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Difficult in parts, but well worth perseverance. The writing flows and the images Saramago conjures are by turns dark and magical.
The first story, "The Chair", I found hard to grasp initially, until I caught the allegory and it fell into place.
"Embargo" satirises our reliance on oil and motor vehicles in a disturbing Twilight Zone-esque way.
"Reflux" is about the futile denial of mortality, and inequality even in death (and probably other ⬇️

"The chair started to fall, to come crashing down, to topple, but not, strictly speaking, to come to bits."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Despite my previous flippant comment about the first story, "The Chair", it was actually really good, if you like things held at an odd angle. Undoubtedly, my enjoyment of the story was enhanced by spending twice as much time reading Wikipedia entries on President Salazar, Saramago, libertarian communism and the Carnation Revolution (mostly to be forgotten by tomorrow) than I spent on the story itself. I like those kind of stories ?

The first of these short stories is describing in minute detail the collapse of a chair. Luckily, the short introduction explained that this is Saramago's metaphor for the collapse of the long Salazar dictatorship of Portugal, which ended when the president suffered a brain haemorrhage from the impact of his skull with the floor when falling from his collapsing deck chair. 'Cos otherwise, it's 25 pages about a chair falling over.

I really enjoyed Saramago's writing style. I absolutely loved the short stories Embargo, Reflux, and Things. They just captivated me. It's a peculiar book that is worth being read.

#bookmail! Ordered this book of short stories during a sale around Christmas, excited to read it!