Jose Saramago, 1923-2010

[lupe]

Until yesterday, he was the bigest living writer. R.I.P

[Dimitra]

I just saw it in the news.I'm devastated,he was one of my favourites.:(
At least his wisdom,originality and unique sense of humour will stay with us forever.

R.I.P

[TheFifthElement]

What a sad day. He was an excellent writer. May he rest in peace.

[billl]

I have been aware of his name, but he is one of the many apparent greats I haven't read yet. It shouldn't be this way, but his death has perhaps alerted me to a genius I should soon read--here is a quote presented in a very brief remembrance (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/backissues/2010/06/postscript-jose-saramago.html#ixzz0rHmUiXwh) in The New Yorker


It is said that one cannot have everything in life. That’s how life is, what it gives with one hand one day, it takes away with the other.


Not sure I agree (at least not with the gloomiest interpretations of this gem), but a great, great hunk of food for thought.

[kiki1982]

Yes, RIP :(.

My absolute favorite. We don't have internet now we have moved and my hubby told me yesterday on an urgent vsit to the internet café (what they are good for eh). I was devastated.

Anyway, at least he left behind great stuff to read.

PS: anyone know what he died of?

[Bastable]

I always meant to get around to reading him, now i feel guilty. Perhaps now is the time to do it.

[Kafka's Crow]

I read Blindness a few months ago. Excellent book. He has left us enough and we should always be thankful for all his work. Rest in Peace Jose Saramago.

[Dimitra]

Yes, RIP :(.

My absolute favorite. We don't have internet now we have moved and my hubby told me yesterday on an urgent vsit to the internet café (what they are good for eh). I was devastated.

Anyway, at least he left behind great stuff to read.

PS: anyone know what he died of?

He had pneumonia.:frown5:

So ironic isn't it,that now 19 years,after the portugeuse government didn't allow him to compete for the European Literary Prize because it "offended the Catholic communit" which was nothing more but a pitiful attempt at censorship,that the portugeuse Minister herself is accompanying the body.:rolleyes5:
I guess it took a Nobel prize and his death for them to finally recognize his talent .
I'm looking forward for the translation of this new book Cain to be published.

[fontelroy]

He was one of my favourite authors, I will likely spend the rest of the day rereading his books. I will miss him greatly.

[kiki1982]

He had pneumonia.:frown5:

So ironic isn't it,that now 19 years,after the portugeuse government didn't allow him to compete for the European Literary Prize because it "offended the Catholic communit" which was nothing more but a pitiful attempt at censorship,that the portugeuse Minister herself is accompanying the body.:rolleyes5:
I guess it took a Nobel prize and his death for them to finally recognize his talent .
I'm looking forward for the translation of this new book Cain to be published.

Oooh, how sad. Just makes you think how fragile life is. The one day your there, the next you might fall ill and die unexpectedly...

Ironic indeed! But anyway, he's got his revenge, although he was past that as he despised them so much (or that I at least believe to have read somewhere). That was for his Gospel According to Jesus Christ wasn't it? If I am not mistaken he emigrated because of it, out of principle.

[Pecksie]

I respect the feelings of those of you who are fans of Saramago, and please don't take offense at what I'm going to say... but I must confess I'm more than a little surprised by comments like 'I'm devastated' or 'How fragile life is...' C'mon, people, we're talking about a man who was 87 years old, a prolific writer who by all accounts lived a happy life and enjoyed a lot of recognition --- including a Nobel Prize! Think of García Lorca, murdered at 38, or Miguel Hernández, who died in a Fascist prison, aged 32... or even Pavese, who killed himself at 41... Or just think of the many writers who, the length of their lives notwithstanding, were never acknowledged as great authors until after they were dead...

I had the same feelings when Uruguay's Mario Benedetti died last year, the same age as Saramago. People were saying things like 'I can't stop crying' or 'I can't believe this happened'... I think these feelings, deserving of respect as they are, should be reconsidered in the light of the many writers who died young or without getting the recognition they deserved.

[lupe]

I respect the feelings of those of you who are fans of Saramago, and please don't take offense at what I'm going to say... but I must confess I'm more than a little surprised by comments like 'I'm devastated' or 'How fragile life is...' C'mon, people, we're talking about a man who was 87 years old, a prolific writer who by all accounts lived a happy life and enjoyed a lot of recognition --- including a Nobel Prize! Think of García Lorca, murdered at 38, or Miguel Hernández, who died in a Fascist prison, aged 32... or even Pavese, who killed himself at 41... Or just think of the many writers who, the length of their lives notwithstanding, were never acknowledged as great authors until after they were dead...

I had the same feelings when Uruguay's Mario Benedetti died last year, the same age as Saramago. People were saying things like 'I can't stop crying' or 'I can't believe this happened'... I think these feelings, deserving of respect as they are, should be reconsidered in the light of the many writers who died young or without getting the recognition they deserved.

You are mostly right, Pecksie. There is nothing to cry or be sad about. We should remember and celebrate Saramago by reading his excellent books. Let's hope we all arrive at 87 having achieved so much in our lives.

This being said, look how many million people around the world are "devastated" because their national football team is disqualified at the world cup these days. Having a couple of literature-loving people "devastated" by the death of a great writer does not harm us at all...

[billl]

I think it is fair for a book-lover to feel, at the death of their favorite writer, at least a little 'devastated'. It is a strong word, and maybe a bit of hyperbole, who knows, but reading a favorite author can be a pretty intimate thing, in a way, at least for some people.
To realize that there won't be a 'next one' might be worth a little unrestrained lamentation on an internet forum. What the heck.

[Pecksie]

I think it is fair for a book-lover to feel, at the death of their favorite writer, at least a little 'devastated'. It is a strong word, and maybe a bit of hyperbole, who knows, but reading a favorite author can be a pretty intimate thing, in a way, at least for some people.
To realize that there won't be a 'next one' might be worth a little unrestrained lamentation on an internet forum. What the heck.

Yes, that is true. And of course grief is a very personal experience --- that's why I said I respect everyone's feelings. But one should keep things into perspective nonetheless. This man seems to have lived a rich and rewarding life (and I don't mean money, though that too probably came his way), and wrote a lot of books (as opposed to, for example, Emily Brontë's one novel --- what wouldn't one give for more!). I keep thinking of those cut in their prime, or those who never get any recognition, or those who just aren't allowed to express themselves (think writers living in dictatorships or other non-democratic regimes, or discriminated against by whatever reason).

As for there not being a 'next one', there's always hope. In the years since Borges died, the tape transcriptions of his university lessons, his letters, the odd jotting --- why, everything they could find has been published! Wouldn't be surprised to find his shopping lists in book form one of these days :)

[kiki1982]

Ok, let's put this in perspective, shall we. It's not that I cry all day long or so, just, like Bill says, the realisation that there is now a limited amount of Saramagos to be read and nothing more. I kind of had the same feeling with the Musketeer-trilogy... Although they were only fictional characters, it is like losing someone forever. There is nothing more that will result out of Saramago's mind other than what there is. Is that not worth beingdevastated about, then?

'How fragile life is' was not because I did not consider his age. Of course he was bound to die, 87. But, and that is the thing I was talking about, there wasn't any indication that he was going to die. He did not have a heart disease, no cancer, no MS, no nothing. To die of something like pneumonia is kind of sad. The same as a car accident, I find. It is accidental, not necessary, and foremost sudden. Yes, he died old, but accidental. My grandfather also died old and happy, suddenly, does that mean that one cannot be sad?

[Pecksie]

'How fragile life is' was not because I did not consider his age. Of course he was bound to die, 87. But, and that is the thing I was talking about, there wasn't any indication that he was going to die. He did not have a heart disease, no cancer, no MS, no nothing. To die of something like pneumonia is kind of sad. The same as a car accident, I find. It is accidental, not necessary, and foremost sudden. Yes, he died old, but accidental. My grandfather also died old and happy, suddenly, does that mean that one cannot be sad?

Yes, indeed, dying of pneumonia is sad. Dying in a car accident is sad. Also sad is dying of a long cruel illness, like cancer or AIDS or ALS. Who is to say whether a sudden death or a long-expected one is sadder? Probably both are. None of that is really to the point and I was not implying that you can't feel down because a beloved writer has died (I made that clear several times). I rest my case here so as not to get personal (like you seem to be getting) and earn a reprimand from the moderator :)

[kiki1982]

Sorry if it sounded personal. That I was not intending.

I suppose I find it sadder because I wasn't prepared for it or something. But of course I respect your view. And maybe you're right that my initial reply was a little too far. But I was in an internet-café and in a hurry, so I couldn't go on for a long time.

So, we rest our case.

[Virgil]

I've only read one novel by him, All The Names, and it was quite good. It seemed like a variation of Kafka. Rest in peace.

[Heteronym]

Today is the first anniversary of José Saramago's death.

[Panglossian]

Man-alive, I didn't know he had died. I've read and enjoyed many of his novels. Blindness; All The Names; Stone Raft; The Double. He lives on.

[Heteronym]

Keep reading, you haven't even read his best novels yet :yesnod:

[Panglossian]

Which ones do you suggest? I thought Blindness was his masterpiece, in that the subject matter suits his unique writing style the best. That was the one I read first. Uplifting and disturbing in equal measure. The other novels I read after it didn't have the same impact.

[Heteronym]

Well, if you've read Blindness, you can now read the semi-sequel, Seeing. Blindness isn't his best, just his most famous; but it fails to show what a funny novelist Saramago was.

There's The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, his possible masterpiece, about one of Fernando Pessoa's heteronyms, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, his rewriting of Jesus Christ's life, and the hilarious novel about death and Death, Death With Interruptions.

[kiki1982]

The Cave was also quite good, or how is it called in English? (La Caverna)

[Heteronym]

The Cave, yes: it's very good, lyrical even, but it has a strange ending.