All The Names

The Real Story is Nameless

In a quaint cottage out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by thousands of trees, the only sounds heard are those of the animals scurrying about. There are no complications of modern appliances or the ruckus of cars flying down the highway. No one is there to complain or to criticize. It is peaceful, calm, and tranquil. Now, place that small cottage amid a busy, bustling city. A city where the streets are lined with people for blocks as far as the eye can see, and the sounds of car horns pollute the air. Where gripes and grumbles contaminate the environment, and there is not a single tree in sight, only the pavement that runs on for miles and miles. Like the small cottage, All the Names, is one of those

Jose Saramago’s All the Names is most remembered for its themes of finding oneself and the discrepancy between life and death, its legacy for its use of unique writing style, and

Another theme that is apparent in All the Names is Saramago’s feelings towards death. Senhor Jose is constantly pondering over why the records of the living and the dead are kept segregated at the Central Registry. Saramago’s feelings are evidently shown when the Registrar, the symbolic God figure, decides that “the records of the living shall mingle with those of the dead” to create a more manageable work environment (Irwin). This represents Jose Saramago’s beliefs that there is a very thin barrier between life and death. The theme of death is also apparent when Senhor Jose’s travels take him to the Central Cemetery. As much as he wants to believe that the unknown woman is alive, he goes to the Central Cemetery to “determine whether death may have beat him to the unknown woman”(Kunkel). Most importantly, if she is dead, he wants to find out himself, not from someone else. There is constantly an overlaying shadow of death throughout the entire story, whether it is pertaining to the unknown woman or the records of the Central