‘The history of mankind is the history of our misunderstandings with god, for he doesn’t understand us, and we don’t understand him’
I had a slight moment of confusion after picking up this book for the first time. I had next to no idea what it was about except, of course, that there might be a character called Cain somewhere in the storyline. I had assumed it might be a fictional novel based loosely around certain events as portrayed in the Bible.
In actual fact, Saramago’s story does indeed tie into various Biblical passages but with the added ingredient of meaningful absurdity (and a bit of time travel for good measure). It feels as it might if Douglas Adams had been asked to rewrite the Bible. The narrative is full of whimsical elements and an ongoing fascination with donkeys. The dialogue is difficult to discern at times, embedded as it is in whole paragraphs free from punctuation. Saramago regularly interjects his own prose with side comments addressed to the reader to highlight the inconsistencies in his own storyline. Why are these ancient peasant farmers so very eloquent in their conversations with one another? Is this the same kind of time travel we’re used to seeing in films? How does Cain know the decent places to visit without a Michelin guide?
The storyline itself moves along sporadically as Cain moves from each Biblical fable to the next, jumping backwards and forwards through time according to the path his donkey treads. This a reasonably short book and anyone expecting the storyline to develop into a satisfying climax will be disappointed.
Part of Saramago’s charm however seems to lie in exactly this type of narrative – jumbled and brief. He follows his own narrative path and yet the story remains engaging and the style incredibly distinctive. It is a different experience of writing.
Amusing passages are frequent and chuckle-worthy. Saramago recounts how God had told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac: ‘The logical, natural and simply human response would have been for abraham to tell the lord to piss off, but that isn’t what happened’. When Isaac is spared sacrifice there follows the inevitable, and brilliantly recounted, awkward conversation between son and would-be executioner/father.
As one might expect, the religious parables are only tools used to express a more atheistic critique of God. The key theme throughout is of the folly and selfishness of The Big Man Himself. There is a fine line to tread with this kind of subject matter – the more militant atheist writers will often (inadvertently or otherwise) lambast the reader with sensationalist anti-religious rhetoric. Saramago observes the unspoken boundary and is more subtle. The meaning is often clear but it is suggestive rather than prescriptive, a kind of atheistic open bracket. The degree to which anti-religious sentiment exists is very much up to the reader’s own opinion. And I like that.
This is a book full of the writer’s own character. It is distinctive and witty. It is whimsical, but all the better for it. This is not the book to invest your time and emotions in, for it feels disjointed and all too short. But as a quick and new reading experience, Cain really hits the spot.
Cain by José Saramago
Published by Vintage, 2012
150 pages
Cover Illustration: Christian Montenegro
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