Death With Interruptions
Book - 2008
"On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, understandably, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, funeral directors, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially celebration - flags are hung out on balconies, people dance in the streets. They have achieved the great goal of humanity: eternal life. Then reality hits home - families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral directors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with scythe and filing cabinets, and contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?"--jacket blurb.
Publisher:
Orlando : Harcourt, c2008.
ISBN:
9780151012749
0151012741
0151012741
Characteristics:
238 p. ;,22 cm.
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Add a CommentThis novel is written without traditional formatting and in continuous sentences, with minimal paragraph breaks. This made it very hard to read in my opinion. About half way through the book I finally got in a better rhythm of reading. I also did not care for the ending after all the effort I put into finishing it. That’s death for ya 😉
"The following day, no one died."
I think was the last novel the Portuguese Nobel laureate before his death in 2010. Has some similarities with "Blindness."
A odd novel with an interesting premise: that people may unexpectedly become immortal. The problems that arise are sardonically explored. Then death is restored, and 'death' as a character in the form of a woman appears which gives rise to opportunities for the author to reflect upon the mutability and mortality of man, and death has some difficulties killing a cellist, and you'll have to read the book to find out the ending.
Charming, philosophical, gogolian.
Quietly transcendent and original.
Just after midnight Dec 31st, death goes on holiday. This time Saramago takes on what happens to a society if people suddenly don't die. What does it mean for funeral homes, grave diggers, life insurance, pensions, religion? It's true Saramago with great lack of punctuation and rambling details that made me feel like visiting and old friend. He of course takes the surreal approach and gives death's perspective of why she stopped taking people and her full story. Great read!
An extremely interesting read. The unusual punctuation and style only add to the tone of the novel, reminding the reader of the omnipotence of events. This is a book that will, ironically, make you rethink your life. A must-read if you are a fan of Saramago's work.