The best books by José Saramago
The top 3 according to 20 votes from people: Blindness · Baltasar and Blimunda · The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. (Updated Jul 21, 2022.)
The novels by the only Portuguese-language Nobel laureate in Literature most recommended by critics and readers, ordered by consensus across the lists.
Automatically translated (original in Português). See the original
Top 15
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1
Blindness
1995. An epidemic of 'white blindness' and the doctor's wife, the only one who can still see.
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2
Baltasar and Blimunda
1982. Baltasar, Blimunda, Father Bartolomeu's flying machine and the building of the Mafra convent.
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3
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
1984. Pessoa's heteronym returns to Lisbon in 1936 and talks with the poet's ghost.
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4
The Double
2002. A history teacher discovers an actor identical to him in a film.
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5
The Cave
2000. A potter and the all-devouring Centre; a retelling of Plato's allegory.
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6
Skylight
2011 (written in 1953). The early novel Saramago kept in a drawer, published posthumously.
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7
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ
1991. A human and controversial life of Jesus; the Portuguese government vetoed its nomination for a European prize.
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8
Death with Interruptions
2005. In a nameless country, death stops killing from 1 January.
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9
The Stone Raft
1986. The Iberian Peninsula breaks away from Europe and drifts across the Atlantic.
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10
The History of the Siege of Lisbon
1989. A proofreader adds a 'not' to the history of the conquest of Lisbon from the Moors.
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11
All the Names
1997. Senhor José, a clerk at the Central Registry, obsessed with an unknown woman.
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12
Raised from the Ground
1980. Three generations of Alentejo peasants, from the great estates to the Carnation Revolution.
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13
Cain
2009. Cain travels through the Old Testament; his last novel published in his lifetime.
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14
The Elephant's Journey
2008. The elephant Solomon travels from Lisbon to Vienna in the 16th century.
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15
Seeing
2004. In the same capital as Blindness, 83% of voters cast blank ballots.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (3)
Memorial do Convento devia estar em primeiro, Blimunda e Baltasar 💛
Ensaio sobre a Cegueira em primeiro, é o livro que mais me marcou na vida.
Li O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis depois de ler Pessoa, faz todo o sentido.