All the Names by José Saramago

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A wonderful book by an outstanding author, All the Names tells the story of Senhor Jose, who works as a clerk in the Central Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Jose's job is mundane, largely involving the transfer of files by hand, and he works long, unremitting hours before retiring to a hovel connected to the registry. Other than his job, his main occupation is collecting newspaper cutting of celebrities, before one day, he comes across a record card of an 'unknown woman'. He quickly becomes obsessed with her and tries to reconstruct her life through official records, which brings him into conflict with the registry's strict rules.

The book has a highly reflective tone, with little action, which might be a problem with a lesser author, although Saramago has the ability to imbibe the most mundane sequences with great significance. A number of themes are evident throughout the book.

Firstly, All the Names is an exploration of bureaucracy. There are some hilarious satirical moments- queries go through a strict hierarchy in which clerks relay information to senior clerks, who speak to deputy registrars, who speaks to the registrar, before the answer is returned in reverse order. However, the book also gives a strong sense of how meaning is created through record keeping and institutional processes. At one point, the registrar gives a speech in which he talks about merging the files of the living and the dead, which, he claims, will change how the nation will subsequently view the people the records relate to. On an individual level, the unknown woman becomes real to Jose through how she is displayed in her files.

Secondly, many philosophical passages in the novel discuss determinism. Several characters discuss choices with Jose, including his pursuit of the unknown woman. Jose is often unable to give a convincing reason for his actions and at several points suggests that no such reason is possible. This often infuriates his interlocutors, although he persists in his reasoning, suggesting that '[we do not make decisions, decisions make us]'. This situates Jose within the institutional power of the registry.

Finally, questions of power and authority are typically present in Saramago's work and are also evident here. The registrar has little work, instead spending his time monitoring his employees. Although Jose is institutionally powerless, his musings over the unknown woman and the nature of the records indicates that his powers are being suppressed by the hierarchical nature of the registry. It is the interplay of all these themes, told with great artistry, that makes this a great novel.



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