The novel proved controversial,[1] especially to representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano accusing Saramago of having a "substantially anti-religious vision".

[3] After the conservative Portuguese government blocked the book's nomination for the European Literary Prize, Saramago left his homeland (and lived out his days in Lanzarote, in the eastern Canary Islands).

[4] This book re-imagines the life of Jesus Christ, using the events depicted in the canonical gospels as a scaffold on which to construct its story.

Jesus survives, but his father, Joseph, who has learned of the plan, neglects to warn the other families in the village, ensuring that his son is safe first, and is plagued by nightmares for the rest of his life.

Jesus is not believed by his family, and so he leaves them once again, meets Mary Magdalene, and goes to work helping the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.

The novel ends with Jesus's realization that God's plan, and the ensuing centuries of torture, slaughter, and misery that Christianity will bring, will proceed despite his efforts.