Nobel-winning novelist Saramago dies aged 87

Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, gestures during a press conference to present his latest book, Cain, in Lisbon Wednesday Oct. 21, 2009. Saramago said during the presentation that the Bible is a catalogue of cruelty and of what's worst in human nature. (AP Photos / Joao Henriques)

Portuguese Nobel literature laureate Jose Saramago died on Friday at his home on the Spanish Canary Island of Lanzarote, his family said.

Saramago was 87 years old. He won the Nobel in 1998.

The author of works such as Blindness (1995) suffered from leukemia. He had breakfast and chatted with his wife and translator Pilar del Rio on Friday morning, after which he started feeling unwell and passed away, the family said.

Samarago had lived on the Canary Islands for years. His most recent work, Cain, was published in November.