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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The triumph of an ordinary man, Kafka with a human heartbeat, 24 May 2000
All the Names tells the story of a meek man, a worker in a Central Registry that seems almost infinite in size, with a Kafka-like quality to the structure and disciplines within. Senhor Jose is quiet and dedicated, with only a hobby of collecting titbits on famous people to occupy him. He breaches all of the Registry's regulations, risking his job and his home, in order to copy details from the record cards for his collection. By chance, a record card of an ordinary woman comes his way, and his curiousity becomes an obsession, as he sets out to trace this woman, no matter what the cost. Senhor Jose sets himself a quest, an arbitrary quest, but one which gives his mundane life meaning. The book is a detective story, a love story, a story about the oppression of authority and the way that people can overcome that oppression by finding small moments of joy. The book is comic, sad and full of meaning. Saramago writes a highly significant book, yet uses simple prose to tell the story, making the themes all the more effective. In my view, this is the closest thing there has been to the Perfect Novel. If you've ever read any Borges, Kafka or Calvino then you should discover Saramago as quickly as you can.
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by Jose Saramago
by Jose Saramago
by Jose Saramago
by Jose Saramago
by Giorgio Bassani
