In a modern day world which may or may not be Portugal, Cipriano, an aging potter, a man who was the son of a potter and who had worked alongside his wife at the family pottery and trained his daughter in the craft, has found that the world no longer has need of his craft and its serviceable wares. For years he has been selling his pottery to a mega-corporation called "The Centre“, a sprawling city within a city which daily eats away at the old city. One day he is abruptly told that The Centre will no longer be buying anymore of his pottery to sell at their stores. He has a moment of hope when he and his daughter conceive the idea of making pottery figurines. They scour an aged set of encyclopaedias to find pictures of people who might serves as models for the figures. For the most part, their choices, which include a Mandarin, are as anachronistic as the potter himself. Miraculously The Centre decides to buy some of the figures, then, decides not to. With no hope of continuing his family's traditional occupation, Cipriano agrees to move into one of The Centre’s apartments, a dwelling coveted by many, but dreaded by the potter. Here in this completely controlled technological paradise, that is if you don't mind that the windows can't be opened, Cipriano explores all the Centre has to offer. Inside its walls are playing fields, shops, restaurants, and entertainment including places which simulate being at the beach or in a storm. Cipriano is less than amused.

This meaningless life continues until Cipriano and his son-in-law see what they were not supposed to see.
From this point life at The Center has become intolerable. All Cipriano's fears of the future are realized and he flees this artificial life.

For all its philosophic underpinnings, the title should clue you into those, its outrage against a modern world which further alienates men from natural society and the nature itself and outrage against blind, acccepting consumerism and the mega-companies which exploit it, this is a book about love and family. It quietly showcases one of the most beautiful father-daughter relationships I have ever encountered in fiction or otherwise. The difficult and awkward relationship between Cipriano and his son-in-law is also beautifully developed, and possibly one of the best things about this book.

The books structure is meandering and loose. It isn't so much about the plot which is outlined in the synopsis of the book on its back cover, as about the people. This is no surprise. No matter how inventive Saramago's plots maybe, the heart of his books is the people. And love and its power to save us. Rich ideas, rich in love, this is a book I can't get out of my mind.

And there is a love story to boot. Widowed Cipriano hesitantly considers taking another stab at love.

And there is a dog. A lost dog adopted by Cipriano and named Found. For all that Cipriano loses, this book is more about what he and his loved ones find as a consequence of the losses.

Saramago is justly considered by many to be the world's greatest writer. ( )

It's hard to convey how good this book is. After reading it, you feel that any writing you would do to describe it would come up wanting. José is not one for short sentences; be prepared to pay full attention to this novel. It is outstanding and beautiful. ( )

One reviewer mentioned how "slow" the book reads in comparison to Saramago's other works. Stylistically, the "slowness" of the novel helps relate the overwhelming message of the dangers of living in a culture distracted by the illusions of instant gratification-- a green belt that ironically isn't green, strawberries that are lovely but taste like cardboard, plastic cups over clay cups made by a craftsman. I relished the slowness of this novel, and it's reminder that faster isn't better, that what we trade for what's quick, what's cheap, what's easy is merely an illusion-- the shadow on the wall. What is real demands your attention, possess authenticity, takes work, and produces an undeniable satisfaction, much like the reading of this book. The choice the principle character, Cipriano, must make in this novel is heroic: whether to live in the cave created by an out-of-control culture of consumption and profit and accept the shadows on the wall and the shackles on his feet or to walk away and live authentically, to slow down, to live simply. This book has staying power unlike his others because it shouts of the dangers we are all living in the Walmartitization of the world. His others are at times shocking, compelling, and also speaks of man's inhumanity to man and worthwhile reading, but this one is his best. The most artful; the most meaningful. It is not the sort of read you can just "let slip by you." Saramago's style in itself is a challenge and the work is nuanced throughout. It is a book that demands your ultimate presence when reading. ( )

Saramago is one of my favorite authors. I've read five of his books now and I'm sad to say that this is the one that I liked least. This was mostly due to the fact that the book was just so SLOW. Don't get me wrong, I don't need the written equivalent of The Matrix to be interested in a book. My favorite author is Hermann Hesse and he isn't know for writing nail-biting thrill rides. But The Cave never seemed to get started. I spent 200 pages thinking, "any minute now..."

The plot focuses on the life of three characters, Cipriano Algor, his daughter, and his son-in-law. Cipriano is a potter who makes earthenware and sells it to "The Center". The Center is described to sound like a Super Wal-Mart, IKEA, and high-rise apartment building combined. This gives the reader the impression that the book is set in modern times. Our protagonist is a potter from a long pedigree of potters. His daughter, who lives with him, also shares his occupation. His son-in-law is a security guard at The Center.

Cipriano's business begins to struggle as earthenware becomes less popular with the masses. At the same time, his son-in-law awaits a promotion to resident guard and wants his wife and father-in-law to move to The Center with him. Thus is the primary tension of the story - Cipriano's antiquated occupation and more traditional lifestyle versus Wal-Mart.

One gets the distinct impression that Saramago is making several points with the story but it's so veiled that it requires some considerable thought. I'm still not sure I quite get some of the points he was trying to make through the events at the end of the story, including the very esoteric climax (and I use the term "climax" very loosely here). I'll speculate in the spoilers in case you're interested.

All in all, as mentioned above, the book is slow. It simply takes too long to get going and had it not been Saramago, I would have put it down. I'd been wanting to read this book for quite some time though so I was determined to plow on through. I would not recommend starting here if you've never read Saramago. Begin with Blindness or All The Names or The Double. I gave the book 2.5 stars because I believe it to be just an average book. Admittedly, that even includes a bias for this author.

*****SPOILERS HEREAFTER*****
Cipriano Algor has made earthenware for The Center for his entire life and one day gets the notice that people are no longer interested in his goods. He must remove his product from the shelves and should expect no further orders. During his return home from this horrible news, he stops by his wife's grave at the cemetery and sees another widower from town, a woman by the name of Isaura. She explains that the handle on the pitcher that she bought from Cipriano has broken. He offers to bring her a replacement and a very subtle romance has been sparked.

Upon his return home, a dog finds the Algor house and Cipriano adopts the pet as his own (dog name: Found). The dog is portrayed as very special but we never quite know why. The dog only wants to be around this family (and Isaura) and immediately made this house his home.

While the son-in-law, Marcal, is working at The Center, Cipriano's daughter comes up with the idea of making pottery figurines/dolls as a substitute product for The Center. The Center is willing to give them a try and will test market the figurines once a batch has been produced. The majority of the book is spent with our two main characters struggling to create these new products. In the meantime, Cipriano has delivered the replacement pitcher but refuses to admit to his family - indeed to himself - his affection for Isaura.

As the results of the test marketing return, The Center calls and informs Cipriano that they will not be ordering any more of the figurines. His business is dead. Marcal gets the promotion to resident guard and moves the family, including Cipriano, to The Center to live. On the day of departure, Cipriano takes Found to live with Isaura and finally professes his love to her which she does in return. Despite her protestations, he still refuses to stay with her since he has no work and cannot provide for a wife.

They move into The Center which is a modern high-rise with modern furniture and the father and daughter are very unhappy. Cipriano decides that he must find something to occupy his time. He begins walking around The Center everyday. It's as if his constant movement prevents him from absorbing his new reality. Shortly after they move in, The Center makes a discovery during the excavations to build an additional basement floor. The discovery is top secret among the security guards but Marcal lets slip to his family that a cave has been unearthed.

The security guards have rotating shifts where each one of them protects the cave (solo) for a four hour shift. Marcal's shift is at 2:00 a.m. Cipriano takes it upon himself to go see the cave during Marcal's shift. Cipriano feels implored to do this as he "knew something like this was going to happen". He had premonitions of "a sign." He goes into the cave and finds six dead people (three couples). They are all bound so that they are in an upright, sitting position on a stone bench. Cipriano gets exceptionally emotional and goes back to their apartment.

Upon arrival, his daughter awaits him and he tells her that "the people in the cave, that was us." He begins packing immediately and leaves to go back to their original home and pottery which has not been sold. He arrives to find Isaura caring for their home with Found. Within a few days, Marcal and his wife come home as well. Marcal indicates that the site of those cadavers was simply too much for him to remain at The Center.

When they realize that they now have no jobs, they decide to take an even bigger gamble and they pack up the van and start on the road with no particular destination in mind. That's where the book concludes.

While the book is considerably longer than the passage above, the plot isn't much thicker. The cave at the end is left to the reader's interpretation. Their leaving the home/pottery at the end seems a bit out of place as well.

The way that I read the book was that the plot is intended to compare and contrast old world and new world. It appears to be a statement by Saramago that the Wal-Marts are bad and that the craftsmen are unfortunately a dying breed. He makes it pretty obvious that he holds this in ill regard. The Center was always very cold and "by the numbers". Cipriano was always very understanding, living up to his committments, hard working, and caring (even to The Center).

I took the cave and the people therein as a sign that if Cipriano and family were to stay, The Center would swallow them and they would die as a part of it. We don't get enough detail to conclude much else. As I mentioned above, I'm sure there are other undercurrent messages that Saramago intended. I just let them slip right by. ( )

Have not read.