Is José Saramago a philosopher or a novelist?

I've been reading The Double, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to read, how quickly the narrative flows. Reader trepidation is understandable, since his style is characterized by run-on sentences and pages-long paragraphs, but I think this only adds to the surreal, dream-like quality of the book. Saramago has a gentle way with words that makes The Double's story--revolving around a history teacher pursuing his doppelgänger--seem lighter than it really is. There's heavy, existential conceit here, but it's pretty charming--like Franz Kafka without the dark tones and tortured characters. The setting and characters are vague, with Saramago, as omniscient narrator, instead taking immense pleasure in relating not only what's going through Tertuliano Máximo Afonso's head, but in what could've been: "As for Maria da Paz, whether or not she continues to be a presence in these pages, for how long and to what end, is up to Tertuliano Máximo Afonso, he knows what he will say to her if and when he finally decides to pick up the phone and dial a number he knows by heart." Throughout The Double, there's an undercurrent of contradiction--the narrator hints repeatedly that he's in complete control of Afonso's destiny, but that Afonso is also free to make his own choices. You might think such a contradiction would make The Double an impossible book, but the opposite is true--Saramago's big questions make it much more engaging.

Comments

[Teresa]

I just love this book, and the whole relationship between the narrator and the story is one of the most fascinating and delightful things about it. And yes, Saramago's style, particularly with dialogue, seems like it would be difficult, but it's very readable. Blindness is even better--one of my top 5 reads in 2008.

[patricia]

Loved this book, too. Still have to get around to reading Blindness.

And hey - why can't Saramago be both philosopher and novelist?