Title: Death with Interruptions

Author: Jose Saramago

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

Print Length: 256 pages

Description: On the first day of the new year, an inexplicable phenomenon occurs: no one dies. Politicians, religious leaders, funeral directors, and doctors are thrown into a state of confusion and panic. Meanwhile, the general public rejoices, celebrating this unexpected gift of eternal life. Flags are hung out on balconies, and people dance in the streets, achieving what many have longed for—the end to death itself. However, reality soon sets in as families struggle with caring for those who are now permanently alive, life-insurance policies become obsolete, and funeral directors find themselves arranging burials only for pets. Amidst this strange new world, Death, a solitary figure living alone in her chilly apartment, contemplates the implications of her experiment: What if death ceased to exist? Would she, as an embodiment of death with a small d, ever be capable of falling in love?