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All The Names

By José Saramago
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Check link for latest rating. ( 23,715 ratings, 1,934 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
All the Names by José Saramago delves into the life of Senhor José, a lowly clerk in an enormous, impersonal bureaucracy dedicated to recording people's vital statistics. His quiet existence transforms into an unexpected quest when he becomes obsessed with tracing the details of an unnamed woman. This mysterious journey through the archives turns into an exploration of identity, bureaucracy, and the human desire for connection.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to tales that explore existential themes and the intricacies of human connections. The story's unique narrative style, infused with elements of magical realism, offers a compelling journey through the life of an ordinary man who becomes engrossed in a quest that pushes the boundaries of identity and anonymity.

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Senhor Jose is a minor official in a registry office, with a passion for reconstructing people's lives from the data in archive documents. One woman's file is particularly intriguing. She is dead, and he decides to trace her life backwards, from death to birth. But can he bring her back to life?

A subtle and insightful story about boredom, passion, curiosity and memory from the Nobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A subtle and insightful story about boredom, passion, curiosity, and memory from the Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago.

Senhor José is a lonely civil servant who spends his days labouring in the labyrinthine stacks of Lisbon's central registry. Among the file-cards for the living and the dead, one—of an apparently ordinary woman—will transform his life. Breaking away from his strict routine, José resolves to track the woman down, obsessively following a thread of clues in a bid to rescue her from an oblivion deeper than the grave.

All the Names is a novel about identity and connection. "When a very good book finds us at just the right moment in life, it can become stitched into our own identity. All the Names has become stitched into mine," says Samantha Harvey, Independent.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

José Saramago's novel is celebrated for its soulful and generous storytelling, marked by wit, intelligence, and tender magic. It is noted for its unearthly beauty, offering freedom from the obvious and exuding profound serenity alongside benevolent humour. The book is described as both delightful and unsettling, featuring metaphorical labyrinths and false trails, and it skilfully intertwines themes of life and death.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781860467202

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 June 2000

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: The Harvill Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 183g

Pages: 256

Collections

Fiction General Fiction José Saramago Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Born in Portugal in 1922, Jose Saramago was one of the most important writers of his generation. He was in his fifties when he came to prominence as a novelist with the publication of Baltasar & Blimunda. A huge body of work followed, which included plays, poetry, short stories, non-fiction and over a dozen novels, including Blindness which was made into an acclaimed film. He has been translated into more than forty languages, and in 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died on 18 June 2010, shortly after the Portuguese publication of Cain.

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