Skylight
José Saramago
Called ‘the book lost and found in time’ by its author, Skylight is one of Saramago’s earliest novels. The manuscript was lost in the publishers’ offices in Lisbon for decades, and is only now being published in English.
Lisbon, late-1940s. The inhabitants of an old apartment block are struggling to make ends meet. There’s the elderly shoemaker and his wife who take in a solitary young lodger; the woman who sells herself for money, clothes and jewellery; the cultivated family come down in the world, who live only for each other and for music; and the beautiful typist whose boss can’t keep his eyes off her. Poisonous relationships, happy marriages, jealousy, gossip and love – Skylight brings together all the joys and grief of ordinary people.
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About José Saramago
Reviews for Skylight
James Runcie
Independent
For admirers of his work...the rescue of this novel from oblivion is something to be grateful for. The translator, Margaret Jull Costa, as ever, does a splendid job
Times Literary Supplement
Not only does it illuminate the slow development of a radically original artist, but it is an interesting novel in its own right
Ursula Le Guin
The Guardian
This is one of Saramago’s early works but his eye for psychological nuance and his gift for sympathy are already in evidence
New Statesman
Skylight is a deeply affecting novel, the work of an already adroit writer who marshals his characters with assurance
Evening Standard