Contact:
Anna Crowe, Senior Publicist
212-592-1147 or anna.crowe@hmhpub.com
Death with Interruptions
by José Saramago
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
“Saramago being Saramago, he turns what could be the stuff of late-night stoner debate into a lucid, playful and politically edgy novel of ideas….profound, resonant and—bonus—entertaining.”
—Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)
“A universe of dramatic possibility exfoliates from its stunning, cunning opening sentence…we may sense we hear the voice of a great artisan who may not have shown us the last of his creations; who instead whispers his promise: Not just yet, there’s more to be told.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Death never sleeps, but in Saramago’s world there is the possibility that she might decide to try…one of our greatest living writers, Saramago continues to produce stimulating and multifaceted work well into his eighties.” —Library Journal
One of the most acclaimed writers in the world today, José Saramago has sold over 1 million copies of the US editions of his books to date. This October, the tenth anniversary of Saramago’s award for the Nobel Prize for Literature, Harcourt will publish the latest novel by this literary master—DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS. In addition, the motion picture version of Saramago’s bestselling book Blindness is scheduled for release by Miramax this fall.
What if Death took a holiday? Would there be a need for funerals? Priests? Doctors? Set in a nameless country, public and religious and civic leaders—not to mention funeral directors—discover that Death’s absence isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS.
On the first day of the new year, no one dies. Initially, this is met with celebration; after all, who wouldn’t want to live forever? Eternal life—the great, mythical goal of humanity—has been achieved. But soon, Death’s absence causes concern and reality hits home—families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Meanwhile, Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with her scythe and filing cabinets. Here, she contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?
At once beautiful and haunting, DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS again highlights why José Saramago has been called “arguably the greatest writer of our time.” (Chicago Tribune)
null
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
JOSÉ SARAMAGO was born in a small village near Lisbon, Portugal in 1922. For many years, Saramago worked in the civil service, publishing, and journalism industries. In 1982—at the age of sixty—he gained international recognition for his novel Baltasar and Blimunda, and in 1998 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, The Cave, All the Names, and Blindness are just a few of his internationally bestselling novels. The film version of Blindness will be released from Miramax this fall, directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God), and starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and Gael García Bernal. The film opened the Cannes Film festival and was also shown at the Toronto Film Festival. Saramago currently lives in the Canary Islands.
MARGARET JULL COSTA is the foremost translator of Portuguese literature into English.
Death with Interruptions
by José Saramago
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
Publication Date: October 6, 2008
Harcourt / ISBN: 978-0-15-101274-9 / $24.00 / 256 pages
Death with Interruptions
by José Saramago
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
“Saramago being Saramago, he turns what could be the stuff of late-night stoner debate into a lucid, playful and politically edgy novel of ideas….profound, resonant and—bonus—entertaining.”
—Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)
“A universe of dramatic possibility exfoliates from its stunning, cunning opening sentence…we may sense we hear the voice of a great artisan who may not have shown us the last of his creations; who instead whispers his promise: Not just yet, there’s more to be told.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Death never sleeps, but in Saramago’s world there is the possibility that she might decide to try…one of our greatest living writers, Saramago continues to produce stimulating and multifaceted work well into his eighties.” —Library Journal
One of the most acclaimed writers in the world today, José Saramago has sold over 1 million copies of the US editions of his books to date. This October, the tenth anniversary of Saramago’s award for the Nobel Prize for Literature, Harcourt will publish the latest novel by this literary master—DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS. In addition, the motion picture version of Saramago’s bestselling book Blindness is scheduled for release by Miramax this fall.
What if Death took a holiday? Would there be a need for funerals? Priests? Doctors? Set in a nameless country, public and religious and civic leaders—not to mention funeral directors—discover that Death’s absence isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS.
On the first day of the new year, no one dies. Initially, this is met with celebration; after all, who wouldn’t want to live forever? Eternal life—the great, mythical goal of humanity—has been achieved. But soon, Death’s absence causes concern and reality hits home—families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Meanwhile, Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with her scythe and filing cabinets. Here, she contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?
At once beautiful and haunting, DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS again highlights why José Saramago has been called “arguably the greatest writer of our time.” (Chicago Tribune)
null
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
JOSÉ SARAMAGO was born in a small village near Lisbon, Portugal in 1922. For many years, Saramago worked in the civil service, publishing, and journalism industries. In 1982—at the age of sixty—he gained international recognition for his novel Baltasar and Blimunda, and in 1998 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, The Cave, All the Names, and Blindness are just a few of his internationally bestselling novels. The film version of Blindness will be released from Miramax this fall, directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God), and starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and Gael García Bernal. The film opened the Cannes Film festival and was also shown at the Toronto Film Festival. Saramago currently lives in the Canary Islands.
MARGARET JULL COSTA is the foremost translator of Portuguese literature into English.
Death with Interruptions
by José Saramago
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
Publication Date: October 6, 2008
Harcourt / ISBN: 978-0-15-101274-9 / $24.00 / 256 pages
