Cain

Starred review from July 25, 2011
With breathtaking imagination, acclaimed Portuguese author Saramago (1922-2010), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, revels in biblical themes for his final novel. When Cain, the first-born son of Adam and Eve, murders his brother in rebellion against God, God shares in the guilt ("you gods should...take the blame for all the crimes committed in your name," Cain argues) and makes Cain "a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth." Cain's travels across a barren landscape lead him to a lusty tryst with Lilith and the witnessing, or altering, of many key events of the Old Testament (the building of the Tower of Babel; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah). God appears often and is defined less by his perfection than his faults; He is morally ambiguous, "can't bear to see anyone happy," and doesn't understand his powerlessness in preventing Cain's meddling. Rounding out the narrative are angels who circumvent God's will, visions of the urban modernity that the future holds, an ironic description of Darwinian evolution, and God himself touting the heliocentric theory that will cause something of a ruckus five centuries on. Cain's vagabond journey builds to a stunning climax that, like the book itself, is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career.

The listener follows the adventures of Cain, who, on a whistle-stop journey through time, finds himself visiting many of the key events in the Old Testament. The well-known stories are retold with a witty and irreverent twist. Narrator Kevin Pariseau is the perfect choice to deliver this book. His dry reading style is in perfect harmony with the author's droll humor. Pariseau uses variations in tone and pitch to differentiate the characters, which helps the listener follow the extensive cast introduced throughout. While the pace of the prose is fast, the audio journey is carefully managed, so the narration is never rushed. K.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine