RIP José Saramago (1922-2010)

"When you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all the ills of the world in your hand, and get frustrated because no one pays you any attention."

It's been raining here in Mexico lately; which makes this news even gloomier.

José Saramago, the Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 with novels that combine surrealist experimentation and a kind of sardonic peasant pragmatism, has died at his home in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, his publisher said on Friday. He was 87.

I found Saramago later in my life, but I still feel I owe him an unpayable debt. You *don't* read Saramago to feel good; you read him to stay awake.

You don't even read him to agree with what he has to say. For instance, Saramago was an atheist; but I suspect that his atheism had more to do with a resentment toward God, for not coming down and give all the leaders of all the churches a good reprimand —often times I feel the same way, although I'd opt for a good kick in their sanctimonious balls instead...

His view of the world was bleak, but people need to realize the importance of grumpy old men who keep pointing out the things that are f*&%ed up in this world —and there's plenty to pick from!

"[Because he was very close to the social causes that mattered to him] he was a very angry man, there was a lot of rage in him. And that was a good thing, since he only got angry with the sons of bitches."

Carlos Fuentes

But amid the bleakness, the reader can find the glimpse of hope, like a timid ray of sunlight strong enough to stab through the thick storm clouds. That's the beauty of Saramago to me.

So, if you haven't read any of his books, drop what you're doing right now and head to the library. I suggest you start with Blindness —someone even managed to make a decent movie about it not too long ago.

To finish this eoulogy, I would like to emulate a Mexican radio DJ who chose to dedicate this next song to the memory of Saramago; I think it was a brilliant selection:

Descanse en Paz.