CAIN (Spanish Edition)

Saramago, the Portuguese 1998 Nobel laureate for literature, has written a prequel to his widely acclaimed and controversial novel The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. It begins with God finding and correcting a design flaw in Adam and Eve and ends with Him and Cain arguing about Noah and the flood. The story follows Cain as God sends him on his peripatetic way after having murdered his brother, Abel. The narrative places Cain at Old Testament hotspots—Abraham deciding to sacrifice his son, in bed with Lilith, working for Job, at the tower of Babel, in Sodom and Gomorrah, and on Noah's ark. Throughout, God does not come off smelling like a rose. Form, chronology, and punctuation flow casually, and it is sometimes hard to follow dialog. The tone is chatty, humorous, and matter of fact, a tone that becomes ironic when describing God's acts of injustice and immorality. Meanwhile, Cain's donkey takes him hither and yon, transcending time and space. While hardcore Saramago fans may consider Caín Saramago-lite, this fun but deep read could attract new readers to his work. Potentially controversial, this will make a lively addition to all public library collections, as well as bookstores; an essential acquisition for academic libraries with strong literary collections.—Sara Martinez, Hispanic Resource Ctr., Tulsa City-Cty. Lib. Syst. OK