No Ulysses update today. Bookman was home with me all weekend, something that, given his variable schedule, doesn’t happen very often so I took the weekend off from Joyce to spend being lazy and enjoying my husband’s company. So today, for Halloween and the last day of the RIP Challenge, I have Jose Saramago’s Death with Interruptions.
It is a slim novel written in Saramago’s trademark style of long paragraphs, long sentences and very little punctuation. However, in spite of entire conversations taking place in one sentence, it was easy to read. But that could also be because I am used to the way her writes. I imagine if I had never read him before it would be a bit trickier until I caught on.
On New Year’s Day in an unnamed country people stop dying. Those who at midnight were close to death, suddenly are in a state of suspended life to the dismay of family. At first everyone was happy that death was no more, well everyone except the religious leaders who held an emergency meeting and worried that now they could not offer life after death in heaven, people would stop attending church.
Soon, the people who make money from the dead, mortuaries and coffin makers, florists, etc, all begin complaining that their livelihoods are threatened and get the government to declare that all pets have to now be buried with their services (the only ones who have stopped dying are people). The life insurance industry also find themselves in a quandary. And end of life facilities that take care of the elderly and near dead are soon filled to capacity and scrambling to find more room. People might not be dying but they are still getting old.
Death has only ceased in this one particular country, everyone else goes on as usual. A new industry springs up, sneaking the dying across the border to they can really die and secretly burying them there.
People grow increasingly unhappy until after months have gone by, a letter in a violet envelope mysteriously appears in the locked office of the director of television. The letter turns out to be from death and she says that she got tired of hearing everyone complain about death so she stopped killing people. Since this has made people even unhappier, she, death, will resume her duties but people will be warned of their impending demise by letter a week in advance to give them time to put their affairs in order and say goodbye to loved ones.
As you can imagine this does not go well. People do not like to know ahead of time the day they are going to die. But death keeps sending out her letters until one day one is returned to sender. Death is perplexed and she must investigate. I will say no more except that both death and the man for whom the letter is intended both get more than they bargained for.
It’s a great story, a parable, or is it an allegory? No matter. It is a highly imaginative approach to examining death and our dependence on it as well as our fear of it and the various ways people cope with the knowledge of their mortality or lack thereof, whichever the case may be. There is humor in the book and satire and sadness, and of course, plenty of room for philosophizing such as when an apprentice philosopher has a conversation with the spirit hovering over the water of the aquarium in which the philosopher’s goldfish lives (spirit likes to hover over water in case you are wondering):
This is what the spirit hovering over the water of the aquarium asked the apprentice philosopher, Have you ever wondered if death is the same for all living beings, be they animals, human beings included, or plants, from the grass you walk on to the hundred-meter-tall sequoiadendron giganteum, will the death that kills a man who knows he’s going to die be the same as that of a horse who never will. And, it went on, at what point did the silkworm die after having shut itself up in a cocoon and bolted the door, how was it possible for the life of one to have been born out of the death of the other, the life of the moth out of the death of the worm, and for them to be the same but different, or did the silkworm not die because the moth still lives.
That’s only a small part of their conversation.
A marvelous book, I highly recommend it. And while it might not be a typical ghost story for this time of year, it is still a very appropriate RIP read perfect for those of us who are afraid of the things that go bump in the night.
Sound like an interesting read. I want to read his latest, Cain, as well.
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This sounds so interesting, I picked up Blindness to try by him. If I like it I will definitely get this one.
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I can’t wait to read it.
My Wife and I are both approaching the dirt nap. We have planned for it right down to the gravesites,casket’s,etc,etc,etc.
We are very open with each other on the subject, and I welcome reading a book on the subject.
Thak you so much Stephanie. If this author has any other books you would recommend I would appreciate it.
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This sounds fascinating – I’ve been meaning to read Saramago and have Blindness somewhere on the shelves, but I’ll get a copy of this one as well. Reading your thoughts here reminded me of another book I’d like to read called Death Wishing by Laura Ellen Scott. It’s about New Orleans and suddenly people are granted their death wishes, so things start changing as people die. No more cancer is someone’s wish, no more cats is another person’s wish. I haven’t read it yet myself, but plan to soon.
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I love a good parable and this certainly sounds like one. I have been meaning to read Saramago for the longest time, and I MUST get to him. Perhaps in December I will find a slot!
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Kevin, it was a really good. I’d also like to read Cain.
Marce, Blindness is excellent.if you like it, be sure to read its companion, Seeing.
Roy, hope you had a fun Halloween. If you read this one and like it, Saramago is generally a treat. I have also read his books Blindness and Seeing. both excellent.
Michelle, Saramago I find is one of those authors who is always a treat. Death Wishing sounds intriguing! I’ll have to look for it.
Litlove, I do hope you find time for Saramago evnetually. I am curious to hear what you make of him. I think you’d like him quite a lot especially if you like parables.
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This one sounds so good. Such an interesting premise on the one event no one can avoid. Thanks for making me aware of this one, Stefanie.
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Of Saramago’s backlist, I’ve only read Blindness and Seeing, but based on those I think he does such a good job both thinking up and executing elegant conceptual alternate realities, following through on a sometimes-outlandish premise until it reaches its natural, almost naturalistic conclusion. Given that I quite like his trademark style and also his method of parable-making, I’d say it’s about time for me to check out something else of his! I’m only slightly overwhelmed there are so many options to choose from, but this one is high on my list.
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I love, love, love Jose Saramago’s books. This is a call for everyone to read more of his books. Blindness hogs all the attention. But this writer’s backlist is absolutely fantastic. And thanks for the review.
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Jenclair, it was good and handled so lightly and deftly. A quick read, but it will hang with me for awhile.
Emily, I agree with everything you said. Until this one I had only reading Blindness and Seeing and I liked them both so much I was a little worried that maybe this one would be so different from what I was expecting that I might not like it. But it was marvelous. He does have quite a lot of books and I look forward to making my way through them all.
Kinna, I’ve not gotten into his backlist yet but I am very much looking forward to doing so. don’t want to rush it though, he is one to be savored.
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I haven’t read this one yet. Thanks for reminding me about it.
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Ahhh — yes, what a terrific book to have read as a Halloween read!
Every year I too try to read a scary / spooky / eerie thing at this time. This year I read Daphne du Maurier’s short story collection called Don’t Look Now. It was really a terrific read, but not quite as straight out scary as i was hoping.
Saramago though — yep, that was a good one.
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Isabella, glad to provide the reminder. I hope you enjoy it when you read it!
Cipriano, I have Don’t Look Now somewhere and would have read it but couldn’t find it! Maybe next year. But Saramago was definitely a treat. But then, isn’t he always?
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I have yet to read Saramago, but even with the loose punctuation style I like the sound of this one! You can never make everyone happy, can you, even when people stop dying!
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Danielle, I think once you got used to his style you would really like Saramago. He is a really good storyteller. Yeah, death was not pleased that people were not happy with the new arrangements.
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