would benefit from a slighter longer discussion. The ensuing essay, by Paulo Borges, recaptures the depth of the initial accounts and introduces the reader to the Buddhist "experience of death and after-death" through a c areful analysis of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

From here, the following explorations depart from the previous emphasis on religion and investigate a wide-range spectrum of texts of mainly Portuguese authors. In a deftly constructed study, Paulo Telles de Lemos explores the architecture of the sacred space as a means of uniting sacred and human, linking together a reading of Le Courbusier's Chapel of the Notre Dame Du Haut, located in Ronchamp, with Tadao Ando's Church on the Water, which glorifies the power of nature. The description of the Chapel of the Notre Dame Du Haut as symbolic of the cosmic mountain, thus acting as a point of passage from the profane space of this world to the sacred space of the sky, is particularly enthralling. Maria Luísa Borralho's contribution is also a refreshing addition to the collection, as it concentrates on the utopian facet of António Ferreira Gomes's work by exploring two texts by the author that are rarely studied: the play The Hero and the Saint (1931) and his preface to Sophia de Mello Breyner's Exemplary Tales (1970). The way Borralho elaborates on the necessary balance between action and contemplation in the never-ending human striving for liberty is particularly well accomplished here. The next essay, by Jorge Bastos da Silva, addresses Agostinho da Silva's "editorial enterprise" entitled Anthology: An Introduction to Great Authors. The collection is made up of a total of fifty-one pieces, published between 1941 and 1947, and includes texts by eminent figures "from a number of periods, languages and nationalities...