I’m heartbroken – Jose Saramago died today
June 18, 2010
Jose Saramago, the Nobel Prize winning novelist and most importantly one of my favorite authors, died today surrounded by his friends and family. His works brought joy to my life and to the lives of countless readers around the world. His was an immense talent; his love for mankind was both evident in his works and the causes that he fought for. His books, his characters, his style of writing …. Pure genius. Above all, he was always mischievous; I was always wondering what he would get up to in his next book. We are poorer by his passing but also richer, culturally and spiritually, by the literary works that he left behind.
Mr Saramago, may you rest in peace.
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I’m sorry Kinna. I haven’t read anything by him, but it is always sad when someone dies, especially when it’s someone you esteem.
We shouldn´t be heartbroken. Death is a part of life. We are born to die – I live in Argentina and read his book ¨Las intermitencias de la muerte¨- and the good thing is to die peacefully surrounded by your loved ones, as he did. We´ll certainly miss his being in the world. And he´ll be alive for as long as we remember him.
i find it sad ,was just listen to a discussion on his blog post the other day ,a wonderful writer and great loss to spainsh and portugal lit
I was so shocked and saddened when I read he had passed away. At first I thought it was a prank, but alas, Saramago has finally departed this world. Thankfully he leaves a wonderfully rich literary legacy behind him, and I believe he even has another book slated for release this Fall!
A wonderful author, who so perfectly mastered the art of using narrative to explore big ideas. He also wrote the best book ever about Jesus…
I was sad to hear this news. Blindness is one of my favourite books. At least we can be comforted by the fact that his books will live on and be enjoyed by people for many years to come.
Oh… I didn’t know he passed away! He’s the only Portuguese novelist I have ever read (through English translations, of course).
He has obviously touched you. Can you recommend your favorite book of his? I love to read and I’m always looking for great authors.
Most people love Blindness. But I also loved some of his earlier works like Baltasar and Blimunda, The Stone Raft. A later one, All the Names is really really good.
I completely agree with you, Kinna. All the Names is one of those books that shakes you to your bones. I don´t know how accured the translation to English can be, but in Portuguese and Spanish (they’re very close in writing and style; not in phonetics) the novel is absolutely awsome.
Saramago was (and will be) one of the Greaters.
Yes, this is really sad news. I liked the fact that Jose Saramago came out with innovative new plots in every novel of his – in one book all people in a town become blind, in another book no one goes and votes in the election causing a political crisis. His way of making readers think of an issue by writing an unconventional story about it was wonderful. The fact that he did it again and again just proves that he was a genius. It is real sad news, but the silver lining is, as you have written, he has left wonderful literary works for us readers to explore.
Indeed he is a genious, but he is also an incredible worker of his craft.
His not just great in his ideas, but also in the way he puts it, as well as in pure writing technique. I have the good fortune of reading him in his native language – Portuguese and I must say that his wisdom of words is unlimited. I don’t know why, but Portugal is a great motherhood for writers. “Fernando Pessoa” – the greatest poet the world has ever seen, or the most popular writer of our time “Paulo Coelho” (he is not portuguese, but writes in portuguese), or dozens of others wich I am not going to enumerate now.
RIP Saramago.
For me José Saramago was one of the most priceless portuguese writers
He was one of the “most priceless” writers of all time. I’m so glad that I got to know of him and to read his books before his passing. He will be missed! Portugal has special significance for me because of Saramago.