J is for Jose

That would be Jose Saramago, one of my favourite authors.

He was born in Portugal in 1922 and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.  His work has a mysticism tied in with a deep respect for the rights of the individual.  Not beach reading, by any means.  His sentences are long and complex.  His heroes and locations are often unnamed, giving his books a dream-like quality.

If you're only going to read one of his books, make it The Cave.