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bru_ric_'s review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
joaocaetanoneves's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
joanagomes's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kaleja's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
acmarinho3's review against another edition
4.0
Por enquanto somos todos vida...
Que livro cativante e poético. Frases lindíssimas que nos fazem pensar no papel da morte. Saramago será sempre eterno.
Que livro cativante e poético. Frases lindíssimas que nos fazem pensar no papel da morte. Saramago será sempre eterno.
mutiny's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
spenkevich's review against another edition
4.0
Out of the half dozen Saramago novels I have read, this is actually my favorite. It may have been due in part that I devoured most of it while seated upon the sun soaked banks of a river this past July, but this short little work really struck me. It is so unique and imaginative and this book was just a really fun read. Despite it's focus of death and all, it isn't quite as heavy as most of his novels and will make you laugh at the dark abyss of death as most of this novel is actually darkly humorous. There is no traditional plot for the first two thirds of the novel as Saramago displays his story with a broad shot that encompasses all facets of his deathless phenomenon.
The first part of the novel is more or less Saramago's imagination exploring all sides of his idea. Saramago takes something most people would view as a great joy - to live forever - and puts it on an ugly display as a terrifying curse. Namely, just because you live forever doesn't mean you don't suffer bodily harm. He tells of people with their guts spilled out somehow living on and other horrific conditions to a similar effect. He goes on to explain how this also practically ruins the economy and brings about the maphia (who choose this with a 'ph' to separate themselves from the regular mafia) who create more undying corpses if you don't bow to their wishes. Wow. What a disaster of a world is made in the first 100 pages.
In the second section of the novel, Saramago zooms in and shows this event on a small scale; his major focus is on death herself and how she relates to the world. Saramago's death character was fascinating and different than any traditional image of death (speaking of tradition death, there is a funny bit where the government takes all the traditional images of death and uses technology to see what these skull images would look like with a human face) and he actually manages to make death a likeable, empathizable character. I won't go into the plot and spoil what happens in case you have not yet read this, but I never thought I'd read a book about Death as a main character and describe it as 'cute' and like it for that. Saramago once again does the impossible and all I can say is that after the last page you can't help but say "aww".
As a note of caution, Saramago has a unique style that tends to turn people away and this slightly bothers me. It is NOT difficult to read, give it a few pages and I promise you will grasp it. It flows surprisingly well. Also, Saramago has a very distinct voice that I can't get enough of. He speaks directly to you as a reader and he talks at his characters in a very fatherly, loving fashion that lets you see how proud he is of his own creations. He has a very good way of telling a story, often justifying his reasons for why he chose to tell it the way he does in a funny, unique manner. I would highly recommend this to any Saramago fan, and to anyone new to this Nobel laureate's works although I think Blindness might be a better starting point.
4/5
The first part of the novel is more or less Saramago's imagination exploring all sides of his idea. Saramago takes something most people would view as a great joy - to live forever - and puts it on an ugly display as a terrifying curse. Namely, just because you live forever doesn't mean you don't suffer bodily harm. He tells of people with their guts spilled out somehow living on and other horrific conditions to a similar effect. He goes on to explain how this also practically ruins the economy and brings about the maphia (who choose this with a 'ph' to separate themselves from the regular mafia) who create more undying corpses if you don't bow to their wishes. Wow. What a disaster of a world is made in the first 100 pages.
In the second section of the novel, Saramago zooms in and shows this event on a small scale; his major focus is on death herself and how she relates to the world. Saramago's death character was fascinating and different than any traditional image of death (speaking of tradition death, there is a funny bit where the government takes all the traditional images of death and uses technology to see what these skull images would look like with a human face) and he actually manages to make death a likeable, empathizable character. I won't go into the plot and spoil what happens in case you have not yet read this, but I never thought I'd read a book about Death as a main character and describe it as 'cute' and like it for that. Saramago once again does the impossible and all I can say is that after the last page you can't help but say "aww".
As a note of caution, Saramago has a unique style that tends to turn people away and this slightly bothers me. It is NOT difficult to read, give it a few pages and I promise you will grasp it. It flows surprisingly well. Also, Saramago has a very distinct voice that I can't get enough of. He speaks directly to you as a reader and he talks at his characters in a very fatherly, loving fashion that lets you see how proud he is of his own creations. He has a very good way of telling a story, often justifying his reasons for why he chose to tell it the way he does in a funny, unique manner. I would highly recommend this to any Saramago fan, and to anyone new to this Nobel laureate's works although I think Blindness might be a better starting point.
4/5
mariana_condeco's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alicegns's review against another edition
5.0
José Saramago is one of those individuals in the history of literature who serve as a model to any writer-wannabe. Ever since I first read about his life, I was fascinated by his passion for words that was so powerful it gave him the strength to turn from a car mechanic into a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Saramago only got the recognition he deserved when he was in his 60s and received the Nobel Prize for Literature at 76. When he died from leukemia at 87, his native Portugal was in mourning. He is now regarded as one of the country’s most precious treasures.
"Death at Intervals" is a short dystopian novel about, you guessed, death. One New Year's day in an unnamed country comes with a gift: people stop dying. Death is AWOL and everybody is drunk with happiness in the beginning. But after a few months, the locals discover that the lack of death doesn’t equal eternal life, and problems arise. From issues with life insurance to political and religious implications, it seems that it’s not easy to deal with death in absentia.
“Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.”
“If we don’t start dying again, we have no future,” is a phrase the prime minister tells the king at one point. After a couple of months, death makes a return but decides to be a bit more courteous from now on so everyone will start receiving a violet envelope to let them know they have a week to live. To complicate things even more, it looks like death can actually fall in love.
Death at Intervals is a social satire as much as a philosophical exploration of the human relationship with the concept of finality, as well as an inquiry in human frailty. Even though it can’t compare with Saramago’s more powerful works such as Blindness, it’s still a wonderful, slightly humorous skinny novel that offers an insight into the imaginative world of the Portuguese master.
Saramago only got the recognition he deserved when he was in his 60s and received the Nobel Prize for Literature at 76. When he died from leukemia at 87, his native Portugal was in mourning. He is now regarded as one of the country’s most precious treasures.
"Death at Intervals" is a short dystopian novel about, you guessed, death. One New Year's day in an unnamed country comes with a gift: people stop dying. Death is AWOL and everybody is drunk with happiness in the beginning. But after a few months, the locals discover that the lack of death doesn’t equal eternal life, and problems arise. From issues with life insurance to political and religious implications, it seems that it’s not easy to deal with death in absentia.
“Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.”
“If we don’t start dying again, we have no future,” is a phrase the prime minister tells the king at one point. After a couple of months, death makes a return but decides to be a bit more courteous from now on so everyone will start receiving a violet envelope to let them know they have a week to live. To complicate things even more, it looks like death can actually fall in love.
Death at Intervals is a social satire as much as a philosophical exploration of the human relationship with the concept of finality, as well as an inquiry in human frailty. Even though it can’t compare with Saramago’s more powerful works such as Blindness, it’s still a wonderful, slightly humorous skinny novel that offers an insight into the imaginative world of the Portuguese master.
suicidylan_epub's review against another edition
5.0
Ahora sólo quiero tener pareja para hablarle emocionado de todo lo que me hace sentir este libro. Qué mal me hizo leerte, Saramago.