The author of such acclaimed novels as Baltasar and Blimunda, The Stone Raft and controversial publications like The Gospel According to Jesus Christ died at age 87 at his home in the Canary Islands. Born to landless peasants, Saramago never had the opportunity go to school yet became a journalist, and gave Portugal its only Nobel Laureate in Literature to date. Saramago authored close to 30 books that have been translated into 25 different languages. He is known for his blending of folklore and fantasy in describing urban isolation, political malfeasance and using page long sentences and abandoning proper nouns . At age 75 he won the Nobel prize for literature but remained a controversial figure in his home country.
He was a member of the Communist Party in his early life, criticized the European Union often and left his home country when the Portuguese government denounced his portrayal of Jesus Christ in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
