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The Cave
The Cave
Author: Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)
Cipriano Algor, an elderly potter, lives with his daughter Marta and her husband Marçal in a small village on the outskirts of The Center, an imposing complex of shops, apartments, and offices to which Cipriano delivers his pots and jugs every month. On one such trip, he is told not to make any more deliveries. — Unwilling to give up his c...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780156028790
ISBN-10: 0156028794
Publication Date: 10/15/2003
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 23

4 stars, based on 23 ratings
Publisher: Harvest Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Cave on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Couldn't get into it. Heard it was kindof deep and had sortof a "mysterious" ending...
reviewed The Cave on + 813 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
It takes a bit to get accustomed his writing stylea variation of stream of consciousness. His paragraphs are long (often two pages or more), He rarely uses a period, He does not use quotation makes for dialog, His narrative and character dialog are only differentiated by a capital letter following a comma, The comma is used to separate sentences. Confused already? You wont be after 50 or 60 pages. After reading Moby Dick I felt as if I knew all I needed to find and land a whale; now I know everything about making pottery. This is a veritable textbook; and thats the main thread of the story. Oh yes, for you pedants, as in Moby Dick, there is a major allegory within it, as well as deep character studies. Youll miss the allegory if you havent studied Platos Republic beforehand.
reviewed The Cave on + 166 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Saramago, who has been called 'the world's greatest living novelist,' has created an allegorical novel of an elderly potter whose precarious existence is threatened when he can no longer sell his wares. Rave reviews from all the major critics.
reviewed The Cave on + 66 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent story of a potter in Portugal. Great characters, touching story.
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reviewed The Cave on + 12 more book reviews
This is one of my favorite Saramago books. While his style of writing takes some adjustment, once you get the hang of his style I believe you'll love it. I like to tell people Saramago writes like we think; free-form. "The Cave" offers life lessons on the twenty-first century and how individuality has lost favor as well as the sense that family is everything. This is a refreshing book with so many lessons.
kimeriksen avatar reviewed The Cave on + 24 more book reviews
Really wonderful book. Quite different from any that I have read before.
reviewed The Cave on + 2 more book reviews
A genuinely brilliant novel by a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature!
reviewed The Cave on + 8 more book reviews
An elderly potter lives in the country with his daughter and son-in-law who is a security guard at "the Center" in the city. They all move to the Center where, to their horror, they find the real meaning (or lack of meaning) of the Center.

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