Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Death with Interruptions  By  cover art

Death with Interruptions

By: Margaret Jull Costa - translator, José Saramago
Narrated by: Paul Baymer
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Nobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question: What happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death? On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This of course causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially celebration - flags are hung out on balconies, people dance in the streets. They have achieved the great goal of humanity: eternal life. Then reality hits home - families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots.

Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with scythe and filing cabinets, and contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?

©2009 Jose Saramago (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Saramago being Saramago, he turns what could be the stuff of late-night stoner debate into a lucid, playful and politically edgy novel of ideas.... Saramago adds two satisfying cliffhangers—how far can he go with the concept, and will death succumb to human love? The package is profound, resonant and—bonus—entertaining." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Death with Interruptions

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    173
  • 4 Stars
    113
  • 3 Stars
    81
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    189
  • 4 Stars
    106
  • 3 Stars
    41
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    92
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    13

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It's actually two books...

The concept of this book alone makes it worth the read. It's a fascinating approach to the most universal part of living, starting with a look at how politicians, clerics, gangsters, medical professionals and capitalists react to a drastic change in the way we ... live? There are frustrating moments when I desperately wanted the author to elaborate on a perspective on interrupted death that he didn't consider, and times when the book looked through a lens I've never considered before.

This is the important part of my review. This book is two books. Other than the frustrating/artful lack of punctuation beyond commas, the first part and the second are so stylistically different and cover such different themes that it is mind boggling.

I have 2 recommendations:
1. Listen to the audiobook. You figure out who is saying what, when, and where and can follow the story much better. You should still read a few pages of text, just so you can admire wild and unruly the grammar (I kinda like it). It will also allow you to better appreciate how beautifully Paul Baymer navigates the jungle of sentences and squished together dialogue.

2. Read it as if it were two stories in the same universe. The first is like a narrator in a historical documentary, a high level picture of what's goin' on. The second is a love story, and one of the characters in that story just happens to be death. The transition happens at the introduction of the violet letters. Stop at the end of that chapter ("...it was the end of an era."/end of Chapter 8), and soak it up. Think about what you liked and hated about the the wide angle perspective and the choices of folks in this new state of being. THEN pick it up again (from "It may be that a very genteel upbringing..."/beginning of chapter 9) like you are reading a new story that features the same "death," a new perspective and intimacy with characters.

It was a great read either way, but I wish I had known to take a break in the middle, so I didn't spend the second half wondering where the first half went!

Oh, one more thing: you're gonna wanna talk about this book with people whether or not you enjoy it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

well written, fantastic story. written in a laconic Portuguese style. the kind of story that some will think a waste of time and others will adore

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brought to Tears

I don't think I've read a José Saramago story without my heart forcing me too get a little misty eyed. Not for just the story itself but the beautiful writing. The translation was so very good and brought the magic of the Portuguese original to my ears. The simple poetry and perfectly limited pallet of words are so heartfelt and heartbreaking at times. Truly let's me see what real talent is in writing. Never have I heard such gorgeous prose and felt that the characters in this story could be real people, with deep humanity and heart.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting but slightly boring

fell asleep listening to this book a few times. there are very interesting concepts it's just not the most exciting book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

highly recommend!

Intriguing story guaranteed to stir thoughts about your existence and mortality in an entirely new way. The narration is excellent. Be patient with the unfolding, it's not a high-speed car chase. Anyway, you have plenty of time...don't you?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • LT
  • 07-23-22

Fabulous writing

Thought-provoking and droll. The author is truly a genius. I had to listen at 1.5x though because the narrator is SOOOO SLOOOOW. Oddly, at the faster speed, I felt that the narrator’s automaton-like voice deftly conveyed the irony and dry humor in the writing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Saramago a magician

Nobody plays with life, love or death as Saramago does. His unique way to take you under his spell, it is impossible to describe. Magnificent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

“The Dispatcher” but with different rules

If you have read John Sculzi’s “The Dispatcher” then you will find this book to be similar in some ways, and very different in others. If you liked that book, then you will very likely enjoy this one as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It only gets better as you go.

NGL, I had a pretty negative feeling about the story at first, largely due to the irrational (albiet relatively accurate human behaviour,) however the second half was incredibly enjoyable, and now I have a completely positive view of it. Btw the fact that the reader is only showing to have read three books is a shame. One of the best readers I have heard in a while, along with the guy that reads Infinite Jest.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

better and better 😌

i found this very difficult in the beginning but LOVED the ending .I am too close to death myself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!