This tale of two unlikely lovers in Inquisition-era Portugal is arguably Saramago's masterwork: a philosophically charged, intellectually rigorous historical drama which is also a captivating read. Domenico Scarlatti, King Joao V and Bartolmeu Lourenco, a Franciscan inventor-scientist who converted to Judaism, all appear in these pages, as Saramago weaves from their histories a new and serious folktale.  (PGL26, $15.00)