As Intermitências da Morte

English review of a Portuguese book - poor start because I can't translate the title!

As a package, the book is somewhat over-the-top. With its dust cover endorsed by Greenpeace as being made from environmentally friendly paper and its dense text implying that fewer pages were needed to print it, we quickly conclude that this book is unusual.

It is very difficult to get into, mostly because of Saramago's refusal to use conventional ("correct") punctuation and layout. And it goes through stodgy patches where the author seems to be regurgitating a thesaurus that he swallowed earlier. But overall it's an interesting read, with a satisfying ending. So if you are prepared to put up with a Nobel laureate showing off his technical ability just for the sake of it, in Portuguese, this may be worth a read.

Oh yes, what's it about? Death, I suppose, not from a metaphysical standpoint, but more an essay on a hypothetical idea. As I said, literary technique above all other considerations.