Cain

José Saramago is one of the most important international writers of the last hundred years. Born in Portugal in 1922, he was in his sixties when he came to prominence as a writer with the publication of Baltasar and Blimunda. A huge body of work followed, translated into more than forty languages, and in 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Saramago died in June 2010.

"There are some very funny moments in this reimagining of the story of Adam and Eve's fratricidal son... Hats must be doffed once again to Margaret Jull Costa, Saramago's fearless long-time translator, for taming his punctuation-free prose, rendering it not only readable, but enjoyable, and for bringing the late Portuguese author's often challenging work to a worldwide readership" Financial Times "Jose Saramago's final novel is an inventory of God's less noble moments...as flawed and wonderful a place to inhabit as the world his cosmic nemesis created" Sunday Herald "Every page of this novella, translated with a fluent and light touch by Margaret Jull Costa, has its charm. Every page raises difficult questions...as the final testament of Portuguese master, it is suitably disturbing and a pleasure to read" Scotsman "Saramago's breathless prose, expertly rendered into English by Margaret Jull Costa...conveys the sheer enjoyment of a writer bowing out at the top of his form" Sunday Times "Cain reminds us why Saramago's work remains vitally important" Metro