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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