A book about Death that is paradoxically hilarious
It gives nothing away to say that on page one, news surfaces that Death has gone on vacation, or strike, or for some unknown reason has stepped back from its infernal mission. Beginning that day, no one dies anymore. The initially jubilant response soon runs into complications galore, as this event obviously undercuts all that mankind has defined as its fate since our expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Saramago spins this fantastic tale with satirical genius, skewering every segment of society and exposing all the transactional devices we utilize to get through life.
Strange as it may seem given that its subject is Death, I was laughing out loud over and over again, even more so on the second reading than on the first. It's no surprise to me now why he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998.
