Saramago é um escritor de histórias inverossímeis, a realidade anda de mãos dadas com a ficção e a forma como descreve as situações por ele imaginadas é muito boa.
Este livro contém 6 contos (A Cadeira, Embargo, Refluxo, Coisas, Centauro, Desforra), o último foi o que gostei menos, parece-me que foi colocado ali como antítese dos restantes (já que começa com alguma violência e termina com a imagem de um amor puro e águas calmas), uma espécie de conclusão do livro. Gostei bastante de “As Coisas”, o “Embargo” e o “Refluxo”.

Mais pormenores no blog: https://ideiasdeleitora.blogspot.pt/2018/03/opinioes-objecto-quase-de-jose-saram...
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Saramago nos ofrece en este libro una colección de cuentos que prenden irrevocablemente en la memoria del lector. En "Silla", una carcoma va royendo el asiento de Salazar hasta que cae la dictadura. "Embargo" nos cuenta la ocupación de un hombre por su automóvil, mientras la gasolina va acabándose y la muerte se cierne sobre ambos. En "Reflujo", un único cementerio va absorbiendo todos los demás, hasta la muerte del monarca. En "Cosas" el autor imagina una ciudad sometida a una dictadura absoluta. Un último ser fantástico, mitad hombre y mitad caballo, se esconde desde hace siglos en las sobras de "Centauro". Y "Desquite" es una parábola en la que un muchacho se lanza a un río sabiendo que en la otra orilla lo espera una chica desnuda.

Leído pero... es Saramago! ( )

A collection of six short pieces in the classic Saramago mode, dominated by the opening story, "The Chair", a heavily-ironic woodworm's eye view of the death of an unnamed, elderly dictator (presumably Salazar) fatally injured when a chair collapses under him. "Reflux" and "Things" are both allegorical fantasies, one about a king allergic to the sight of death and another about a dystopia in which inanimate objects rise in revolution against the men who are prepared to treat their fellow men as inanimate objects. "Embargo" is a twisted look at the oil crisis and car-dependance, and "The centaur" explores what the world looks like to the last surviving horse/man — Saramago is surely the first person to ask himself how a centaur could turn over in bed... ( )

After reading Cain, I decided to read something else by Jose Saramago. I picked up this book of short stories. They were interesting and disturbing. According to the introduction, many of the stories are symbolic of life under the Portuguese dictator Salazar. I realized I had no idea that Portugal had been under a dictatorship and I then realized that I know nothing about Portugal. I have decided to read up on that country's history.

The first story, The Chair, is 25 pages devoted to the act of a chair falling apart. It's a very significant chair, as it's the chair Salazar sat in that collapsed and is blamed for his eventual death. Looking at the Internet, it appears Salazar may have fallen in the bathtub but that doesn't take away from a very unusual story.

I enjoyed Embargo. Although it is, like all the stories, fairly distressing, it is also amusing. A man's car takes control and he is powerless behind the wheel. Not so thinly-disguised allegory, but entertaining.

Things was a story about life in an oppressive, highly regulated city where the government is basically "big brother" and THINGS have a life of their own. Sometimes amusing, sometimes sad. One thing that struck me about this story is when the main character mentions that he can't smoke at work - it is forbidden. (As are a lot of other things.) Hmm, smoking at work in this totalitarian regime is prohibited? I'll have to think about that one. . . .

I would recommend this book if you're reading Saramago's work. It's not a lighthearted collection of short stories by any means, but I'm glad I read them. They provided food for thought. ( )