Rather than portraying Joseph as a mere carpenter, José Saramago recreates the man as a fascinating and complex character, tormented by guilt and remorse for electing to save his child over alerting the population of Herod?s intentions. The novel that shocked the Catholic world presents a mundane vision of the events surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, from his birth and the discovery of love to his existential crisis on the meaning and role of his life.« less