Provocative and lyrical, "The Notebook" is a record of a year in the life of Jose Saramago. On the eve of the 2008 US presidential election, the author started jotting down his reflections on the world in which he lives. He evokes life in his beloved city of Lisbon, conversations with friends, and meditations on his favourite authors, often rendered with pointillist detail: precise observations on stories and moments of arresting significance that together comprise an acute view of our times. Characteristically critical and uncompromising, Saramago dissects the financial crisis, deplores Israel's bombardment of Gaza, traces the ongoing inquiry into the execution of the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes on the London Underground, and charts the transition from the era of George W. Bush to that of Barack Obama. Available for the first time in English, "The Notebook" offers a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the most original writers of our time.

Author Biography

The Portuguese Nobel Laureate Jose? Saramago was a novelist, playwright and journalist. His numerous books, including the bestselling All the Names, Blindness, and The Cave, have been translated into more than forty languages and have established him as one of the world's most influential writers. He died in June 2010. Umberto Eco is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna and the author of Foucault's Pendulum, The Name of the Rose, and other international bestsellers. He lives in Milan, Italy. Daniel Hahn is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator. His translations include Creole (2002), The Book of Chameleons (2006), My Father's Wives (2008), and Rainy Season (2009), by Angolan novelist Jose? Eduardo Agualusa.