All the Names

By: Margaret Jull Costa - translator, José Saramago

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Senhor Jose is a low-grade clerk in the city's Central Registry, where the living and the dead share the same shelf space. A middle-aged bachelor, he has no interest in anything beyond the certificates of birth, marriage, divorce, and death that are his daily routine. But one day, when he comes across the records of an anonymous young woman, something happens to him. Obsessed, Senior Jose sets off to follow the thread that may lead him to the woman-but as he gets closer, he discovers more about her, and about himself, than he would ever have wished.

The loneliness of people's lives, the effects of chance, the discovery of love - all coalesce in this extraordinary novel that displays the power and art of Jose Saramago in brilliant form.

©1997 Jose Saramago (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Alternately farcical, macabre, surreal and tragic, this mesmerizing narrative depicts the loneliness of individual lives and the universal need for human connection even as it illuminates the fine line between the living and the dead." (Publishers Weekly)

"This haunting, strangely moving novel is uplifting despite the tragic nature of the woman's life; Saramago's true theme here is how compassion ultimately rules human behavior." (Booklist)

Ariadne’s thread

This is the most useful metaphor to describe the journey on which Saramago takes the reader, a labyrinthine path that one can only retrace by means of an indestructible thread tied around one’s ankle, just as the protagonist does. There is a Dickensian quality to this story, quirky and detailed, both mundane and high-minded. A tribute to the tenacity of human beings to find connection and meaning.

However, the performance is unforgivable! How can the narrator possibly read the entire novel MISPRONOUNCING THE PROTAGONIST’S NAME?! Seriously! Señor Jose pronounced “Joe-zay”instead of “Ho-zay” is simply beyond comprehension. And where was the director of this project to allow such a travesty?

Enjoyable

An enjoyable read for those who who enjoy "Words" and those who ponder life death, loneliness and human interaction.

great book

haunting and excellent about human condition. this is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes analyzing their inner thoughts

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found great relation with the protagonist and I further found this book to be relatable and generally intelligent and I further highly recommend this book.

Best novel ever!

If you’re looking for a meaningful work of art listen to this novel. Saramago’s All the Names is a story you will think about long after you finish. Blindness is Saramago’s most popular novel but All the Names is why he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.