The main setting of the novel is the Central Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths of an unnamed city. This municipal archive holds the vital records for all residents of the city stretching back several centuries. The main character is called simply Senhor José (Mr. Joseph). Senhor José is fifty years old and has worked as a low-level clerk in the registry for more than twenty years. His residence adjoins the registry. Senhor José's hobby is creating dossiers about famous people. One day he realizes that having their birth certificates would complete the files. He begins sneaking into the registry late at night to obtain them. One evening he stumbles across the records of an ordinary, unknown woman. He becomes intrigued and embarks on a search for the woman. Along the way, he commits various illegal and unprofessional acts.
Although it wasn't your typical story with the usual kind of plot I couldn't put it down, and I think I even cried at the end. I loved it, and Saramago is undoubtedly a literary genius. He took a lot of liberties with his writing style - I remember for one super-long sentence took about 24 lines! He would also often write whole pages of philosophizing that were a puzzle for my brain. I recommend that everyone should read something like it (modern? post-modern? I'm bad with these terms) at least once. It was fun and exciting to read something that broke all the "rules" of fiction, but after that it was also a comfort to come back to regular literature.
