What happens when Tertuliano Maximo Afonso, a 38-year-old professor of history, discovers that there is a man living in the same city who is identical to him ion every physical detail, but not related by blood at all. And what happens when each of these men attempt to investigate each other's lives? How do we know who we are? What do we mean by identity? What defines us as individual, unique people? Could we ever come to terms with the existence of another person with our voice, our features, our everything, down to the smallest distinguishing mark? Could we change places with our double without those closest to us noticing? Dark yet comic, Jose Saramago's new novel can be read as an existential thriller, but it is above all a work of literature that immerses us in the essential questions of life. It is certain to become a 21st-century classic
-------------

I tried to get into this one a couple of months ago but just couldn't. I found it a little dense. Sending to Cat207 who has it on her wishlist. Definitely on my re-reads list.

Posted to Cat207 with a couple of other books.

Picked up from the post office today - along with two other '1001' bookrays. Thank you so much Dave, but I hope there's no hurry with this one as I do have quite a few bookrays to get out of the house. I will check back with you after I've read it, as you've listed it as a re-read.

Gee, almost a year. How time flies.

I really enjoyed this one - didn't find it at all difficult. I love the way the speech just continues on in the same sentence, with the only thing marking a new 'speaker' being a capital letter. I can understand why this one is on the '1001 Books' list.

I did ask in a PM, Dave, if you wanted this one back to re-read, but didn't get a reply. If you do want it, I can bring it to Newcastle with me at the end of the week, and maybe we can meet up. If you don't want it back, I know just the person to appreciate it!

Never did get a response from Dave about re-reading, so the book is heading to oppem as part of the wishlist tag game. Enjoy!

Thanks for tagging me with this book.... I read Blindness by the same author not so long ago so will looking forward to reading this in the future & hopefully passing it along afterwards....

Oppem, the Bookcrosser who previously journalled this book, passed away on June 23, 2012. I had the privilege of meeting her dear family and "catching" her large collection of registered books. I will be releasing this one soon.

Reserved for Vasha.

Sending to Vasha. Enjoy!

To the finder of this book:

This book is gift, no strings attached, from me to you. You may keep it forever, pass it along to a friend, or release it into the wild to be found by someone else.

If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community. I hope you'll join us...it's free! If you do, please consider using me, elizardbreath, as your referring member. You can even remain anonymous if you wish!

I hope you'll make a brief journal entry so all the previous and future readers can track this book's journey.

Thanks, and Happy BookCrossing! :)

Reserved for the 1001 Library.

Tertuliano Máximo Afonso, the central character of Saramago’s fable, is a modest history teacher who watches a movie one evening and discovers a bit-part actor who is identical to him in every way, right down to the last freckle. The premise, the possibility that someone else exists that is yourself in “every respect” is a classic literary device, but unlike Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Double, Saramago explores his theme in a downbeat, ponderous manner, shot through with an unsettling insidious anxiety.

On the surface, this appears to be a narrative that both questions and satirizes individuality as a concept. The “double” is himself an actor, conversations are presented as unindividuated tides of prose, Tertuliano struggles to distinguish himself within his emotional life and profession. The novel’s action is contained within simple, everyday acts that are recontextualized in ways that make them deeply disturbing. Though Saramago never enters the realms of the surreal, an ordinary, if not dull life is rendered increasingly strange. An ineffectual man, threatened with a loss of identity, gains a sense of purpose as the narrative brings the character into relief.

Undoubtedly The Double demands a certain commitment from its reader to be fully appreciated. Its style is characteristically digressive, with dialogue where it is sometimes impossible to distinguish between voices, but these elements are also at the core of the novel’s achievements. Though requiring hard work at times, the novel’s ending is a payoff well worth the effort — it will leave you quietly astounded, with your sense of what constitutes “self” unsettled. — Abi Curtis in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Thanks so much for your donation Vasha!

This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the 1001-library bookshelf.

On the swap shelf.