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José Saramago
(Portuguese Writer and Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998)
Birthdate: November 16, 1922
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Azinhaga, Portugal
Died: June 18, 2010
José Saramago was a highly acclaimed Portuguese writer known for his thought-provoking and subversive literary works, which often presented allegorical perspectives on historic events. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 for his imaginative and compassionate storytelling. Saramago's novels have been translated into 25 languages, selling over two million copies in Portugal alone. He was a proponent of libertarian communism and a vocal critic of institutions such as the Catholic Church and the European Union. Saramago went into exile in Lanzarote due to political censorship of his work, where he continued to write until his passing in 2010.