Extremely verbose. The story dragged on for to long. There was a lot of unnecessary details included in the book. If it just stuck to the main story about death then it would have been a better book. I would not suggest reading this ( )

A short little book exploring the topic of what would happen if no one died anymore. I enjoyed the writing thoroughly and the story line was excellent. I did get a bit confused as the book seemed to loop? But I would read more of Saramago's work without hesitation. ( )

The premise is deeply compelling: what happens when no one in a specific country dies? At first, you wouldn't think this a bad thing, but interestingly the story details many of the problems inherent with living forever. Simply put, it's a disaster. The modern economy depends upon life ending at some point.

The novel also addresses moral issues. Death is suspended in one country, but not in others. That means that if a person who is meant for death crosses into another country (or is brought across by family), then that person immediately dies. The moral question thus arises of whether one's family has the right to decide when "enough is enough" and should help end a loved one's life.

To the author's credit, these types of moral questions do not weigh the novel down or turn the tale into an allegory of assisted suicide. Instead, the author's narrative tone of a mere reporter, not a commenter, allows the questions to be raised in a subtle way.

The story takes a bit of a turn when the character of death (with a small "d") becomes the focus, personified as a woman. Specifically, death becomes obsessed with one particular man who seems to have cheated her by not dying when he was supposed to. She takes the body of a middle aged woman in order to get to know this man better and ends up falling in love with him and seemingly renouncing her role as the ender of life.

It was at this point that I really lost the thread of the novel. Oh, I understood what was happening, but I didn't understand why. It was not clear what death's feelings were about this man and what exactly lead to her final decision at the novel's end. Death falls in love? Nope, just didn't get it.

My other trouble comes from the syntax of the translation. Run-on sentences and heavy comma usage! Ack! It made for difficult reading at points and somewhat detracted from the novel's narrative. ( )

The latest of my favorite author's book translated into English. As usual, his prose is wonderful as only he can write, one grasps quickly his witty humor and profound wisdom of human nature. This time, the story is about the withdrawal/suspension of death (a she) where suddenly on the 1st day of the year, no one dies, and the day after, and the next, and so on. The first half of the story deals with the country's reaction - the chaos and confusion which follow, and how everybody in his/her own way dealt with the it (the government, the citizens, the church --- this one i found funny but indeed rings true, for they say, if there is no death, there can be no resurrection, and then what will be the church's own justification for existence? Indeed, the absence of death was a threat to the existence of the church itself! (this by the Archibishop).

The second half is the story of death herself --- death is restored, but at intervals... i found the ending of the novel a bit weak, though, and tending towards kitschy.While entertaining and a pleasure to read, i think this is not the Nobel Prize winner's best. ( )

The story of what happens when people simply stop dying - but they do not stop aging or getting injured. I thought it was a brilliant examination of the real-life consequences of immortality. ( )