Unfortunately for those of us who appreciate this Portuguese Nobel Laureate, this was his last novel as he died in 2010. Two of his most famous and profound books are 'Blindness' and 'The Cave'.
Cain, Jose Saramago (3)
Once again Jose Saramago shares his irreverent and ironic take on biblical tales, in this case the Old Testament from Adam and Eve to Noah. He follows Cain, after he kills Abel and the Lord lets him live, albeit to wander the earth with some odd time travel apparently to allow him to interact with the big names of the Old Testament (Job, Noah, Abraham) as he would not have been their contemporary. Throughout the book Cain points out to God, and us the Lord’s failings both in logic and in heart (such as how many innocent people died in Sodom). Shockingly the brother killer comes across as more sympathetic than the all-knowing (and supposedly all loving) God. If you can get beyond the sacrilegious flavor of the book, it can be very funny. I laughed out loud when Cain tried to explain to God that Noah’s ark would sink – using Archimedes’ Principle, and calling it ‘Archimedes’ Principle’! While his playfulness with timelines such as that (also Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden and meet a bunch of other people??) keep the book from taking itself too seriously, this may be hard for anyone who holds the Old Testament with particular respect and homage. It may be hard for them to appreciate Saramago’s style and irreverence.
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