Cain

3.5/5.0

Good compilation of tales having Cain as a protagonist, all put together as a single continuous story, and in classic Saramago's fashion, a satirical view of the deeds and personality of the god of the bible is presented in each one.

Why not 4 or 5? The first story of Cain as a wanderer didn't struck me as unnecessary; although entertaining, to me it didn't seem to be as relevant as the other stories, which included more important characters of the bible, who are more well known and can be portrayed and criticized better than a minor (and to many, unknown) character.

Cain calatoreste prin timp si rescrie Vechiul Testament. Dialogurile dintre Cain si Dumnezeu mi-au amintit de cele dintre Jupiter si Oreste din Mustele. Avem, in fapt, un mic manual de antiteologie, mai profund decat cel oferit de Onfray. Mi-ar fi placut ca textul lui Saramago despre Avraam sa fie accesibil lui Kierkegaard si cel despre Iov lui Sestov. De fapt, critica pe care o efectueaza Saramago sacrificiului lui Isaac este mult mai radicala si mai profunda de cat cea operata de Dawkins!

“l-am omorat pe abel pentru ca nu puteam sa te omor pe tine” (32)
“domnul i-a poruncit lui avraam sa-i sacrifice propriul fiu, a facut-o cu desavarsita naturalete, asa cum ceri un pahar cu apa cand iti e sete” (72)
“[avraam], frustratul calau” (75)
“Istoria oamenilor e istoria neintelegilor lor cu dumnezeu, nici el nu ne intelege pe noi, nici noi nu il intelegem pe el.” (81)
“copiii [din sodoma] erau nevinovati” [!!!] (89)
“daca dumnezeu n-are incredere in oamenii care cred in el, atunci nu vad de ce oamenii acestia ar trebui sa se increada in el” (123)
[Citatele sunt dupa editia de la Polirom.]

Saramago has been among my favorite contemporary authors ever since I became acquainted with his works in 2000. He is a genius in carrying the narrative in unexpected directions, and the way his prose flows seems so effortless it's impossible to comprehend fully the talent involved. And then there's his ability to use the narrator's voice to inject wit and occasional wisdom into the work. In short, his works read well, they're fun and often deeply humane.

At 176 pages Cain is just too long. Saramago's narration has that usual wit (”man doesn't live by bread alone” is a brilliant moment), but most of the time he seems too witty for his own sake, and this becomes apparent as the narrative progresses and the narrative device employed wears itself out. Instead of substance what we seem to get is window-shopping: Saramago ransacks the pages of the Old Testament and points at the obvious things modern readers find laughable, and laughs. I would have yearned for something concentrated, that is, a more rooted and focused story of Cain, which, I think, is inherently tragic. By this I don't mean there couldn't have been any comedy. But now Cain reads like the done-to-death archetypically scornful atheist reading of the Old Testament, which it is, of course, but offering very little else for someone like me who has actually heard these arguments before quite a few times concerning the Old Testament or the Bible in general, be they theological or literary.

In terms of the English language translation, Margaret Jull Costa's works is very beautiful.