This is sad news. I have read many of his books and found them enjoyable, although he used the same formula many times: the world - something we take for granted = interesting story.<p>Here is an interview from 2006 with Saramago entitled "Still a street-fighting man": <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/apr/30/fiction.features1" rel="nofollow">http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/apr/30/fiction.features...</a>