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Revision as of 07:25, 21 September 2020
, 07:25, 21 September 2020no edit summary
Is it possible, perhaps, that Saramago might be the last Nobel Prize for Literature winner whose mother died illiterate? It's just one thought this look back at a recent age paradoxically long gone might raise. Saramago doesn't exactly have the life to provide for much that is exceptionally unusual in his memoirs but he can at times write in a distinctive way.
We see him correct himself as regards dates and locales for his memories, which does not get in the way but might raise an eyebrow as to how appropraite appropriate this may be. It certainly manages to gel with the at-times circuitous look around his youth, which also helps add to the friendly mood of this book.
It can at times, then, seem a little ad hoc, and improvised too quickly. But the gentle spirit of it all, and the chance to learn a little more about this man and his beginnings, is most welcome. The incidents included are never earth-shattering, but there's little need with the pastoral and the serene combining so nicely into a vivid and enjoyable little tome. Read if you're a fan of childhood memoirs, or his award-winning novels, such as Blindness - there are several references to the ideas for them burgeoning throughout his life.
I must thank the kind Harvill Secker people for my review copy. We also have a review of Saramago's [[Raised from the Ground by Jose Saramago|Raised from the Ground]].
For a fictionalised look at a Nobel Laureate's life , we can recommend [[Summertime by J M Coetzee]]. You'll probably also enjoy [[A Life Like Other People's by Alan Bennett]].
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