Cain is saramagos last book, so you may say that i am starting at the end. He experiences the almostsacrifice of isaac by abraham, the tower of babel, the destruction of sodom and gomorrah, joshua at the battle of jericho, jobs ordeal, and. In cain s saramago s eyes god is irrational, vengeful, bloodthirsty, petty and a host of other unfavorable adjectives. The main characters of this fiction, religion story are. Cain his rewriting of the biblical story was his final novel, and is in some ways a. The late nobel laureates final novel, a radical retelling of the old testament. After killing his brother abel, cain is condemned to be a wanderer in time as well as space, a convention that allows the author to transport him to the scene of a series of biblical stories from the sacrifice of isaac and the building of the. I read it in no time and i dont read many books as much i would want to. Like forrest gump, the wandering cain of saramago witnessed we. This final work of portuguese nobel laureate jose saramago takes as its hero the fratricidal cain and as its villainthe god of the old testament. Like forrest gump, the wandering cain of saramago witnessed we all know that cain was the firstborn of adam and eve.
He is a witness to and participant in the stories of isaac and abraham, the destruction of the tower of babel, moses and the golden calf, the trials of job. The last novel to be written before the death of the great portuguese novelist and nobel prize winner jose saramago, who passed away in. Saramago was an atheist in real life, and this book is a reimagining of some of the stories of the old testament with the title character cain being the center of novel. Harvill seckers edition of this remarkable book will be part of a tribute to saramago s life and work which includes the gradual reissue of his previous novels as vintage classics. Cain, by jose saramago 23 dezembro, 2011 0 portuguese novelist jose saramago, nobel prize winner and author of the bestselling blindness, created something of a stir before his death when he declared that society would have been better off without the bible.
Early on, it was difficult to follow, but i quickly found myself actually enjoying it. Originally published in 1999, this was the first of two books that madeup the blindness series by author jose saramago. Cain doubtless has very sharp eyes, but not so sharp that. If you are the publisher or author of this book and. If in the gospel according to jesus christ, jose saramago presented us with his vision of the new testament, in cain. In this, his last novel, saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the bible through the story of cain. In saramagos hands, he wanders the book of genesis, aided by the fact he can go back and forth in time. The malign, selfsatisfied deity of cain and of the gospel according to jesus christ, to which this book is a coda, resembles the disembodied, cruel government of saramago s. The book was published in multiple languages including portuguese, consists of 182 pages and is available in paperback format. Saramagos writing style is engaging because its so unusual.
First brought out through the harvest books publishing label, this continues many of the ideas saramago had throughout his life. Why would a dedicated communist and atheist turn to the bible as the theme for his final novel. Cains vagabond journey builds to a stunning climax that, like the book itself, is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career. Far from merely inverting the biblical tales or turning them inside out, he. Written in the last years of saramagos life, cain wittily tackles many of the moral and logical non sequiturs created by a wilful, authoritarain god, forming part of saramagos long argument with god and recalling his provocative novel the gospel according to jesus christ. A retelling of the biblical story of cain and abel, as well as adam and eve, noahs ark, etc. Condemned to wander forever after he kills abel, he is whisked around in time and space. The best modern if not modernist writersmann, kafka, bellow, the list goes onhave always. The first edition of the novel was published in october 18th 2009, and was written by jose saramago. Saramago s writing style is engaging because its so unusual.
Jun 18, 2010 jose saramago, portuguese novelist and man of letters who was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1998. In cainssaramagos eyes god is irrational, vengeful, bloodthirsty, petty and a host of other unfavorable adjectives. Because the bible is literature, and literature in a way that the best writers have long recognizedand the late saramago small memories, 2011, etc. Gods judgment after abels death is for cain to be a restless wanderer. Asked by god where his brother abel was, cain produced the notable response, am i my brothers keeper. Jose saramagos final novel turns the old testament into a shaggy dog story. In jose saramagos final novel, cain is a flawed everyman. Cain has no idea where he is, he cant tell if the donkey is taking him along one of the many roads of the past or along some narrow track in the future, or if, quite simply, he is trotting through some new present that has not, as yet. Via wikepedia, the literary concept of heteronym, refers to one or more imaginary characters created by a writer to write in different styles. San francisco chronicle in this, his last novel, jose saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of. Pdf caim book by jose saramago free download 182 pages. Cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramago s protagonist. Publishers weekly, starred saramago transforms familiar stories boldly, but with an intricate respect for their power and for the mysterious power of storytelling itself. Maybe im also reading in too much that it was his last book and have an image of this guy at the end of his life lashing out.
Although saramago begins with the story of cain killing his brother abel, he uses the result to take it further. Cain jose saramago, jose saramago, saramago, jose compra. Cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramagos protagonist. Jun 19, 2011 it was in the middle of reading this book that i concluded that jose saramago was having too much fun writing his books. After holding a series of jobs as mechanic and metalworker, saramago. Condemned to wander forever after he kills his brother abel, cain makes his way through the world in045324845c. Iscriviti a prime ciao, accedi account e liste accedi account e liste ordini iscriviti a prime carrello. Cain by jose saramago meet your next favorite book.
You may also call it a last rant of an old atheist, both descriptions hold. Jose saramago novel finally published after 59 years late nobel laureate submitted manuscript to portuguese publisher in 1953, before he achieved international acclaim published. He is a witness to and participant in the stories of isaac and abraham, the destruction of the tower of babel, moses and the golden calf, the. While i appreciated some of the cynicism and the sarcasm, it wore on me after a while. English description if in the gospel according to jesus christ, jose saramago presented us with his vision of the new testament, in cain he comes back to the first books of the bible. If he was ghanaian, we would hold a oneyear celebration of his life and passing, called afenhyia, to mark the day. The older he got, the more freely he felt, and the more radically he took a political stand, and throughout his life the author has made no secret of being an atheist. Oct 23, 2011 the malign, selfsatisfied deity of cain and of the gospel according to jesus christ, to which this book is a coda, resembles the disembodied, cruel government of saramagos. A startling booksensual, funnyin all ways a fitting end to saramagos extraordinary career. Saramago juxtaposes an eminently readable narrative of work and poverty, class and desire, knowledge and timelessnessone in which god, too, as he faces cain in the wake of noahs ark, emerges as far more human than expected. Jul 15, 2011 cain s is the story of mankind, and saramago was one of those authors much concerned with the plight of mankind. Harvill seckers edition of this remarkable book will be part of a tribute to saramagos life and work which includes the gradual reissue of his previous novels as vintage classics.
The last novel to be written before the death of the great portuguese novelist and nobel prize winner jose saramago, who passed away in june 2010 a controversial book in the mode of the gospel according to jesus christ. Cain by jose saramago translated by margaret jull costa. In his final slim novel, the late jose saramago gives a cheeky modernist update to a timeworn biblical tale. I got the book for my birthday, it was my first jose saramago book and i really enjoyed it. Cain is the final novel by nobel prize winning author jose saramago. But his iconoclastic attitude towards the bible and religion wears thin after a while leaving this reader at least wanting more depth and less caricature. Cain is the final novel by nobel prizewinning author jose saramago. Dec 28, 2015 cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramagos protagonist. An unorthodox itinerary takes him to decadent cities and stables, palaces of tyrants and battlefields, led by the hand of the central characters of the old testament, with the music and refined humor that are the hallmark of his work.
In this, his last novel, jose saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the old testament, recalling his provocative the gospel according to. Cain is an atheists view on some of the events in the old testament. In an earlier novel, the gospel according to jesus christ. After holding a series of jobs as mechanic and metalworker, saramago began working in a lisbon publishing firm and. When nobel laureate jose saramago passed away in 2010, the world lost one of the greatest minds and writers of the past century. Cains is the story of mankind, and saramago was one of those authors much concerned with the plight of mankind. Jose saramago cain read and download epub, pdf, fb2, mobi. If in the gospel according to jesus christ, jose saramago presented us with his vision of the new testament, in cain he comes back to the first books of the b. Like all good nobel laureates, he was the kind of writer who wrote about the human. The malign, selfsatisfied deity of cain and of the gospel according to jesus christ, to which this book is a coda, resembles the disembodied, cruel. It is worth adding that saramago also has a sense of humour.
An introduction to and summary of the novel cain by jose saramago. Condemned to wander forever after he kills his brother abel, cain makes his way through the world in the company of a personable donkey. I really liked how to he tackled every major story from the bible. The book tells the story of cain being cast by god to the land of nod, east of eden to lead a miserably life. Cain kindle edition by saramago, jose, costa, margaret jull.
As in his earlier novel the gospel according to jesus christ a book that led to. By richard eder globe correspondent, october 15, 2011, 4. Cain marks the final work in a career that includes such masterpieces as blindness, the gospel according to jesus christ and seeing. Saramago was a proponent of anarchocommunism, failed verification and a member of the communist party of portugal, however, in his. Saramago died in june 2010, shortly after the controversial portuguese publication of cain but before he could participate in its publication in other countries. Cain, as it progressed, just seemed different to me and it read like he had an axe to grind against a god vs. But his iconoclastic attitude towards the bible and religion wears thin after a while leaving this reader at. The son of rural labourers, saramago grew up in great poverty in lisbon. Cain s vagabond journey builds to a stunning climax that, like the book itself, is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career. In ghana, we just dont let the dead rest, we continually mark their death until we pass on. I enjoyed this book, even though sarmagos writing syle was quite unconventional. Ricardo reis is one of the heteronyms created by fernando pessoa.