3.5
The Cave
ByPublisher Description
Los Angeles Time
New York Times
Cipriano Algor, an elderly potter, lives with his daughter Marta and her husband Marçal in a small village on the outskirts of The Center, an imposing complex of shops, apartments, and offices. Marçal works there as a security guard, and Cipriano drives him to work each day before delivering his own humble pots and jugs. On one such trip, he is told not to make any more deliveries. People prefer plastic, apparently.
Unwilling to give up his craft, Cipriano tries his hand at making ceramic dolls. Astonishingly, The Center places an order for hundreds, and Cipriano and Marta set to work—until the order is cancelled and the penniless trio must move from the village into The Center. When mysterious sounds of digging emerge from beneath their new apartment, Cipriano and Marçal investigate; what they find transforms the family's life, in a novel that is both "irrepressibly funny" (
) and a "triumph" (
).
"The struggle of the individual against bureaucracy and anonymity is one of the great subjects of modern literature, and Saramago is often matched with Kafka as one of its premier exponents. Apt as the comparison is, it doesn't convey the warmth and rueful human dimension of novels like
and
. Those qualities are particularly evident in his latest brilliant, dark allegory, which links the encroaching sterility of modern life to the parable of Plato's cave . . . [a] remarkably generous and eloquent novel." —
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Cave Reviews
3.5
“The Cave by José Saramago is such a well-written book. While the storyline itself is very simple, the author adds remarkable depth through Cipriano Algor’s inner dialogue, which makes the narrative feel rich and reflective.
Going into it, I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve read a few of Saramago’s works before, and honestly, not all of them were to my taste. But this one turned out to be by far my favourite so far. I absolutely loved the writing style — it felt natural and immersive, and it merged beautifully with the story itself.
The novel follows Cipriano, a potter whose way of life is threatened when the “Center” — a massive commercial complex and clear metaphor for consumerism — stops buying his pottery. Through his struggles to adapt, Saramago explores themes of alienation, change, and the dehumanising force of modernity.”
“I liked the style of writing although sometimes it was a bit lengthy. A lot of the characters were unlikeable even though I was interested in their stories. The story is practically entirely character-driven so this is necessary.
There are some enjoyable stories with different characters which are explored off to the side of the main one. I have to note that the main story which I refer to hesitantly doesn't feel definitively central but theirs is the one which ties the book together.
I think the work is generally bland and the messages which the author conveys can be repetitive, contrived, and unenlightening. I would re-read it at a later date still.
(I'm writing this about a year after I read it, so I could be remembering things wrong or making harsh judgements. Maybe it says something that this was the impression that stays with me though.)”
“I do not care about this man and his pottery.”
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
