Death With Interruptions

by José Saramago

And the day before, there would probably have been no salvation for this particular patient, but one thing was clear, today, the victim refused to die.

would declare that humanity’s greatest dream since the beginning of time, the happy enjoyment of eternal life here on earth, had become a gift within the grasp of everyone, like the sun that rises every day and the air that we breathe.

it’s normal to die, and dying only becomes alarming when deaths multiply,

You’re absolutely right, my dear philosopher, that, of course, is why we exist, so that people will spend their entire life with fear hanging round their neck, and when their time comes, they will then welcome death as a liberation,

One day we will know why he set us this test,

That’s how life is, what it gives with one hand one day, it takes away with the other.

The sky, which, since the onset of night, had been covered by heavy, threatening clouds, cleared suddenly to reveal the moon.

he scattered over the grave the weeds he removed earlier, other living plants would soon take the place of those withered, dry, dead weeds, which would gradually enter the food cycle of the same earth from which they had sprung.

The moon had disappeared, the sky had once more clouded over. Just as they had finished hitching the mule to the cart, it started to rain.

found myself in the presence of people who had passed away, I never imagined that their death would be the same death I would one day die, Because each of you has his or her own death, you carry it with you in a secret place from the moment you’re born, it belongs to you and you belong to it,

Everything that can happen will happen, it’s only a matter of time, and if we don’t get to see it while we’re around, it will be because we didn’t live long enough.

talking to you is like finding oneself in a labyrinth with no doors, Now that’s an excellent definition of life,