Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.
Description
"In this, his last novel, Saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the Bible through the story of Cain. Condemned to wander forever after he kills Abel, he is whisked around in time and space. He experiences the almost-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the Tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Joshua at the battle of Jericho, Job's ordeal, and finally Noah's ark and the Flood. And over and over again Cain encounters an unjust, even cruel God. A startling, beautifully written, and powerful book, in all ways a fitting end to Saramago's extraordinary career"--
Media reviews
New York Sun
Que la obra de Caín de José de Saramago, es muy buena y nos da entender la bipolaridad de DIOS que a muchos le causa frustración ya que muchas personas lo pintaban de ser un Dios bueno pero al final de leer lo que les hizo en sodoma y gomorra y que la mayoria de la gente de ese lugar pagara los
Show More
platos rotos por solo unas cuantas personas es muy injunto y de ahí por que Dios es bipolar, podria hasta decirse que a Dios es quien decide quien puede vivir y quien no pero en eso esta gente buena y que ahi es cunado los meten en un solo saco y el señor es quien mata indiscriminadamente y por lo cual Caín al final de la obra se venga matando a todos los de la arca de Noe y el es al final quien empieza a recrear a la humanidad. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member annbury
A short novel dealing with a big subject, that being the relationship between man and God -- or more accurately western man and the Judeo-Christian God. The title identifies the protagonist: Cain, who murdered his brother Abel, and was cursed by God to be a "fugitive and wanderer". The novel traces
Show More
his wanderings, through the landscape (temporal as well as physical) of the Torah. Cain is present at the destruction of the Tower of Babel, at the worshipping of the Golden Calf, at the obliteration of Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. etc. etc. On the occasions, Cain condemns God's behavior, in making the innocent suffer along with the guilty. God does not come off particularly well in these exchanges, while Cain seems a sort of Prometheus, an advocate of humane behavior on the part of the divine. All in all, this is an interesting take on a very old question, as well as a story that holds the reader's interest. It sent me back to my Bible (yes, those horrors really are "by the Book"). and will probably send me back to Saramago Show Less
LibraryThing member JDHomrighausen
"And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay
This book is part of my September theme of Biblical fiction. Saramago has deviated deliciously far from the Biblical text in chronicling the adventures of Cain in and after he "dwelt in the land of Nod." In Nod, Cain becomes the lover of the city's queen, Lilith, supposedly the first Eve in post-Biblical Jewish myth. He then leaves the city and moves from present to present, intruding on various scenes in the Torah. Throughout the novel he is trying to make sense of his curse to be a wanderer, perhaps for all eternity.
Cain comes off as an average man, not the vengeful person he was when he murdered his cocky and gloating brother in a rage. He wanders in on Abraham with the angels in his tent, on the binding of Isaac, on Noah preparing his ark and the big flood. Cain is condemned to not only wander through space, but through time, stumbling in on moments that are in the timeless time of myth. Whether or not there was a real Abraham in chronos time, the stories told about Abraham in the Torah are ever-present in the minds of those who internalize them. Abraham is always struggling with God's command to sacrifice his son, just as his hand is always stayed at the last moment, just as he is always being told his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. But Cain wanders through patches of mythic time in a linear chronos fashion. The writing style itself evokes the orality of myth, as it has no punctuation marks and is told in page-long paragraphs.
And what does Cain see? He sees a mean God: a God who toys with Job's life like a kitten with a mouse, a God who kills the children of Sodom for the sins they aren't even old enough to know their fathers commit, a God who floods the world on a whim. Cain has a score to settle with this God, a God who shows up now and then in the story and is always an arrogant and prideful character. Cain calls to account this God who has no small lack in power, knowledge, and love. And this comes to be the meaning of Cain's endless voyage: how can a God who is recorded as being so petty be so loving?
For me this story points to another aspect of the Bible - or even just that foundational part of it, the Torah. How can we call this stitched-together, disparate text one tradition? Modern source criticism has divided up the Torah into four different authors, from the anthropomorphising Yahwist to the priestly Levitical (most famously know as the author of the "begat" sections). Yet religious tradition sees this patchwork quilt as a monolithic entity. How can the God of love, the God who looks into the heart of David, the God who finds Job so favorable, be the same God who casts away Lot's wife and lets Job be decimated by Satan? Cain only knows the latter God, the God who favored his brother's offering for no apparent reason. And disillusion - or hurt - Cain is too jaded to believe the angels when they tell him that God's ways are a mystery.
Overall, this was a book that didn't fully make sense until the end, but it was also short enough that this was not a problem. A theological meditation definitely worth reading.
Show More
me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." (Genesis 4:13-17, KJV)This book is part of my September theme of Biblical fiction. Saramago has deviated deliciously far from the Biblical text in chronicling the adventures of Cain in and after he "dwelt in the land of Nod." In Nod, Cain becomes the lover of the city's queen, Lilith, supposedly the first Eve in post-Biblical Jewish myth. He then leaves the city and moves from present to present, intruding on various scenes in the Torah. Throughout the novel he is trying to make sense of his curse to be a wanderer, perhaps for all eternity.
Cain comes off as an average man, not the vengeful person he was when he murdered his cocky and gloating brother in a rage. He wanders in on Abraham with the angels in his tent, on the binding of Isaac, on Noah preparing his ark and the big flood. Cain is condemned to not only wander through space, but through time, stumbling in on moments that are in the timeless time of myth. Whether or not there was a real Abraham in chronos time, the stories told about Abraham in the Torah are ever-present in the minds of those who internalize them. Abraham is always struggling with God's command to sacrifice his son, just as his hand is always stayed at the last moment, just as he is always being told his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. But Cain wanders through patches of mythic time in a linear chronos fashion. The writing style itself evokes the orality of myth, as it has no punctuation marks and is told in page-long paragraphs.
And what does Cain see? He sees a mean God: a God who toys with Job's life like a kitten with a mouse, a God who kills the children of Sodom for the sins they aren't even old enough to know their fathers commit, a God who floods the world on a whim. Cain has a score to settle with this God, a God who shows up now and then in the story and is always an arrogant and prideful character. Cain calls to account this God who has no small lack in power, knowledge, and love. And this comes to be the meaning of Cain's endless voyage: how can a God who is recorded as being so petty be so loving?
For me this story points to another aspect of the Bible - or even just that foundational part of it, the Torah. How can we call this stitched-together, disparate text one tradition? Modern source criticism has divided up the Torah into four different authors, from the anthropomorphising Yahwist to the priestly Levitical (most famously know as the author of the "begat" sections). Yet religious tradition sees this patchwork quilt as a monolithic entity. How can the God of love, the God who looks into the heart of David, the God who finds Job so favorable, be the same God who casts away Lot's wife and lets Job be decimated by Satan? Cain only knows the latter God, the God who favored his brother's offering for no apparent reason. And disillusion - or hurt - Cain is too jaded to believe the angels when they tell him that God's ways are a mystery.
Overall, this was a book that didn't fully make sense until the end, but it was also short enough that this was not a problem. A theological meditation definitely worth reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member franoscar
I guess here could be spoilers. I read this book. It is short, which helped. Mostly, it is a statement, rather than a story. Cain kills Abel. Really it is God & Abel's fault. God destroys lots of people and acts capriciously, and lies to humans. Everything is told as in the Bible, except for Cain
By marking Cain God has created a human outside of his control, because God has committed to not letting Cain be killed. Even though God doesn't keep his promises he keeps this one. So Cain is an independent actor and can see & evaluate God. In the end Cain proves to be God's greatest foe.
Or at least, that's what I think.
Show More
showing up in the middle of things. By marking Cain God has created a human outside of his control, because God has committed to not letting Cain be killed. Even though God doesn't keep his promises he keeps this one. So Cain is an independent actor and can see & evaluate God. In the end Cain proves to be God's greatest foe.
Or at least, that's what I think.
Show Less
LibraryThing member paulb
A fantastic rewriting of the Old Testament, using the figure of Cain as the wandering Jew, who like a time-bandit is able to weave in and out of the storyline. Wonderful rewrite of the story of Abraham and Issac.
LibraryThing member spbooks
Absolutely fascinating and very, very controversial - especially would be for fundamentalist Christians and, maybe, moderate Christians. Offers some very biting critique of a literalistic reading of some Old Testament stories. Didn't like the writing style, which was essentially grammar and
Show More
punctuation free. I assume this was because it reflects the nature of Hebrew text. Got used to it after awhile. Very thought-provoking and, sometimes, confronting. Highly recommend for anyone with an open mind. Show Less
LibraryThing member ffortsa
Well, it's short. And it's clever. And I don't mind having to work to figure out who is on what side of the conversation, since he doesn't give you many hints, but the conversations are good.
Saramango retells the story of Cain more or less from Cain's point of view, and then sets Cain off to
Saramango retells the story of Cain more or less from Cain's point of view, and then sets Cain off to
Show More
wander not only the land but the various times of the Old Testament history, to demonstrate that the Old Testament god was a nasty, brutish, arbitrary tyrant. OK, I got it about a third of the way through. Although it ends with a clever piece of alternate biblical history, the book is repetitive and polemical, and although I am not a believer in any traditional sense, it made me cranky. Show Less
LibraryThing member hayduke
This book was a joy to read, and I think it's the kind of book that begs to be reread. By the title the reader knows the subject of the book: Cain slew his brother Abel, and was cursed by the lord to wander the land until he died a natural death. Cain rides his little donkey through various "future
I would recommend this book to heretics with some biblical knowledge, such as Sunday School in your younger years. Open-minded believers with a sense of humor should also find pleasure reading this little gem. Saramago has given us a fine last novel full of humor and insight that I will be happy to add to my bookshelves.
Show More
presents," witnessing events such as the fall of Jericho, and the building of the tower of Babel. Cain is there to grab Abraham's arm before he can go through with his crazy act of faith, and slay his own son. Saramago uses Cain as his biblical critic, arguing with God about who should and should not be slaughtered when He decides to obliterate the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. I would recommend this book to heretics with some biblical knowledge, such as Sunday School in your younger years. Open-minded believers with a sense of humor should also find pleasure reading this little gem. Saramago has given us a fine last novel full of humor and insight that I will be happy to add to my bookshelves.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
A clever, funny reimagining of stories from Genesis.
LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
An interesting book. Although this is technically Saramago's last novel, I'm not willing to say goodbye to him just yet!
A wry witty excoriation of the earlier parts of the Bible, from Adam and Eve to Noah, and much more. Rhythmic and hilarious and mocking. Deep meaning and allegory and page-long
A wry witty excoriation of the earlier parts of the Bible, from Adam and Eve to Noah, and much more. Rhythmic and hilarious and mocking. Deep meaning and allegory and page-long
Show More
paragraphs with not even a stop for punctuation. Show Less
LibraryThing member rmckeown
José Saramago won the Nobel Prize in 1998. Cain is his last novel. While it takes a bit of effort to get used to his style, his books are a lot of fun and well-worth the effort. In The Stone Raft, a geologist discovers a fissure in the Pyrenees Mountains. He returns for further investigation to
Cain recounts the story following the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the murder of Abel. Marked by the Lord and condemned to wander the earth, Cain slingshots from various places and time periods to witness events in the Old Testament. He sees Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac; he sees the remains of the Tower of Babel; he hitches a ride on Noah’s Ark; he spends some time working for Job, until his fortunes take a downturn; Cain spends some time with Joshua before the trumpets blare; and he is present when Moses comes down from the mountain. In all of these encounters, Cain questions the actions and motives of God.
At the conclusion of the novel, when Noah tries to complete the Ark on time and in budget, God sends an army of angels to assist with the construction. Cain engages them in a conversation about the Lord. The following passage is reproduced exactly as printed to give an idea of Saramago’s style. Cain establishes a friendly bond with some of the angels, who claim, “happiness on earth was far superior to that in heaven, but the lord, of course, being a jealous god, must never know this, because if he did, such seditious thoughts would merit the severest of reprisals with no regard for the perpetrators’ angelic status” (144). He likes long sentences and he is stingy about paragraphing and capitalization.
Cain replies, "if they really thought that, once this humanity had been destroyed, the race that followed would not fall into the same errors, the same temptations, the same follies and crimes, and they answered, We are mere angels, we know little about the incomprehensible charade that you call human nature, but to be perfectly frank, we don’t see how the second experiment will be any more satisfactory than the first, which ended in the long string of miseries we see before us now, in short, in our honest opinion as angels, and considering all the evidence, we don’t believe that human beings deserve life” (144-45).
The dust jacket quotes John Updike on the author. “Saramago is a writer, like Faulkner, so confident of his resources and ultimate destination that he can bring any improbability to life.” I am in complete agreement. José Saramago’s Cain is a fun, thought-provoking, and interesting rational look at some of the best-loved stories of the Old Testament – a great place to begin exploring this amazing author. Five stars.--Jim, 4/12/13
Show More
find the gap has widened. Eventually, Spain and Portugal break off from Europe and float out into the Atlantic Ocean, narrowly missing the Canary Islands. Blindness is a retelling of Camus’ novel, The Plague, and All the Names involves a clerk in a registry office who becomes obsessed with a card accidentally removed from drawer. Cain recounts the story following the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the murder of Abel. Marked by the Lord and condemned to wander the earth, Cain slingshots from various places and time periods to witness events in the Old Testament. He sees Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac; he sees the remains of the Tower of Babel; he hitches a ride on Noah’s Ark; he spends some time working for Job, until his fortunes take a downturn; Cain spends some time with Joshua before the trumpets blare; and he is present when Moses comes down from the mountain. In all of these encounters, Cain questions the actions and motives of God.
At the conclusion of the novel, when Noah tries to complete the Ark on time and in budget, God sends an army of angels to assist with the construction. Cain engages them in a conversation about the Lord. The following passage is reproduced exactly as printed to give an idea of Saramago’s style. Cain establishes a friendly bond with some of the angels, who claim, “happiness on earth was far superior to that in heaven, but the lord, of course, being a jealous god, must never know this, because if he did, such seditious thoughts would merit the severest of reprisals with no regard for the perpetrators’ angelic status” (144). He likes long sentences and he is stingy about paragraphing and capitalization.
Cain replies, "if they really thought that, once this humanity had been destroyed, the race that followed would not fall into the same errors, the same temptations, the same follies and crimes, and they answered, We are mere angels, we know little about the incomprehensible charade that you call human nature, but to be perfectly frank, we don’t see how the second experiment will be any more satisfactory than the first, which ended in the long string of miseries we see before us now, in short, in our honest opinion as angels, and considering all the evidence, we don’t believe that human beings deserve life” (144-45).
The dust jacket quotes John Updike on the author. “Saramago is a writer, like Faulkner, so confident of his resources and ultimate destination that he can bring any improbability to life.” I am in complete agreement. José Saramago’s Cain is a fun, thought-provoking, and interesting rational look at some of the best-loved stories of the Old Testament – a great place to begin exploring this amazing author. Five stars.--Jim, 4/12/13
Show Less
LibraryThing member katchoo
myth, religion, fantasy, society, read in 2010
LibraryThing member Kristelh
at first it was hard to take because it seemed so sacrilegious. But by the end I thought it was pretty descriptive of man. We are always arguing with God and seeing ourselves as more righteous and more God than God. This book may actually provoke some to read the Bible and yes, I think it is pretty
Show More
hard for us to understand the God of the Old Testament. I think I agree with Aga, this may not be his best book and I wonder if it was a bad place to start with Saramago. One thing that I really liked was Saramago mentions that Adam almost lived to the time of Noah. I had only recently come to realize that when I was reading Genesis at the first of this year. Saramago knows his Bible as he would need to do to write this satire. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibleblaster
This provided an interesting, if unexpected, companion volume to Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. They covered similar material in exposing the decidedly UNjust and UNloving actions of God in the Hebrew Scriptures. Saramago has Cain travel back and forth in time (after the infamous murder of his
Show More
brother, Abel) to encounter God and God's works at many pivotal points (e.g. Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac, Noah's ark, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, etc.) I love this kind of literary midrash, but I did find myself wishing for just a bit of humor, even dark humor, a la Christopher Moore. I don't think it would have taken anything from Saramgo's outrage and may have invited more readers in. This was the first novel I've read by Saramago, and turns out to be the last novel he ever wrote. I'll read more... Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliophile_pgh
A retelling of sorts of the Old Testament through Cain as he walks through the biblical Middle East as well as through time. He points out some of the fallacies in the Bible. This book is one of the reasons that Jose Saramago is one of my favorite authors.
LibraryThing member kakadoo202
Cain takes revenge on God. Funny snobbits of the old testament. Sarcastic comments on angels.
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This was a great literary fiction book. It details the inception, actions, and journey of the biblical figure of Cain. The style is very strong and manages to lend a lot to the tale that Saramago allows to develop. I found myself absolutely absorbed in this work and unable to put it down. It was,
4.5 stars- FULLY deserved.
Show More
truly, a fine creation and one that I'm sure will stick with me despite the fact that I am not religious in any kind of way. This is worth it for those interested in world literature or the Nobel laureates.4.5 stars- FULLY deserved.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kakadoo202
Parts of it seems to be plagerized from the Satan Verses. But had a good ending.
LibraryThing member Paul-the-well-read
Beginning with his murder of his brother, Abel, Cain, son of Adam and Eve, begins his God-imposed exile through the major stories of the Old Testament of the Bible. Cain participates in some events and merely observes others, but in each, he is led to the conclusions that the "god" represented by
The book is never "preachy", never presented as an atheist's view of religion. Instead, it presents the stories and contexts of the Old Testament in ways that reveal that the god of faith is not the god the Bible presents him to be.
While I liked the book and its storyline, I deplore the modernist fashion of ignoring standard English syntax, rules of grammar, or standard punctuation. For example, there is a lot of dialog in the book, but not one single quotation mark. A bunch of words may start with a capital letter and end with a period many lines later, but between these two, two speakers may converse, a descriptive segment may occur and various narration may be included, yet these are not separated and little punctuation is used to help the reader make sense of the grammatical structure.
This may be an innovative and modern way to write--I have seen it in other contemporary writings lately--but it serves no positive purpose and causes the reader to work to hard in order to extract meaning from the page.
I would read this Nobel Prize winning author again based on his material, but I will not do so because of this unnecessary and unproductive abandonment of effective grammar and mechanics.
Show More
each story is inconsistent with the "god" Christians profess to believe in. Rather than a kind, merciful, loving god, Cain finds a god of trivial caprices, unreasonable angers, incredible cruelty, manifest injustices and trivial human vanity. The book is never "preachy", never presented as an atheist's view of religion. Instead, it presents the stories and contexts of the Old Testament in ways that reveal that the god of faith is not the god the Bible presents him to be.
While I liked the book and its storyline, I deplore the modernist fashion of ignoring standard English syntax, rules of grammar, or standard punctuation. For example, there is a lot of dialog in the book, but not one single quotation mark. A bunch of words may start with a capital letter and end with a period many lines later, but between these two, two speakers may converse, a descriptive segment may occur and various narration may be included, yet these are not separated and little punctuation is used to help the reader make sense of the grammatical structure.
This may be an innovative and modern way to write--I have seen it in other contemporary writings lately--but it serves no positive purpose and causes the reader to work to hard in order to extract meaning from the page.
I would read this Nobel Prize winning author again based on his material, but I will not do so because of this unnecessary and unproductive abandonment of effective grammar and mechanics.
Show Less
LibraryThing member curious_squid
Cain.
Yes that Cain.
The one in the Old Testament of Bible (OT). Saramago takes Cain on a tour of the OT stories, and Cain doesn't seem too impressed with the Lord's actions, attitude and attentiveness. (the 3 A's?)
I am tempted to give the book 4 stars, but there seemed to be a lot of gratuitous
So 3 stars it is.
Yes that Cain.
The one in the Old Testament of Bible (OT). Saramago takes Cain on a tour of the OT stories, and Cain doesn't seem too impressed with the Lord's actions, attitude and attentiveness. (the 3 A's?)
I am tempted to give the book 4 stars, but there seemed to be a lot of gratuitous
Show More
sex. A LOT. And while I am sure a good time was had by all, I don't remember it furthering the plot... at all. So 3 stars it is.
Show Less
LibraryThing member charlescf
Although I consider myself very religious, I enjoyed this book. Its explicit sacrilege comes across as charming but nonetheless thought-provoking. The prose is intelligent and witty, although Saramago makes little use of punctuation and other conventional rules of grammar. Cain quickly becomes a
Show More
dynamic, relatable, and likable character, eternally bickering with a very entertaining caricature of God. Punished with immortality for reactively killing his brother Abel, Saramago's brilliantly-written protagonist Cain wanders through several familiar Biblical stories. Each tale is retold with humour and wit, twisting minor details to have a major effect on the overall tone of the story. There are times where the book becomes painfully aware of the Bible's eccentricities, sometimes escalating into an intellectual critique. I love this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone, religious or otherwise. Show Less
LibraryThing member noronhavaz
What if God was not benevolent? The start of Saramago’s last novel starts with a very strong push to Catholicism. Focusing on the Old Testament, it portrays a vengeful God, much as depicted in some actions of the Bible. While Cain assists in the different ventures brought by the Old Testament,
Show More
Gods imperfections become clear, as the Nobel Prize winner manages to combine apographic content with the scholastic theological writings. Overall, the book contemplates a Darwinian vision of evolution, while maintaining an astonishing sense of humor of life. This book relentlessly explores only two possibilities: Either your faith is strong enough to encompass the Saramago’s Cain as a marvelous satire, or, one is open minded enough and has the wits to tolerate a broader perspective within the interpretations. Either way, the book is a very different piece of work, which is highly recommended for the prepared reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member lawrence
I gave this book 5 starts to partly counter the reviews that deduct stars on account of Saramago's grammatical style. All his books, that I have read, use a similar style. I can't say I love the run-on sentences without capitalization, punctuation, format or informative terminations such as
Spoiler: Be warned that Saramago might make you question your faith or belief in god. He seems to deal with every question I had reading the old testament as a child, starting with How did Adam and Eve start the human race if they only had two sons and one killed the other? Nothing, nothing is sacred to Saramago.
Another spoiler: I did not appreciate the abrupt ending. For me, it did not tie up the book in any way and I even wonder if he actually finished writing it before he died. Did someone just say "ok, everyone dies and lets pretend he wrote it like that" ?
Show More
question marks, etc, but I will say that Saramago is bursting with things to get on to paper and I think the style makes me aware of his energy. With Saramago, it is not about the grammar, it is about the forcefulness and confidence of the prose. Think of a person opposite you ranting nonstop - and yet you are engaged. Spoiler: Be warned that Saramago might make you question your faith or belief in god. He seems to deal with every question I had reading the old testament as a child, starting with How did Adam and Eve start the human race if they only had two sons and one killed the other? Nothing, nothing is sacred to Saramago.
Another spoiler: I did not appreciate the abrupt ending. For me, it did not tie up the book in any way and I even wonder if he actually finished writing it before he died. Did someone just say "ok, everyone dies and lets pretend he wrote it like that" ?
Show Less
Awards
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction — 2011)
Language
Original language
Portuguese
Original publication date
2009
ISBN
9780547419893