The Cave
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:6th Nov '03
Should be back in stock very soon
By the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. 'A novel with impact...hope and charm' Independent
Cipriano Algor, an ageing potter, lives with his daughter and her husband in the shadow of the Centre, a nebulous, constantly expanding conglomerate that provides his livelihood – until it decrees that it is no longer interested in his humble wares.Cipriano Algor, an ageing potter, lives with his daughter and her husband in the shadow of the Centre, a nebulous, constantly expanding conglomerate that provides his livelihood – until it decrees that it is no longer interested in his humble wares. Together with his daughter, they craft a new line of small ceramic figurines and, to their bafflement, the Centre orders vast quantities. But once the figures are complete, the Centre recants: there is no market for them. Resigned to idleness Cipriano moves into the soulless megaplex, until late one night he comes across a horrifying secret in the bowels of the artificial city.
What distinguishes the book is the concern Saramago breathes over his characters; like potter's clay, they are patiently moulded into their best shape, retaining soft marks of memory -- David Jays * Guardian *
A novel with impact... hope and charm * Independent *
Saramago surprises us by bringing hos characters into close focus with his wise insights on the complexity of human relationships and the psychology of close family ties * Time Out *
There are certain writers who will deliver something special with each new book, and Jos- Saramago is one of them * Sunday Telegraph *
Saramago resolves the story with the same charm that characterises the whole book...he advocates a simpler life based on family and 'the small miracles of love'. He does so with humility, but also with implacable conviction -- Frank Egerton * The Times *
A quietly unsettling yet also charming tale. The atmosphere and story are pure Orwell, but Saramago's southern Europe rhythms and colour-soaked imagery link him even more firmly to a gritty yet dreamlike magic realism -- Carson Howat * Scotsman *
Saramago can transform banal sentiments into unexpected profundities -- David McAllister * TLS *
ISBN: 9780099449157
Dimensions: 199mm x 130mm x 20mm
Weight: 226g
304 pages