The Cave

What distinguishes the book is the concern Saramago breathes over his characters; like potter's clay, they are patiently moulded into their best shape, retaining soft marks of memory

David Jays, Guardian

A quietly unsettling yet also charming tale. The atmosphere and story are pure Orwell, but Saramago's southern Europe rhythms and colour-soaked imagery link him even more firmly to a gritty yet dreamlike magic realism

Carson Howat, Scotsman

A novel with impact... hope and charm

Independent

Saramago surprises us by bringing hos characters into close focus with his wise insights on the complexity of human relationships and the psychology of close family ties

Time Out

There are certain writers who will deliver something special with each new book, and Jos- Saramago is one of them

Sunday Telegraph

Saramago resolves the story with the same charm that characterises the whole book...he advocates a simpler life based on family and 'the small miracles of love'. He does so with humility, but also with implacable conviction

Frank Egerton, The Times

Saramago can transform banal sentiments into unexpected profundities

David McAllister, TLS