Jose saramago was born in 1922 in azinhaga, portugal, the son of rural laborers. Oct 23, 2011 saramagos cain is a flawed everyman, driven by survival, by ordinary decency and ordinary meanness, by sexual appetite. Margaret jull costa has established herself as the premier translator of portuguese literature into english today. In an earlier novel, the gospel according to jesus christ, saramago retold the main events of the life of jesus christ, as narrated in the new testament, presenting god as the villain. This is the latest in a string of books i have read that i have not really enjoyed. He grew up in great poverty in lisbon, and was forced to abandon school at the age of 12 in order to earn a living. Dec 28, 2015 cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramagos protagonist. Cain, in his wandering, overhears a strange conversation between a. Gods judgment after abels death is for cain to be a restless wanderer. A startling book sensual, funnyin all ways a fitting end to saramago s extraordinary career.
The main characters of this fiction, religion story are. Saramago was spent 2 years training as a technician,did a number of manual jobs before becoming a journalist, translator, and eventually a writer. I am perfectly willing and appreciate reading or listening to. Jun 19, 2011 i really love jose saramago, principally his books from the first to the cave. Early on, it was difficult to follow, but i quickly found myself actually enjoying it. Books about cain biblical figure what should i read next. Far from merely inverting the biblical tales or turning them inside out, he folds and refolds. Cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramagos protagonist. In saramagos hands, he wanders the book of genesis, aided by the fact he can go back and forth in time. Jul 07, 2011 two decades after portuguese novelist and nobel laureate jose saramago shocked the religious world with his novel the gospel according to jesus christ, he has done it again with cain, a satire of the old testament.
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 name cain is, of course, synonymous with fratricide, thanks to the. 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. First brought out through the harvest books publishing label, this continues many of the ideas saramago had throughout his life. I was eighteen and my small italian town was hosting the same year the sole literature festival of its whole history we. In his final slim novel, the late jose saramago gives a cheeky modernist update to a timeworn biblical tale. And one thing we know for certain, saramago writes, is that they continued to argue and are arguing still. Cain jose saramago, margaret jull costa translator infobuy. Cain, in his wandering, ik a strange conversation between a man named abraham and his son isaac and manages to prevent the father from murdering. Caminho cain is the final novel by nobel prize winning author jose saramago. Cain s vagabond journey builds to a stunning climax that, like the book itself, is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career. Books blog jose saramago, master of whatifs maya jaggi. Books go search best sellers gift ideas new releases deals store.
Cain by jose saramago translated by margaret jull costa. Condemned to wander forever after he kills his brother abel, cain makes his way through the world in045324845c. While i appreciated some of the cynicism and the sarcasm, it wore on me after a while. Jose saramago 19222010 was the author of many novels, among them blindness, all the names, baltasar and blimunda, and the year of the death of ricardo reis. Two decades after portuguese novelist and nobel laureate jose saramago shocked the religious world with his novel the gospel according to jesus christ, he has done it again with cain, a satire of the old testament. Cain is the final novel by nobel prizewinning author jose saramago. Cains vagabond journey builds to a stunning climax that, like the book itself, is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career. Descargar cain jose saramago en pdf libros geniales. I find him both insightful and tremendously amusing. Written in the last years of saramagos life, it tackles many of the moral and logical non sequiturs created by a wilful, authoritarian god, and forms part of saramagos long. And again and again, cain encounters a god whose actions seem callous, cruel, and unjust.
Saramago was a proponent of anarchocommunism, failed verification and a member of the communist party of portugal, however, in his. In cain s saramago s eyes god is irrational, vengeful, bloodthirsty, petty and a host of other unfavorable adjectives. Cain center point platinum fiction large print by jose saramago and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Saramago s cain is a flawed everyman, driven by survival, by ordinary decency and ordinary meanness, by sexual appetite. I was eighteen and my small italian town was hosting the same year the sole literature festival of its whole history we have plenty of festivals but that was the only one about literature. I got the book for my birthday, it was my first jose saramago book and i really enjoyed it. Nov 01, 2009 cain clearly demonstrates the modern and surprising aspects of saramagos prose. By richard eder globe correspondent, october 15, 2011, 4. More than two million copies of saramagos books have been sold in portugal alone and his work has been translated into 25 languages. He impregnates the wives of noahs sons an important incident. The nobel prizewinning portuguese novelist jose saramago died last year.
A startling booksensual, funnyin all ways a fitting end to saramagos extraordinary career. Although saramago begins with the story of cain killing his brother abel, he uses the result to take it further. I really liked how to he tackled every major story from the bible. I enjoyed this book, even though sarmagos writing syle was quite unconventional. I remember really enjoying his novel the gospel according to jesus christ so i came in with high hopes. The book was published in multiple languages including portuguese, consists of 182 pages and is available in paperback format. 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.
Cain by jose saramago im normally a fan of jose saramago but this one let me down. The first edition of the novel was published in october 18th 2009, and was written by jose saramago. In cains saramagos eyes god is irrational, vengeful, bloodthirsty, petty and a host of other unfavorable adjectives. Book summary in this, his last novel, saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the bible through the story of cain. Despite its often comedic, mostly polemic assessment of the god of the torah, conventionally ascribed to moses, saramago isnt the first or the most strident critic to take seriously the personality. After adam and eve have been cast out of eden, eve decides to go back and ask the angel guarding the gate if he can give her some of the fruit that is going to waste inside. Cain by jose saramago pdf free download ebook books library. Pdf caim book by jose saramago free download 182 pages. Mar 09, 20 ive read four of saramago s books and he has such a diverse range of interests i think different people will prefer different books. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 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 finally noahs. A communist who quarrelled with the church and fell out with castro, the portuguese nobel laureate was wedded to the possibility of the. In 1998 he was awarded the nobel prize for literature. The angel agrees, and although eve swears to adam that she offered the angel nothing in return, their first child is suspiciously blond and fairskinned.
An ironic and satirical journey where the reader is present at a secularand in a way, involuntarybattle between the creator and his creature. Like forrest gump, the wandering cain of saramago witnessed we all know that cain was the firstborn of adam and eve. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Condemned to wander forever after he kills his brother abel, cain makes his way through the world in the company of a personable donkey. In cain, god orders that cain cannot be harmed by any living being, leaving him to wander the earth and witness subsequent history. Originally published in 1999, this was the first of two books that madeup the blindness series by author jose saramago. Written in the last years of saramago s life, it tackles many of the moral and logical non sequiturs created by a wilful. Some are very political, some have powerful undertones of parable, but in my case there is a clear winner. San francisco chronicle in this, his last novel, jose saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of. Cain by jose saramago after a tartly promising start, saramagos biblical sendup loses steam by richard eder globe correspondent, october 15, 2011, 4. Cain biblical figure up to 20 books are listed, in descending order of popularity. 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. Oct 18, 2009 saramagos cain is a traditional midrash, a meditative, speculative commentary on the torah, the first five books of the jewish and christian bibles.
I read it in no time and i dont read many books as much i would want to. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read cain. I understand that people have different views on god. The book tells the story of cain being cast by god to the land of nod, east of eden to lead a miserably life. Jose saramago il vangelo secondo ges pdf il vangelo secondo gesu cristo by jose saramago, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. A proponent of libertarian communism, saramago criticized institutions such as the catholic church, the european union and the international monetary fund. Cain, the despised, the murderer, is saramago s protagonist. 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. Jul 15, 2011 cain s is the story of mankind, and saramago was one of those authors much concerned with the plight of mankind.
Condemned to wander forever after he kills abel, he is whisked around in time and space. Cain his rewriting of the biblical story was his final novel, and is in some ways a fitting conclusion. Publishers weekly, starred saramago transforms familiar stories boldly, but with an intricate respect for their power and for the mysterious power of storytelling itself. Paragraphs that extend over a page or more without a break are one of the characteristics of saramago s prose style. Cain doubtless has very sharp eyes, but not so sharp that he can recognize his own marks among the many other tracks, the hollow left by his heel or the slightly scuffed print of his weary feet. 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. 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. Dec 29, 2011 cain, by jose saramago open this photo in gallery. Like all good nobel laureates, he was the kind of writer who wrote about the human.
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