José Saramago: a escrita infinita ed. by Carlos Nogueira

Abstract

Reviewed by: José Saramago: a escrita infinita ed. by Carlos Nogueira Paulo de Medeiros Carlos Nogueira José Saramago: a escrita infinita (Lisbon: Tinta-dachina, 2022). 397 pages. Print. Could anyone at the birth of José Saramago, on 16 November 1922, possibly have imagined that he would grow up to become not just one of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century, but also a Nobel Prize laureate? Looking back at his life's trajectory, amidst all the hardship and the unstoppable will to fight for a better life, not just for himself but for all Portuguese, and eventually, for the world, it is easy to think that Saramago in fact, lived more than one life, so rich was his in experience and thought, pain and pleasure. As we enter the year of his centenary, it is fair to say that Saramago and his works have never been more relevant. Instead of a more just world, neo-liberalism—or what is taking shape in its ruins, as Wendy Brown has pointed out—has raised inequality to new heights, while ushering in a return of all kinds of ghosts from the past such as totalitarianism. In 2022 we not only have been living with a pandemic that has completely disrupted the world and killed many millions, coming on top of imminent ecological disaster, but have also witnessed the escalation of conflicts everywhere. Saramago was a man of his century, but works such as The Stone Raft, Blindness, Seeing, and others, now read as if they were in some way prophetic: amidst all the turmoil the world is experiencing at the moment, 2022 also holds promise for renewal and for a strengthening of solidarity. From amongst the multiple celebrations of Saramago this year, taking many shapes, from works of art, public debates, or critical works, the current volume, ably edited by Carlos Nogueira—a member of the Cátedra José Saramago at the University of Vigo—is certain to hold pride of place. It is a handsome volume, published by Tinta-da-china, and, as such, certain to receive high visibility, in which it is aided by an arresting cover with a portrait of Saramago by Vera Tavares. The volume comprises twenty-one individual chapters by as many authors, besides the brief and appropriate preface by Carlos Nogueira, 'José Saramago: (re)escrever a vida'. As he notes, the volume goes back to a large conference he organized at the Museu Nacional da Imprensa [National Printing Museum] in Porto, over three days at the end of 2020. Like most such volumes—and despite representing little more than half of the close to forty contributions—the present one has a range of chapters with varied interest and variable depth. They cover much ground, and there should be something appealing [End Page 112] to everyone's interest. Although, as is also common, there is no great internal coherence to the volume beyond the fact that all chapters analyse aspects of Saramago's vast oeuvre, they do all, even when celebrating his enormous gift, remain sufficiently critical. The volume sometimes covers well-trodden ground, while still making significant advances in questions one might have thought had yielded all one could expect, such as the question of Saramago's writing and his politics, or the relation of his earlier works to orality and the rise of a distinctive, personal style. The organization of any given volume is always dependent on a number of factors that should not be underestimated or, worst, second-guessed. One could wish that Nogueira's preface had reflected on those issues, even though it probably would no longer be brief. The reader is free of course, to imagine any other order for the chapters, and, as they are all independent of one another, may indeed, in reading the volume, re-order them. In that case, though, it would make sense to hold on to at least two organizational features of the volume, the first being the cluster of the three chapters that present analyses of one single text of Saramago, 'The Tale of the Unknown Island'. This is very justifiable, given the importance of that story, which is both an appealing...