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Rating: 
Summary: Mas alla de un acercamiento
Review: El autor en este libro, a través de su estilo, lleva al lector a explorar el mundo de la duda dentro de un contexto social en el que los actos se encuentran ¨predeterminados¨. El ir y venir del personaje y del lector hacen de esta obra todo un deleite espiritual.
Rating: 
Summary: The duty of not forgetting
Review: Jose Saramago is one the most important writers in the 20th Century. His 'Memorial do convento', 'O ano da morte de Ricardo Reis', 'O evanghelo segundo Jesus Cristo', and 'Ensaio sobre a cegueira' are true literature classics, both in depth and form. Those novels were almost all-embracing, covering an incredible diversity of subjects in the space of 300-400 pages. Now, with 'Todos os nomes', Saramago probes deeper into one of those subjects that are so dear to him: how to defeat death. Probably because of this, 'Todos os nomes' has a simple plot, but is highly philosophical and symbolic. Saramago's theme in 'Todos os nomes' is best stated as a question: When do people truly die? Saramago seems to be saying that, in the world of the living, the dead must also have a place, and it is our duty to remember them. Therein also lies our dignity. In this enterprise, ironically, individual names don't matter; they are all, in the final analysis, the same because everybody (the famous and the not-so-famous) is equal in death. Even though I enjoyed 'Todos os nomes', I found some sections verbose and trivial because too much time is spent in relating things that don't add much to the main theme. In those cases, it seemed as if Saramago didn't have a clear idea of where he was heading to in the narrative. But the main character of 'Todos os nomes', Sr. Jose (incidentally, the only character that has a name in the novel), is truly engaging, probably because in his obsessive nature he has an intense internal life that reminds us so much of ourselves. Perhaps 'Todos os nomes' is not one of Saramago's best novels. It is, however, one that deserves attention, particularly from those interested in Saramago's worldview.
Rating:
Summary: One exhausts superlatives
Review: This is one of the most engrossing, absorbing and challenging books I have read this year. The deceptive simplicity of the plot, which I do not wish to give away, is belied by the fabulous richness and complexity of the language Saramago uses. It deals with such diverse themes as loneliness, obsession, self-doubt, personal development and fruition with a mastery I have rarely seen equalled. An excellent book, and a deserving Nobel-Prize winner.
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