[In the following essay, Pontiero examines the major themes in O ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis.]

[In the following review, Gilmour finds The Stone Raft lacking in style and purpose.]

[In the following review, Howe finds Baltasar and Blimunda a complex and engaging story.]

[In the following review, Stavans discusses the place of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ in Saramago's canon, concluding that the novel succeeds in continuing to probe themes explored in earlier works.]

[In the following review, Miller praises Blindness as a novel of great compassion and wisdom.]

[In the following review, Mars-Jones finds Blindness an "extraordinary novel" of linguistic and theoretical experimentation.]

[In the following review, Eder considers The Stone Raft to be one of Saramago's greatest literary achievements.]

[In the following review, Eder praises the satire and irony in The History of the Siege of Lisbon.]

[In the following review, Eder considers Baltasar and Blimunda at times weighted down with unnecessary details but otherwise a successful example of magical realism.]

[In the following review, Eder examines The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis in the context of the Iberian literary tradition of surreality, finding in the novel an appropriate and successfully rendered balance between the serious and the absurd.]

[In the following review, White praises Saramago's deft handling of the love affair in The History of the Siege of Lisbon.]

[In the following review, Preto-Rodas warns that O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo "will hardly validate traditional beliefs," but confirms that the novel probes important questions about the nature of Christianity and religion.]

[In the following review, Preto-Rodas presents an overview of the themes in Saramago's Notebooks from Lancarote.]

[In the following review, Wood discusses the almost-palpable sense of history in The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis.]

[In the following review, Whiteside provides a brief explanation of the literary background of The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis—particularly regarding the life and work of Fernando Pessoa—and finally considers the novel an "impressive intellectual achievement," although overly cerebral.]

[In the following review, Pavey finds The Gospel According to Jesus Christ a worthy addition to the catalog of modern literary studies of Christianity.]

[In the following review, Preto-Rodas calls História do Cerco de Lisboa a "worthy addition" to Saramago's canon.]

[In the following review, Preto-Rodas discusses A jangada de pedra, finding that "despite a loose structure," the novel succeeds in its examination of the status of the Iberian peninsula in the modern world.]

[In the following review, Moser praises Saramago's intimate knowledge of his subject matter in Levantado do chao but ultimately finds the novel monotonous and redundant.]

[In the following review, Willen suggests that the plague in Blindness represents the tension between depravity and decency among people in extreme circumstances.]

[In the following review, Stern examines O ano da morte de Ricardo Reis, finding the novel a fitting tribute to Fernando Pessoa, a hero of the Portuguese revolution.]

[In the following review, Stuewe offers a negative assessment of Baltasar and Blimunda, noting that Saramago fails to develop his characters beyond basic outlines.]