Those of you familiar with this blogpage will know that Jose Saramago is my favorite living author. The infamous fiasco of “hearing” him speak this past summer has not diminished my devotion one iota. His most recent novel, The Double (2004, and recently issued in trade paperback) is no exception to the rule... the man is a genius."Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine - they are the life, the soul of reading." So said Laurence Sterne. [No. Not Howard Stern.... Laurence Sterne].
Believing the above statement to be true would really help a reader enjoy Saramago and I happen to be one of the believers. I cannot think of an author who uses the device of digression moreso than Saramago.
For me, the near-constant philosophizing of the narrator and the characters is one of the things that I love the most about The Double. This was the fifth Saramago book I ever read (I’ve read more of him since) and it helped convince me that no one is writing better, in our present world. It is a real shame that us English-bound cowboys and cowgirls have to read him in translation.
What is the book about?
Well, in an inadequate nutshell, what would it be like to suddenly find that there is another person in the world that is exactly like you, in every respect? Another YOU! A double. A doppelganger.
In its psychological twistings and turnings and in a writing style that is as wonderful and coherent as it is inimitable and unorthodox, this is the very question that Saramago brings the reader FACE to FACE with!
My initial answer to the question was "Hmmm, no big deal. So what? I have a double. Who cares?"
With The Double, Saramago has now blown the lid off of such an easy answer. Sure, the book is not about me or you, but in the protagonist Tertuliano Maximo we see shades of who we all are.
And the thoughtful (and patient) reader will find that they are drawn into a vortex of identity trauma along with Maximo himself.
Who AM I, if there is another me?
Be patient with the book, especially if you are new to Jose Saramago... give it time, you will be rewarded.
Stick with the convolutions and dialogues with "common sense"... the absolutely crazy ending is worth it all.
Saramago.
What can one say? He is a grammar teacher's worst nightmare! He does not even use "proper" punctuation. Most conventional rules of writing are thrown to the wind. He even tells you ahead of time what is going to happen to his characters later on in the story. It is crazy.
Is The Double a good book to start with if you are new to Saramago? Not really, in my opinion. The Cave, or Blindness, would be a better pier to jump off of.
But jump. Do it.
Swim with a partner, if need be.
Laurence Sterne (not Howard).... said elsewhere, I believe in my conscience I intercept many a thought which heaven intended for another man.
Saramago begins this book with that as an epigram.
I also love Saramago, and completely agree with you that this book is not the best starting point for a new reader. I think Blindness is the most accessible.
ReplyDeleteI have a theory that his punctuation is very much at the root of why so many people find him difficult. I believe in rules for writing (I'm a copyeditor) — they're there to provide structure, a common ground for all readers. Punctuation that follows "natural" pauses simply isn't good enough, because we all speak/read in different rhythms. And it happens that Saramago's punctuation coincides with the way my brain "breathes" when it reads, which is a part of why I enjoy him so immensely.
Am sorry to read of your fiasco. I attended the same reading. If you're interested, I posted some notes, in many parts, links to which can be found here.
Dear Isabella Octopus:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I have just read all three of your postings on the Saramago event, you have really captured the thing well. Soon, the whole evening is supposed to be available in an English transcript at www.writersfest.com but I keep checking there and have not seen it yet.
I agree with you that Saramago, as grammatically unorthodox as he is, still manages to write in a way that somehow merges with the way my brain "breathes" when it reads, and so I find following him not all that difficult at all.
Your page is great. I shall swim around in there a bit, squid that I am.