A Review of the Novels of Jose Saramago: Portugese Socialist Novelist (1922-2010)

Salena Williams

a civil servant. In the 1950s he was sacked for political activity and began writing ex- tremely prolifically. Some of his stories were directly critical of the Salazar regime. In 1969 he joined the Portuguese Commu- nist Party; he wrote for and helped edit the Communist Party paper during the revolution in 1974. As well as standing Jose Saramago (1922-2010) in the local elections for the Communist Party in 1989, Saramago continued writ- ing novels after the revolution. However, Saramago is arguably the greatest so- he became increasingly pessimistic about cialist novelist of the 20th and early 21st the course of politics and the emergent new century. Especially from the 1980s to 2010 state of Portugal after the revolution. His he wrote an astonishing proliferation of novels became increasingly critical of the allegorical and fantastical tales critical of newly formed democratic regime, which capitalism and the way our lives are struc- had been set up with the aid and finan- tured, and human resilience in the face of cial assistance of both the British Labour capitalism. If you enjoy a great story and Party and the German Social Democratic havent read Saramago I would highly rec- Party. A lifetime atheist and supporter of ommend him. Saramago has a purposeful the Palestinian struggle, two of his novels unique writing style irreverent of classical were specifically anti religious, leading to literature and reminiscent of the Ameri- the new social democratic party under Ani- can beat writers. He rarely uses full stops, bal Silva refusing to endorse his book the commas or capital letters thereby giving Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991) a breathless rhythmic flow of continuous for the European Prize for Literature, stat- conversational style. Saramago used this ing it was too anti-religion to be supported style to deliberately enhance the equality by Portugal. Because of this shunning of of all people and things he wrote about. his work he left Portugal and continued Individuals, gods and places in the novels living and writing on the island of Lan- do not have capital letters, a reflection of zarote until his death. After leaving Por- Saramago’s view of how life should be, ev- tugal Saramago remained politically ac- eryone and everything as equal. tive and spoke at two World Social Fo- Saramago was born in 1922 to a very rums. He was consistent in his criticism poor peasant family in rural Portugal un- of the hypocrisy of capitalism, stating at der the dictatorial political regime. He one meeting: ‘it is more important (for moved to Lisbon with his parents when this society) to reach the planet Mars than 7 years old. The family could not afford prevent 13 million Africans from dying of grammar school education so Saramago hunger’, and at another ‘Marx was never went to technical school and trained and as right as now’ (2008). Along with Turk- worked as a mechanic. He also worked as ish writer Orhan Pamuk, Saramago formed

61 the European Writers Parliament - an or- pos´eof a Gramscian passive and grudg- ganisation committed to free speech for au- ing acceptance of democracy under capital- thors. He was blogging criticisms of those ism. The intense excitement Saramago ex- such as the Pope and Tony Blair until he pressed following the 1974 revolution that died in 2010. toppled Salazar ‘death of the dictator is His books are very much a reflection a new life of freedom.. never again will of his life and political beliefs especially men be treated as things’ quickly led to Raised from the Ground (1980) - an almost disillusionment of social democracy in Eu- autobiographical novel about peasants and rope. Similarly, Death with Interruptions’ workers living under a dictatorial regime (2008) recounts a society where no-one is then taking over and occupying land: a able to die with bizarre personal and polit- novel with a brutal and indifferent ending. ical results. The farce of democracy when Although many of his novels are allegori- the real power lies in multinational com- cal it is obvious he hated the Portuguese panies and international financial bodies is dictatorship but was pessimistic about the exposed in stories describing life in a world social democracy that followed. of outrageous parodies. Many of the novels are allegorical, and Many of his novels concentrate on the concentrate on the political systems he psychological effect of living under capital- lived under. Blindness (1995) is a stun- ism. A recurring theme is ordinary peo- ning depiction of an entire population that ple struggling to live in an absurd world all become blind. The novel looks in detail - and failing. Saramago gives some spec- about the impact of this bizarre occurrence tacular vignettes of the descent into mad- and how people survive in the Big Brother ness due to the stress of everyday life. For totalitarian style world. The novel exam- example The Double (2002) a story about ines the oppression of the regime, and the a teacher who sees his doppelganger in a psychology within that, how people indi- video is a captivating description of the im- vidually respond to and attempt to survive pact of alienation within the individual, a under changed circumstance. The regime sense of being outsiders in their own lives. descends to absolute savagery by the pro- The hero is eventually forced to live the life ponents of oppression. Shocking and ap- of someone who he is not. palling events are inverted to normalcy and There are also vivid and Kafka-like de- bureaucratised, discussed and audited by scriptions of the madness of the bureau- the government. However there are ex- cracy of the system. It is easy to see the amples of dissidents and personal bravery. references to Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the Seeing (2004) is in some ways a sequel. ideas of ‘you must be mad to be normal’ The story is of a post blindness election and madness creating its own logic. All the where all the population is free and able Names (1997) is an incredible and highly to vote. The people all use their demo- readable tale about a civil servant (Jose) cratic rights and post their ballot papers working in the Registry of Births Deaths but everyone returns them blank, using ab- and Marriages. With remarkable insight stention as a political decision. Uniquely Saramago describes the hero’s decent into within the novel Saramago refers back to mental illness; his anxiety and personal his previous novel Blindness, the govern- distress, alienation, hierarchy in the work- ment discussing the previous regime. Al- place and the stifling claustrophobia of life though a gripping tale Seeing could be in a world where individuals are subsumed seen as an intensively psychological ex- in a society where violence is covered up

62 by ‘civilised society’, where the real self an apartment block when normal society is hidden by the self presented to others, begins to disintegrate around him. Stairs and the only authority is meted out by in his flat start to disappear, a jug dis- nameless figures. The story recounts the appears from his kitchen cupboard. The life of Jose, a lowly civil servant. During watch stops telling the time but still ticks. the day Jose works under a clearly defined Post boxes in the street go missing. A order and hierarchy. There are strictly de- woman suggests to him they should lodge fined rules and expectations, and this is a formal complaint or protest about the mirrored by the way the registry is main- missing post box. The government dic- tained - by a strict coding system which be- tates that all disappearances have to be comes more and more difficult to manage reported and a specific office needs to be as more people die. The way in which the informed when things malfunction. The names are filed means that as more people man tries to abide by the rules but when die the registry has to extend further and a door goes missing and he cuts his hand further outwards. Although he suffers ver- he is viewed by suspicion and shunned and tigo, Jose is forced to climb great heights outcasted by others. The entire apartment to collect and deposit certificates. During block goes missing leaving the occupants his time off, as a hobby Jose collects infor- naked until they are rescued by revolution- mation about the lives of celebrities. By ary forces. The real and confused personal an accident of events he begins to gather responses to repression, brutality and loss information about someone ordinary, with of control are tangible. In Embargo a man bizarre and dramatic consequences, includ- is driving in his car when he realises that he ing a death. The novel concludes with the is unable to control the car or stop driving. life of the gravedigger, who further per- He is forced to travel incessantly. At first verts the course of identity by randomly he tries to enjoy the experience, visiting swapping grave markers. The themes in place he has not seen previously. However All the Names: life, death, identity and the situation becomes increasingly desper- meaning, the real person and the person ate. He is forced to urinate as he sits in the alienated from themselves are themes that driving seat. He tries to call to his partner are repeated in other novels. The iden- in the apartment block but she cannot pull tity theme is strangely related to Saramago him out. The story has no real end, leaving and echo a personal link to a bizarre turn of the options open of starvation or running events in Saramago’s own life: Saramago’s out of fuel. The allegorical significance is name on his birth certificate was wrongly fascinating. ‘Centaur’ is a magical mytho- written and the recording of his date of logical gallop through the centuries. The birth was delayed for two days for his par- centaur is hunted by the rest of the pop- ents to avoid paying a tax on his birth. ulation for being a mythical half man half beast, and has to sleep by day and travel In 2012 a collection of Saramago’s ear- by night. He meets other historical misfits, lier short stories were translated into En- such as Cevantes’ Don Quixote. There is glish. This collection - the Lives of Things a short passage encapsulating the logisti- is outstanding. Saramago starts the book cal difficulties of sleeping whilst being half with a quote from Marx and Engels: ‘If a man and half a horse. In order to sleep man is shaped by his environment, his en- naturally including turning over in sleep, vironment must be made human’. The the man has to turn the whole body of the story from the novels title Things describes horse. The whole collection of short stories an ordinary man living an ordinary life in

63 are striking in their story telling and their the rich dramatic allegorical descriptions significance. of Rushdie and the whole world human de- Saramago is a remarkable writer with a scriptive vision of Zola. Instead of stories world view consistent with other socialist depicting the dynamism or the normalcy and authors critical of capitalism, depict- of capitalist society, Saramago writes of ing a world political view through the lives the claustrophobic and nonsensical world of individuals. Critics have likened Sara- it creates. It is mad to be normal in a cap- mago to Kafka in the way in which fantas- italist world where we have children starv- tical events are allied to the normalcy of ing alongside butter mountains and wine life. I would argue Saramago has the imag- lakes. It should be easy to provide food ination of Kafka, but encapsulates the sti- clothing and shelter to every human being fling, stultifying entrapment of Austen, the on this planet. Saramago gives us magical repetitive logic defying method of work un- and comical stories which question why we der capitalism depicted by Magnus Mills, live in a world that cannot do this.

64