The Cave

by José Saramago

Book Overview

" The Cave] is yet another triumph . . . for Portugal's, or even the world's, greatest novelist. Read it." -- Washington Post A genuinely brilliant novel." -- Chicago Tribune Cipriano Algor, an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156028794
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A Ceramist's Dream Book

I would just like to comment on one or two aspects of Saramago's The Cave, which I adored. I had just read Blindness--a brilliant book, certainly, but so bleak and cruel (in these cruel times, when the news constantly comments on brutal rapes, torture and inhumanity, the bleakness was even more hard to take!) so I was a bit hesitant to read The Cave. However, as a ceramist and teacher of ceramics history, I was completely enchanted by the detailed descriptions of the workings of the old pottery. Saramago truly understands the work of country or small-scale potteries. The fact that the once-common product of small-scale manufacturers has all-but disappeared from our lives contributes, no doubt, to the confusion that met many readers (perhaps they are like the consumers in The Centre, who preferred plastic to hand made earthenware?) Ceramics, clay and pottery are used throughout as metaphors--as strong as any other metaphors and as legitimate. Even if you do not understand or find interesting all of the details on pottery production, the sensitivity with which the emotional lives of the family members are described is incredibly tender and engaging. I found no difficulty with the style--it was very easy to fall into and follow, if you responded to the emotional states of the characters. And, for me, one of the best parts of all was the luminous dog, Found, whose thoughts and unconditional love provided humour and a very positive aspect of the book (countering the bleakness of Blindness.) Some readers did not like the diversions, but I found them wonderful--the use of language, the multiple ideas played with by the author made reading the book more like having a rich conversation with a closer friend. I loved it!

Life experience packaged and sold back to us

The story starts out in a simple fashion, Cipriano Algor, a widower in his sixties and a potter by trade, is on the verge of losing his livelihood. He lives with his daughter, Marta, and his son-in-law, Marcal, who is a security guard at the Centre, a huge complex in the city where people live, work, and most importantly shop and consume without ever having to go outside. For quite awhile the Centre had been Cipriano's only buyer of his earthenware crafts, their contract with him demanding that he sell to the Centre exclusively, and then one day his contract is abruptly cancelled. At the same time, his son-in-law is expecting a promotion to resident guard which would involve leaving the pottery and moving the family into the Centre, but even so Cipriano and Marta make a last attempt to save the pottery from extinction. More than just a story about aging, or traditional ways versus modern life, the suspense builds throughout this short novel as the reader is drawn into the lives and feelings of very realistic human beings.. The close to nature life of the village and the globalized Centre are in total contrast and the drive from the village to the Centre is unforgettable, first passing the so-called green belt where nothing is green (and the insides of the strawberries grown there are white), then through the industrial belt, then the shanty town where the poor live, then through the city itself to the impenetrable fortress called the Centre. Consumers are barraged with advertising slogans and expect to find everything (or a copy of everything) that can be bought from anywhere in the world as well as every imaginable form of entertainment including a casino, a racing track for cars, a beach with waves - even sensations, like being in a tornado, or a blizzard can be experienced inside the Centre. Most of the apartments in the Centre do not even have windows that look out, many of the residents prefer a view of the inside of the Centre itself, and half the dwellings have no windows at all. I had never before heard of Plato's story of the cave, but I have learned about it since finishing this novel and once seen the connection is striking, just the way the people in the cave are able to see only shadows on the wall which they mistake for reality, so the people in the center see and experience only artificial life, all in all quite a comment on global capitalism. This was my fourth book by Jose Saramago and once again I am struck by his slow and subtle but very powerful style as a writer.

Amazing Allegorical Tale

Jose Saramago is, quite possibly, the best living author. It is strange that I have such a varying reaction to his books: some I find fascinating ("The Cave", "Blindness") and others I find long-winded and difficult ("All the Names"). As with most authors, this can usually be attributed to the characterizations found in the books. Saramago's style remains the same - long sentences with tons of commas. It's endearing when it's working.I feel no need to summarize the plot, for you can read that summary directly above. And I do not wish to wreck the ending by revealing what this allegory addresses (it directly links to a very old allegory by a very well-known and respected philosopher). What I will say is that this book is simply priceless. I cannot understand the opinion of the reviewer who gave it three stars - attempting to find fault with the factual nature of the story is silly. I suggest that reader seek out a different author. Saramago is one of the last masters of the fable. Try reading his "The Tale of the Unknown Island", or "Blindness". He is not concerned with sci-fi or alternate-future reality; he is concerned with giving us strong characterizations, internal monologues, and dialogues which lead to a conclusion he wishes us to see. It is a waste of time to discuss whether or not "El Centro" is an accurate depiction of a monolithic shopping center. It is the foil on which the tale is built. Stories must at times be melodramatic to make a point. Certainly "El Centro" is a bit fanciful, but it is also hauntingly familiar. This is the fastest I've ever read a book by Saramago, and I enjoyed every second of it. Cipriano Algor is a strong character (as is his dog Found) who will remain with me. I heartily recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good anti-unification tale. Unification provides comfort and security ... but at what cost?

"What nightmare is this"?

In Book VII of his REPUBLIC, Plato observes in his allegory of the cave that the strangers imprisoned there "are just like us." This is also the central theme of Portugese writer, Jose Saramago's new, allegorical novel. Cipriano Algor is an aging potter who lives with his daughter, Marta, his son-in-law, Marcal, and a "very conscientious, sensitive . . . almost human" (p. 307) dog named Found outside The Center, an imposing complex of arcades, shops, staircases, escalators, cafes, terraces, movie theaters, discotheques, big-screen tvs, electronic games, billboards, mannequins, a church, a casino, a gymnasium, a roller coaster, and a zoo (p. 241). Marcal works there as a security guard, and Cipriano sells his earthenware pots and jugs there until he is told that they are "worthless." People prefer plastic. Cipriano decides to make ceramic dolls instead.In his novel, Saramago's frequent allusions to Plato's cave transition from metaphorical to literal. After Marcal receives a promotion, Cipriano moves to The Center with his daughter and her husband, leaving Found behind. Cipriano soon discovers that, in The Center, residents actually prefer windows with a view of The Center itself, finding that view "much more pleasant" (p. 238). Some people, he learns, "never see the light of day" (p. 241). During excavation, Plato's cave is literally unearthed beneath The Center, containing six bodies imprisoned there with ropes, and "as if a metal spike had been put through their skulls to keep them fixed to the stone" (p. 292). When Plato's cave becomes a tourist attraction, Cipriano and his family leave The Center to "start a new life a long way from here" (p. 305). Readers familiar with Plato's allegory of the cave will perhaps appreciate Saramago's novel most, although other readers who think there's more to existence than big city life and shopping malls will surely enjoy exploring this CAVE.G. Merritt

EXCELENTE

Excelente relato! Saramago nos ilustra de manera que despertemos a la realidad.Que tenemos la capacidad de ver luz aun estando entre las sombras,como podemos seguir siendo lo que somos con el solo hecho de ver,analizar y no dejarnos deslumbrar.Es una critica a la llamada vida actual,de las grandes empresas y su virtual retorno a la esclavitud del cuerpo y el espiritu.