Jose Saramago
2002
Around 325 pages
I am really army crawling to this finish. Of course, it's my fault I am burning out, but we are so close to the end here, it's hard to not want to just sprint to the end and rest when you get there. That being said, there are still some impressive works to consider before I can cross the finish line, collapse on the ground, and puke my guts out.
Tertuliano is a divorced high school history teacher who rents a movie, and sees an actor that looks exactly like him. He becomes obsessed with tracking down the actor and eventually makes contact to determine who is the original and who is the copy. And yes, both men want to sleep with each other's women.
The doppelganger is a familiar trope throughout many cultures and history, and I loved Saramago's take on it. It played out like a Hitchcock movie, and I had no idea where Saramago was going with it, but he managed to land the plane very smoothly.
If you enjoyed Paul Auster's Book of Illusions, you will probably click with this as well, which is similar in style and tone. Highly recommended.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Adapted to film in 2013.
Adapted to film in 2013.
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