I just finished "All the names" and I loved it! I actually loved the absence of the wow factor. It could easily have been a very boring story, but written that skillfully, in my opinion, it was a masterpiece. It was my first book by Saramago, I read the Swedish translation. I have read a lot of Italian authors, and thanks to Tabucchi's love for Portugal, I wanted to try Saramago. Having finished All the names, I was curious to hear someone else's opinion about it and stumbled upon your video! 😃 Looking forward to hearing more about your reading experiences!
Thank you so much, Lizzie, for watching, commenting, and subscribing! 😃 I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the novel. Sometimes the absence of a wow factor is refreshing, for sure, and Saramago can pull it off because he is such a masterful narrator. I recommend Blindness and The Double. I think you will truly enjoy them. Have an amazing day, my friend, and happy reading!
Thank you so much, Henrique! 😃 After Lobo Antunes, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit Saramago. Many friends have recommended The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, so I'm definitely going to read it. Have a fantastic weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
Beautiful review. I tried reading it recently and didn’t like how “logical” it felt, but your thematic description made me reconsider to try again. My personal favorite of his is The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. It’s just something else. Masterpiece. Beyond words. Of his solitude series (Manual for Painting, History Siege Lisbon, All Names, Double), I would go with History of the Siege of Lisbon since, it seems to me, unlike the others, its narrator seems to be infatuated with the protagonist. Perhaps this is because the theme of the book is, I suspect, Saramago’s essay on his own writing process. Although, he did mention in a few interviews how he felt the protagonist in All the Names was closest to what he is truly like as a person. His personal favorites were Baltasar & Blimunda and Death With Interruptions. Love stories.
Thank you so much, my friend! 😃 So glad you enjoyed it. I've heard great things about The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, so I'm pretty sure that will be my next Saramago. By your description, History of the Siege of Lisbon sounds intriguing too. I can definitely see the close connection between Senhor José and the author, as the character's name indicates too. I was not aware of his own personal favorites, so thanks for sharing! I like the "romance" aspect to his work. The Tale of the Unknown Island was a really nice read, simple and touching. Have an excellent weekend, and happy reading!
Hi Jorge I have read The Double and Blindness and liked them very much,the long sentences didn't bother me at all,so I shall definitely add All the Names to my list. As you pointed out ,the references to Kafka and the film Brazil seem very appropriate to the theme of the novel. I had never heard of The Clerk but I see that it has an English translation so I am interested in reading it ,especially as one critic likened it to Twin Peaks as reimagined by Roberto Bolano.Thanks very much for the recommendations and have a great weekend.
Hello Richard! 😃 We have had a very similar experience of Saramago's work, then. I hope you enjoy All the Names! And The Clerk, of course. I remember reading that another novel by Saccomanno, Gesell Dome, had also been compared to Twin Peaks. I'd say The Clerk is like Kafka + Philip K. Dick. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have an excellent weekend!
Very interesting video, thank you. 🙏🏽 I have read few books by Saramago: Blindness was interesting but a bit too much in places, Baltasar and Blimunda started well and then didn't go anywhere for me, Gospel According To Jesus Christ I didn't get. Maybe not the author for me but I find the premises of his novels interesting. Happy reading!
Thank you so much once again, Paromita! 😃 I believe the books you've read by him are superior to All the Names, which is very different in many ways. I think when we've read 3 books by an author, we know whether we are fans or not. I used to judge authors by the first book I read, haha. But in many cases, I'm glad I gave them another chance. Have an amazing weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
I highly recommend Saramago's Blindness and/or The Double, my friend! 😃 He's a superb storyteller. I'm sure I will be reading him again soon. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and have an awesome week!
i liked the vidoe; i like all your videos. my two cents i- what i would like to hear - is a more details synopsis of the plot. how does the novel resolve itself and how do you respond to it. You brought up V and 1984 and Brazil. The last two resolve itself in a similar fashion - protog is defeated , which is the tragic, aspect of such novels. is it the same in this novel? and would these novels lose thier power if there was a upbeat ending? i guess i'm asking is do these LITERRAY novels simply dervie thier power by sabotaging the proag. again great work but a more complete synopsis would be appreciated and perhaps an idea of what gives the novel its power
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Kumar! 😃 That's a great point. I avoid discussing the conclusions of the books I review so as not to "spoil" the reading experience for those readers who prefer to find out by themselves how the story ends. The concept of the "spoiler" is interesting, complex and problematic, and I have my own ideas about it (some of which I share in my upcoming video, actually!), but to answer your question... *spoiler alert*... in this case the story does not have what we might call a happy ending either. I agree with you that many great works seem to derive their power from sabotaging the protagonist. I think in general we tend to mistrust upbeat endings, which I think is rather unfortunate. Of course, it depends on the context too. Thanks again, my friend, and have a wonderful weekend!
I am going to leave a controversial comment about style here, and not because I intend for it to be so, but because it might be perceived as such. European authors such as Saramago, Levi, Tabucchi, Goethe and others adopt a writing style that just flows. Their prose has got no intellectual hiccups, and you can follow it as you could follow a low-level discussion about philosophy, where the language isn't distracting you, but where the oddities of life are emphasised very well. It gives me the same sensation as if I were sitting by a river, watching the water flow, and meditating. I have yet to find a North American author who adopts the same style. King, Bradbury, Vonnegut, and even some British authors like Graham Greene, seem to prefer a language that does not flow in much the same way. It's as if their language described a life lived in constant peril, where one has to watch over one's shoulder at all times, and there is little time to savour the gifts of life. Now, my sample is probably not representative at all, so I'd say it's just an impression, and probably one highlighted by the cultural differences that dictate how lives are lived in various parts of the World.
Such a brilliant reflection, Francesco! 😃 I totally agree, and I think your metaphor of the river flowing is absolutely appropriate. Reading Saramago is definitely like being carried by a current of language. Interestingly, I felt a similar sensation while reading António Lobo Antunes, so as you point out, we could say that this has to do with a certain way of perceiving the world in the cultural sense. In the context of the US, at the moment I can think of the example of Faulkner, but of course, it's not the same thing. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas, my friend! Have an amazing day, and happy reading!
I just finished "All the names" and I loved it! I actually loved the absence of the wow factor. It could easily have been a very boring story, but written that skillfully, in my opinion, it was a masterpiece.
It was my first book by Saramago, I read the Swedish translation. I have read a lot of Italian authors, and thanks to Tabucchi's love for Portugal, I wanted to try Saramago.
Having finished All the names, I was curious to hear someone else's opinion about it and stumbled upon your video! 😃
Looking forward to hearing more about your reading experiences!
Thank you so much, Lizzie, for watching, commenting, and subscribing! 😃 I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the novel. Sometimes the absence of a wow factor is refreshing, for sure, and Saramago can pull it off because he is such a masterful narrator. I recommend Blindness and The Double. I think you will truly enjoy them. Have an amazing day, my friend, and happy reading!
great video, jorge! haven't read a lot of saramago yet. out of the few that I've read 'the year of death...' was my favourite :)
Thank you so much, Henrique! 😃 After Lobo Antunes, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit Saramago. Many friends have recommended The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, so I'm definitely going to read it. Have a fantastic weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
Beautiful review. I tried reading it recently and didn’t like how “logical” it felt, but your thematic description made me reconsider to try again. My personal favorite of his is The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. It’s just something else. Masterpiece. Beyond words.
Of his solitude series (Manual for Painting, History Siege Lisbon, All Names, Double), I would go with History of the Siege of Lisbon since, it seems to me, unlike the others, its narrator seems to be infatuated with the protagonist. Perhaps this is because the theme of the book is, I suspect, Saramago’s essay on his own writing process. Although, he did mention in a few interviews how he felt the protagonist in All the Names was closest to what he is truly like as a person. His personal favorites were Baltasar & Blimunda and Death With Interruptions. Love stories.
Thank you so much, my friend! 😃 So glad you enjoyed it. I've heard great things about The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, so I'm pretty sure that will be my next Saramago. By your description, History of the Siege of Lisbon sounds intriguing too. I can definitely see the close connection between Senhor José and the author, as the character's name indicates too. I was not aware of his own personal favorites, so thanks for sharing! I like the "romance" aspect to his work. The Tale of the Unknown Island was a really nice read, simple and touching. Have an excellent weekend, and happy reading!
Hi Jorge I have read The Double and Blindness and liked them very much,the long sentences didn't bother me at all,so I shall definitely add All the Names to my list. As you pointed out ,the references to Kafka and the film Brazil seem very appropriate to the theme of the novel. I had never heard of The Clerk but I see that it has an English translation so I am interested in reading it ,especially as one critic likened it to Twin Peaks as reimagined by Roberto Bolano.Thanks very much for the recommendations and have a great weekend.
Hello Richard! 😃 We have had a very similar experience of Saramago's work, then. I hope you enjoy All the Names! And The Clerk, of course. I remember reading that another novel by Saccomanno, Gesell Dome, had also been compared to Twin Peaks. I'd say The Clerk is like Kafka + Philip K. Dick. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have an excellent weekend!
Very interesting video, thank you. 🙏🏽
I have read few books by Saramago: Blindness was interesting but a bit too much in places, Baltasar and Blimunda started well and then didn't go anywhere for me, Gospel According To Jesus Christ I didn't get. Maybe not the author for me but I find the premises of his novels interesting.
Happy reading!
Thank you so much once again, Paromita! 😃 I believe the books you've read by him are superior to All the Names, which is very different in many ways. I think when we've read 3 books by an author, we know whether we are fans or not. I used to judge authors by the first book I read, haha. But in many cases, I'm glad I gave them another chance. Have an amazing weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
Ha! Another one I’ve never read, I’ve read so few Spanish & Portuguese writers and this channel make me want to try them all😅
I highly recommend Saramago's Blindness and/or The Double, my friend! 😃 He's a superb storyteller. I'm sure I will be reading him again soon. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and have an awesome week!
i liked the vidoe; i like all your videos. my two cents i- what i would like to hear - is a more details synopsis of the plot. how does the novel resolve itself and how do you respond to it. You brought up V and 1984 and Brazil. The last two resolve itself in a similar fashion - protog is defeated , which is the tragic, aspect of such novels. is it the same in this novel? and would these novels lose thier power if there was a upbeat ending? i guess i'm asking is do these LITERRAY novels simply dervie thier power by sabotaging the proag. again great work but a more complete synopsis would be appreciated and perhaps an idea of what gives the novel its power
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Kumar! 😃 That's a great point. I avoid discussing the conclusions of the books I review so as not to "spoil" the reading experience for those readers who prefer to find out by themselves how the story ends. The concept of the "spoiler" is interesting, complex and problematic, and I have my own ideas about it (some of which I share in my upcoming video, actually!), but to answer your question... *spoiler alert*... in this case the story does not have what we might call a happy ending either. I agree with you that many great works seem to derive their power from sabotaging the protagonist. I think in general we tend to mistrust upbeat endings, which I think is rather unfortunate. Of course, it depends on the context too. Thanks again, my friend, and have a wonderful weekend!
I am going to leave a controversial comment about style here, and not because I intend for it to be so, but because it might be perceived as such.
European authors such as Saramago, Levi, Tabucchi, Goethe and others adopt a writing style that just flows. Their prose has got no intellectual hiccups, and you can follow it as you could follow a low-level discussion about philosophy, where the language isn't distracting you, but where the oddities of life are emphasised very well. It gives me the same sensation as if I were sitting by a river, watching the water flow, and meditating.
I have yet to find a North American author who adopts the same style. King, Bradbury, Vonnegut, and even some British authors like Graham Greene, seem to prefer a language that does not flow in much the same way. It's as if their language described a life lived in constant peril, where one has to watch over one's shoulder at all times, and there is little time to savour the gifts of life.
Now, my sample is probably not representative at all, so I'd say it's just an impression, and probably one highlighted by the cultural differences that dictate how lives are lived in various parts of the World.
Such a brilliant reflection, Francesco! 😃 I totally agree, and I think your metaphor of the river flowing is absolutely appropriate. Reading Saramago is definitely like being carried by a current of language. Interestingly, I felt a similar sensation while reading António Lobo Antunes, so as you point out, we could say that this has to do with a certain way of perceiving the world in the cultural sense. In the context of the US, at the moment I can think of the example of Faulkner, but of course, it's not the same thing. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas, my friend! Have an amazing day, and happy reading!
wow first? 🙂
YES, my friend!! 😃 Thank you so much for stopping by. Have an amazing day, and happy reading!