The Notebook

Fascinating and smart and provocative, and a lot of fun to dip into. * The New York Times *
In readably provocative style, with offbeat riffs on his life and writing, on ideas and histories ... This is a bittersweet delight. -- Boyd Tonkin * The Independent *
Saramago is one of Europe's most original and remarkable writers ... His writing is imbued with a spirit of comic inquiry, meditative pessimism and a quietly transforming energy that turns the indefinite into the unforgettable. -- Richard Eder * Los Angeles Times *
In the craft of the sentence, Jose? Saramago is one of the great originals. His prose is a voice that envelops all voices: it is like the universe's immanent murmur ... No one writes quite like Saramago, so solicitous and yet so magnificently free. -- Steven Poole * The Guardian *
The book presents an intelligent twist on the blogs-turned-books phenomenon, proving that the two mediums are compatible beyond social curios and cultural gimmicks ... . The Notebook is a unique glimpse into the candid ruminations of one of the most talented living writers. * Flavorwire *
I'm hard pressed to think of another writer who makes me stop as Saramago does, to go back and discover the meaning of history or allegory in all its wild newness. -- Julian Evans * Financial Times *
Saramago enjoys picking up a passing thought or an incident and running with it, confident in his political outrage, calm in his appreciation of friends, considered in his aphoristic criticism of culture. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times [London] *
Saramago is a writer, like Faulkner, so confident of his resources and ultimate destination that he can bring any improbability to life. -- John Updike * The New Yorker *
Beautifully crafted and honest, Saramago's Notebook is elegant in tone and style while clearly conveying a legend's take on our evolving society. * Publishers Weekly *
Impenitently enraged and tender. -- Umberto Eco
The most gifted novelist alive in the world today. -- Harold Bloom