José Saramago published 28 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 1 non-fiction book, 1 play and 3 other books, beginning with Death with Interruptions (1965). The best-known is Blindness (1995).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with José Saramago
Start here
Blindness
José Saramago's most-read book.
Shortest way in
Death with Interruptions
One of the most-read, at about 238 pages.
Standalone novels in order
Land of Sin (1947)
Death with Interruptions (1965)
Deste Mundo E Do Outro (1971)
A Bagagem Do Viajante (1973)
Opinions That Dl Had (1974)
Os Apontamentos (1976)
Manual of Painting and Calligraphy (1977)
Raised from the Ground (1980)
Journey to Portugal (1981)
Baltasar and Blimunda (1982)
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (1984)
The Stone Raft (1986)
The History of the Siege of Lisbon (1989)
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991)
Blindness (1995)
The Gospel Accorinding to Jesus Christ (1996)
All the Names (1997)
The Cave (2000)
The Double (2002)
Seeing (2004)
As Intermitências Da Morte (2005)
Memories of My Youth (2006)
Death at Intervals (2008)
The Elephant's Journey (2008)
Cain (2009)
Skylight (2011)
Körlük - Görmek (2018)
Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira
Novellas in order
Small Memories (2011)
Short story collections in order
The Lives of Things (2012)
Non-fiction in order
The Notebook (2009)
Plays in order
In Nomine Dei (Dec 1993)
Other books in order
The Tale of the Unknown Island (1997)
ENSAYO SOBRE LA CEGUERA (2015)
Ensayo Sobre La Lucidez (2016)
Film and TV adaptations
- Blindness (2008)Film · from Blindness
- Enemy (2013)Film · from The Double
About José Saramago
José de Sousa Saramago was a Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony [with which he] continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality." His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor. In 2003 Harold Bloom described Saramago as "the most gifted novelist alive in the world today" and in 2010 said he considers Saramago to be "a permanent part of the Western canon", while James Wood praises "the distinctive tone to his fiction because he narrates his novels as if he were someone both wise and ignorant."
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
José Saramago FAQ
- How many books has José Saramago written?
- José Saramago published 28 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 1 non-fiction book, 1 play and 3 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read José Saramago's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Blindness.
- What is José Saramago's last book?
- The Lives of Things (2012).
- What is José Saramago's most famous book?
- Blindness (1995) is José Saramago's most widely read book.
- Which José Saramago books have been adapted?
- 2 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Blindness (film, 2008) and The Double (as Enemy, film, 2013).
Authors like José Saramago
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.