Death with Interruptions

Set in an unnamed, landlocked country, Jose Saramago's novel begins at midnight on the first of January, when people stop dying. The public celebrates, while religious authorities, philosophers and scholars look in vain for a reason and the Catholic Church sees a threat to its doctrine. The strain soon shows: health workers fear hospitals and care homes will fill forever with people too frail to live yet unable to die, and funeral parlours are left burying pets. Speech runs without quotation marks. In Britain it appeared as Death at Intervals.

Sailo co-founder Magda Marcu said she has a soft spot for Saramago and singled out this novel, along with one other of his books.