10 José Saramago Books to Help
You See the World From New
Perspectives
Unique and poignant fiction from a Nobel Prize-
winner.
By Kelsey McConnell | Published Apr 24, 2020
There’s never a bad time to dive into the gorgeous novels of José Saramago. The
Portuguese author's writing is full of biting satire, rich explorations of humanity, and
beautiful glimpses at history. Saramago also has a knack for making surreal
situations seem normal, and for making the impossible seem inevitable. It's a skill
that's earned him comparisons to authors like George Orwell—and the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1998.
Though José Saramago passed away in 2010, his books are timeless. To many,
they may seem even more relevant as we adjust to the new realities that come with
quarantine and coronavirus. For a fresh new look at the world around you, even as
you sit in isolation at home, here are 10 incredible José Saramago books to
broaden your horizons.
Related: 12 Indie Books You Don’t Want to Miss
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
By José Saramago
This humorous and bold novel takes place in Portugal in the 1930s. A civil war with
fascist roots is brewing as dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar rises to power.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ricardo Reis returns home from travels through Brazil upon word
that the beloved poet Fernando Pessoa has passed away. As Reis abandons his
practice, takes up his own poetry, juggles affairs with two women, and coasts
through a world of new and dangerous politics, he is followed by the ghost of
Pessoa himself.
Baltasar and Blimunda
By José Saramago
In 1711 Portugal, multiple storylines of chaos weave together. The King promises
to build a lavish new convent if the Church convinces God to give him an heir to the
throne, while a lonesome priest works tirelessly on a flying machine steeped in
heresy. Romance burns bright yet tragic between a young couple brought together
by a twist of fate. And through it all, the horrors of the Inquisition rage on around the
people of Portugal, who create spectacles out of violence.
The Cave
By José Saramago
In a small village that borders The Center, an old potter, Cipriano Algor, lives with
his daughter, Marta, and her husband, Marçal. Inside of The Center is a network of
shops, apartments, and offices guarded by security—including Marçal himself.
When Cipriano’s humble business of pots and jugs is destroyed by the rise in
plastic goods, the family is forced to pack up and move into the center. But below
their new home they hear the strange sounds of digging, and the search for
answers will change this family’s lives forever.
The History of the Siege of Lisbon
By José Saramago
When Raimundo Silva changes one tiny word in an account of a king’s siege of
Lisbon, he alters the whole story as it is known. But when his editor, Maria Sara,
suggests that together they take this small transgression further, they disregard
facts to build new histories together. Through magical realism and an erotic story
of connection, the past is changed and modified from a history that was debatable
to begin with. As the past and future collide, so too do fact and fiction.
The Stone Raft
By José Saramago
In this allegorical novel, the Iberian Peninsula breaks off from Europe with no
explicable cause or warning. As it drifts through the sea, its residents begin to
panic. Yet five people on this strange new island are drawn to each other through
strange happenings, political floundering, spiritual connections, and sexual
discoveries. These five individuals become forever intertwined by fate’s forced new
perspective on living life adrift.
The Double
By José Saramago
At the suggestion of his colleagues, Tertuliano Máximo Afonso rents a specific
video to try and pull himself out of the depression that has followed him since his
divorce. After watching the film, he remains unimpressed. But when he catches a
glimpse of the film replaying in the middle of the night, he sees a man on screen
that is the spitting image of himself, only younger, healthier and more mustachioed.
Despite his misgivings, he sets off to track down this mysterious double out in the
real world.
This novel served as inspiration for the film Enemy, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
All the Names
By José Saramago
José Saramago spins a metaphysical thriller full of loneliness, chance, and love in
this tale about Senhor José, who works a low-ranking position at the Central
Registry. José sees nothing past the shelves which house the records of both the
living and the dead. But when the middle-aged man stumbles across the
documents of an anonymous woman, he finds himself inexplicably obsessed. He
uses every resource he can to try and track this young woman down, and the
closer he gets, the more he learns about himself, too.
Death with Interruptions
By José Saramago
On the first day of a new year, not a single person across the world dies. As
politicians, morticians, religious leaders and the like sort through disgruntlement,
the rest of mankind celebrates. But soon it’s clear that while the world has achieved
eternal life, they are left with the burden and strains of caring for the permanently
sick and undying.
Meanwhile, Death sits tucked away in her apartment, observing her experiment.
Maybe she never has to bring an end to another human life ever again. Maybe she
herself could become human. Maybe she could fall in love.
Blindness
By José Saramago
In this international bestseller, a city is afflicted with a merciless plague that causes
blindness. The first to be afflicted are sent to quarantine in a repurposed mental
hospital. Among them are a doctor and his seeing wife, who lied in order to stay
with her husband.
Conditions inside the hospital grow worse as the disease spreads throughout the
outside world as well, and eventually the doctor's wife leads a small group to
(relative) safety. A startling look at loss and cruelty in humankind, the novel serves
as a parable about the worst things people can do to one another—and the beauty
that comes from those who help.
Seeing
By José Saramago
In this satirical follow up to Blindness, set four years after the plague that struck
blindness upon a city, a terrible rain keeps the polling stations empty on the day of
an election. When the rain finally passes and the voters come out in droves,
politicians soon discover that most of the ballots were left blank. The citizens are
buzzing with thoughts of rebellion, and the authorities believe the mysterious
woman who retained her sight may be their leader. What changes are to come, and
what dangers may follow on its path?
The 15 Best Dystopian Books You
Haven’t Read Yet
Big Brother doesn’t want you reading these
novels.
By Renata Sweeney | Updated Feb 28, 2020 | Published Aug 22, 2016
When it comes to dystopian books, there are a lot of fish in the sea. In fact, some
novels are, quite literally, about fish coming out of the sea (Undertow, anyone?).
But if your doomsday reading list only includes books from George Orwell,
Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury, you’re missing out on some dystopian
goldmines.
Fortunately, there are many more dystopian novels than just 1984, Brave New
World and Fahrenheit 451. To celebrate them, we've created a list of killer
recommendations so you can broaden your dystopian book horizons.
Gray Matters
By William Hjortsberg
In this science fiction dystopian novel, 12-year-old Skeet is the only survivor of a
plane crash—kind of. His body is destroyed, but doctors are able to salvage his
brain, preserving it in a fish tank. Four hundred years later, it has become normal
for people’s brains to be preserved, granting them immortality.
The brains pass their days watching film clips, learning about new topics, and
meditating. But Skeet, their most famous, still-living resident, is a problem—as an
eternal adolescent, he still wants to be a cowboy. To avoid this embarrassment, his
keepers come up with a solution that will bend the laws of nature further than ever
before.
The Shore of Women
By Pamela Sargent
In this feminist dystopian classic, Sargent unveils a post-war society, where men
are exiled and used only for loveless reproduction. When a lone woman finds
herself living amongst the men, she must fight for her life just as she fights to fix her
flawed, female-dominated world. Check this one out for a refreshing reversal of
dystopian and post-apocalyptic tropes.
Lights Out in the Reptile House
By Jim Shepard
Though Karel Roeder lives in a country that has elements of Italy under fascism,
South Africa under apartheid and Chile under its military regime, all he wants to do
is learn from his mentor at the zoo’s reptile house and spend time with his girlfriend,
Leda.
But he soon finds that inaction and innocence are no longer an option, especially
after Kehr, a special assistant of the civil guard, billets himself in Karel’s home. A
National Book Award finalist, this coming of age dystopian novel takes “a fresh,
horrifying look at man’s inhumanity to man” (Library Journal).
The Sheep Look Up
Brunner’s dystopia is a look at a future where environmental destruction has run
amok. Disease, birth defects, and air pollution are so rampant that citizens wear
gas masks, and the poor are forced to drink fetid, unsafe water. Overpopulation has
led to a corrupt government, while violent eco-terrorists wreak havoc across the
globe.
Both groups are after Austin Train, an environmentalist on the lam whose expertise
makes him a valuable ally or a terrible enemy.
Random Acts of Senseless Violence
By Jack Womack
When 12-year-old Lola Hart’s parents have financial troubles, her world is upended.
No longer able to afford their Manhattan apartment or private school, they move to
Harlem, where Lola enrolls in public school. And the Harts are far from the only
people having trouble—through Lola’s diary, we read about the riots, gangs, and
civil unrest tearing apart New York and the rest of the country—it’s not unlike the
world Anthony Burgess created in A Clockwork Orange.
In this novel, “Womack’s stark vision of the United States’s decline is an
uncompromising satire that, perhaps even more than it did in the mid-1990s, forces
us to confront a world instantly recognizable as our own” (Los Angeles Review of
Books).
Parable of the Sower
By Octavia E. Butler
Lauren lives in an America lost to drugs, war, and a lack of resources—an
especially dangerous situation for a girl whose "hyperempathy" makes her sensitive
to the pain of others. When her family and safe neighborhood is lost to fire, Lauren
leads a group of refugees north, where she dreams up an idea that might just
change the world.
If you like Parable of the Sower, you’ll love the sequel, where a dangerous political
candidate attempts to reunite America through racism, isolationism, and religious
intolerance. The pièce de résistance? The candidate’s slogan is “Make America
Great Again.”
Rubicon Beach
By Steve Erickson
When prisoner Cale is released into the dystopian Los Angeles, he becomes
disturbed by strange visions of his own death. At the same time, a mysterious
woman stumbles from job to job, until she finds work with a screenwriter obsessed
with numerology. Their paths will eventually intersect—and with trippy
consequences—in this dark and ethereal novel.
The City, Not Long After
By Pat Murphy
From Nebula Award-winning author Pat Murphy comes this chilling post-
apocalyptic novel of hope, art, war and despair. Most of the world’s population has
been wiped out by a plague. In San Francisco, the survivors—painters, writers,
dreamers—begin the rebuild the city in their own image, hoping to create a society
based on peace, community, and art. But not everyone agrees with those ideals.
When Jax shows up in San Francisco, she brings news of a power-hungry man
looking to rebuild America for himself. His vision includes the Golden Gate Bridge—
and he has an army willing to take it.
The Continent of Lies
By James Morrow
In this dark and satiric book, virtual reality is the fad of the era. Players eat a
cephapple, or “dreambean,” and enter their desired reality: love stories, war stories,
and even horror stories. Similar to our present-day film critics, Quinjin’s job is to
write critiques of these adventures for potential consumers. But when a new, illicit
“dreambean” takes people to a nightmare hallucination that drives them mad,
Quinjin’s new job is to prevent the news from destroying the "dreambean"
industry...Prepare for a major mindtrip!
Love in the Ruins
By Walker Percy
Walker Percy’s surprisingly funny dystopian book begins in a “future” U.S. where
Americans are violently polarized along racial, political, and social lines. Meanwhile,
a seemingly endless war continues abroad. The only thing standing between
America and ruin? A device called a Lapsometer, which is capable of diagnosing all
of society’s ills.
Dr. Thomas More—a psychiatrist, inventor and former mental patient—goes on an
odyssey to cure the world, equipped with his own Lapsometer. More satire than
dismal prophecy, this is a light-hearted addition to your dystopian list.
Your Sins and Mine
By Taylor Caldwell
Best-selling author Taylor Caldwell was best known for her historical fiction
novels, but she also penned a dark fable about a world without faith. First, there
was the drought—there was no rain, no snow, and the creeks and rivers went dry.
But global warming was the least of their problems—things got much worse after
the moon vanished and the clocks stopped.
Next, a sulfurous fog began to roll across the land, choking all living things within
reach. And when the government finally arrives, it’s not to help—they have a
reason far more deadly than anyone can imagine.
Oryx and Crake
By Margaret Atwood
When you think about dystopian books, you probably think of Margaret Atwood's
80s classic The Handmaid's Tale. But you should also check out her more recent
venture, Oryx and Crake, which portrays a world where corporations control the
population with gene manipulation. Eerie and complex, Atwood skillfully examines
the inevitable consequences of an increasingly divided America through the story of
one man’s lost love.
On Such a Full Sea
By Chang-Rae Lee
Lee's America is in the same doldrums of decay, but it's also a startlingly original
take. Here, the descendants of poor provincial Chinese people make up the labor
class and are segregated from the rich. When Fan, a female fish-tank diver leaves
her settlement to search for the man she loves, her forbidden journey through the
lawless open country will become legend—especially to those she’s left behind.
More than your average dystopian book, On Such a Full Sea explores myth, art,
and truth.
The Running Man
By Stephen King
Ben Richards is so desperate for cash that he signs up for The Running Man, a
televised game show where runners wander the world while stalked by paid
hunters and law enforcement. Their prize: cash for every hour they stay alive.
Set in a dystopian world of collapsing economies and rising violence, the plot
of The Running Man may sound a little familiar, but that’s because it’s the
granddaddy of the televised kill-fest The Hunger Games takes its cues from. It’s
also reminiscent of King’s first psychological horror book, The Long Walk, in
which contestants must keep walking—or die.
The Water Knife
By Paolo Bacigalupi
Paolo Bacigalupi is the underappreciated modern master of the dystopian genre.
Here, his ingenious world-building is on full display, as he presents a disturbing
future where water is the major currency—and one that everyone will kill for.
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