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Title: The Cave by Jose Saramago, Margaret Costa ISBN: 0-15-602879-4 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 15 October, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.43 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Amazing Allegorical Tale
Comment: Jose Saramago is, quite possibly, the best living author. It is strange that I have such a varying reaction to his books: some I find fascinating ("The Cave", "Blindness") and others I find long-winded and difficult ("All the Names"). As with most authors, this can usually be attributed to the characterizations found in the books. Saramago's style remains the same - long sentences with tons of commas. It's endearing when it's working.
I feel no need to summarize the plot, for you can read that summary directly above. And I do not wish to wreck the ending by revealing what this allegory addresses (it directly links to a very old allegory by a very well-known and respected philosopher). What I will say is that this book is simply priceless.
I cannot understand the opinion of the reviewer who gave it three stars - attempting to find fault with the factual nature of the story is silly. I suggest that reader seek out a different author. Saramago is one of the last masters of the fable. Try reading his "The Tale of the Unknown Island", or "Blindness". He is not concerned with sci-fi or alternate-future reality; he is concerned with giving us strong characterizations, internal monologues, and dialogues which lead to a conclusion he wishes us to see. It is a waste of time to discuss whether or not "El Centro" is an accurate depiction of a monolithic shopping center. It is the foil on which the tale is built. Stories must at times be melodramatic to make a point. Certainly "El Centro" is a bit fanciful, but it is also hauntingly familiar.
This is the fastest I've ever read a book by Saramago, and I enjoyed every second of it. Cipriano Algor is a strong character (as is his dog Found) who will remain with me.
I heartily recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good anti-unification tale. Unification provides comfort and security ... but at what cost?
Rating: 5
Summary: Another Masterpiece from on of our greatest modern authors
Comment: It is good to see that Jose Saramago is not willing to rest on his laurels after winning the Nobel Prize. This book is a beautiful and intricately written as Blindness and All the Names. As one who has read all of his books, I am astonised by his writing power. The key to savoring Saramago is to read very slowly, savoring every word and idea that appears.
This novel like All the Names addresses the challenge modern man has in connecting to other human beings in a world that is becoming increasingly homogenized,the confict between city and country, and the role of women and poor in the world.
The heart of this novel is one Cipriano Algor, a potter who loses an exclusive conract with the Center. The Center is Saramago's symbol for the globalized economy as in exist today. An economy that has widenened the gulf between the rich and the poor, and where one day can bring someone from subsitence to homelessness.
But Saramago does more than attack globalization. He creates vivid, living characters who struggle with age, who experience the ecstatic joy of creating ceramic figurines, who argue and make up, who are human and wholly believable.
Rating: 4
Summary: Solid, but not Brilliant
Comment: Nobel Prize meets The Matrix in Saramago's parable of modern capitalism, which urges the reader to reject the materialist worldview increasingly embraced around the world and forge their own path. The only other book of his I've read is Blindness (which is an outstanding work), and this novel shares that one's setting of an unnamed country in the near future. Outside an unnamed city, an old man makes pottery, which he brings into town to tell at "The Center"óa kind of megalith mall which is slowly enveloping the city around it. A combination Walmart and Mall of the Americas, The Center sells everything one needs (one of their creepy slogans is "We Have What You Need, But We Prefer You Need What We Have), and houses apartments, amusements, and everything one needs to enjoy life, including simulated snow storms. Almost everyone aspires to live in the Center, so as to be closer to all these attract/distractions.
The framework of the sparse story is that The Center cancels their standing order with the potter, forcing him to confront his dying trade. Without any other market to sell to, he and his daughter try to convince The Center to buy ceramic dolls instead. When they agree and order 1,200 dolls, the duo must race to mass produce this new item in their old-fashioned workshop. An additional tension is added by the daughter's husband, who wants them all to move to The Center, where he works as a security guard. Other subplots include the appearance of a stray dog and a local widow's interest in the potter. The story is a something restrained critique of consumerist culture, with sharp digs and jabs here and there, and an overarching reference to Plato's Cave (if you don't know what that is, you'll want to read up on it online), but Saramago seems somewhat more interested in the small family and how they interact. It's a warm portrait of a group of people struggling to keep their heads above water in a mildly dystopian future. Especially endearing are the passages written from the dog's perspective.
The satire of The Center is pretty straightforward, with its control of what gets bought and sold, creepily cheery slogans, and officials who are masters of doublespeak (one line from a buyer goes something like "There is no secret of the bee, but we know what it is."). What is somewhat interesting (as Saramago is well known Communist) is that the same satirical points can (and have) been made against planned economies such as that of the former Soviet Union. The ending is appropriately ambiguous, leaving open the question as to whether or not there is any future in such a world.
It should be noted that the writing style is very distinctive, with little punctuation, no quote marks to delineate speech versus thought, no breaks to indicate who the speaker is, and paragraphs that run for pages and pages. You're either going to love it or hate it in that it'll either make for labored reading or complete immersion reading (our book group split right down the middle on this). Altogether, it's a solid bit of craft, it's not as brilliant as Blindness.
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Title: Living to Tell the Tale by GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ, EDITH GROSSMAN ISBN: 1400041341 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: All the Names by Jose Saramago, Margaret Costa ISBN: 0156010593 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 05 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Blindness by Jose Saramago, Giovanni Pontiero ISBN: 0156007754 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago ISBN: 0156001411 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: September, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago ISBN: 0156004011 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 14 June, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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