Skylight

October 6, 2014
Completed in 1953 but not released in the author’s native Portuguese until 2011 (and appearing here in English for the first time), this early novel from Nobel winner Saramago (Blindness) details the day-to-day exploits of several families and individuals living in an apartment building in Lisbon. Silvestre, a cobbler, and his wife take in a young boarder named Abel. As time passes, the two men launch into a series of conversations on philosophy and existence. Troubled marriages lurk behind the doors of Caetano and Justina—he’s a jealous womanizer, while she continues to mourn the death of their daughter—and of Emílio and Carmen, who quarrel over their young son. Seamstress sisters Isaura and Adriana, living with their mother and aunt, find themselves confused after a night of romantic indiscretion. And Lídia, a kept woman, begins to question her lover’s intentions after she convinces him to offer a job to her neighbor, a beautiful 19-year-old. Throughout, characters intersect, yet their narratives often proceed without creating a tangled web, making the novel more resemble a linked collection. Saramago, who was still a novice in the 1950s, pads some moments and lingers a bit too long on minor episodes, but overall, the novel spins a series of frank, honest stories that strike deep. This translation offers fans the opportunity to read the pages that helped shape a master.

October 15, 2014

Nobel Prize winner Saramago's never-before-published first novel is an insightful and surprisingly suspenseful story about the tenants in a Lisbon apartment building in 1952. The characters range from Silvestre, the philosopher/cobbler, and his wife, who rent out a room to a young drifter; Lidia, a kept woman, whose lover begins to fancy a younger neighbor; Carmen and Emilio, an unhappy couple whose son is caught in the middle; grieving Justina and adulterer Caetano, who both loathe and desire each other; and sisters Adriana and Isaura, who struggle to keep a sexual secret from their aunt and mother. The daily routines and concerns of each family are rendered with touching detail and are captivating reading in their own right. But soon the complications of life lend an urgency to each character's story that makes this book hard to put down. This novel deals with the quintessential issues of life--love in all its forms, the death of body and soul, the desire for meaning and happiness--set within the simplest of circumstances. VERDICT Saramago's novel is a delightful creation of characters with universal appeal. Readers will want to explore his other works after reading this gem. [See Prepub Alert, 6/8/14.]--Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Univ. Law Lib., Malibu, CA

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