Conceptually, `Blindness' is simple. An unknown city somewhere undergoes an epidemic of `white blindness', where the inhabitants all lose the ability to see, their vision glossed over with a think milky whiteness. What could have been nothing more than a unique chapter in the never ending catalogue of literary horror becomes so much more when Portuguese author Jose Saramago takes hold of the reins and steers us into this devastating blindness.
The novel opens with a nameless man behind the wheel of his car stopped at a red-light and then instantly he is blind. He cannot see anything aside from the milky residue covering his vision. This man is assisted home by a stranger who then proceeds to steal his car. When this mans wife comes home she ushers him to the ophthalmologist who is bewildered by this mans sudden blindness. Later that evening the doctor too goes blind. In fact all around the city people are going blind. In a state of panic the government locks the blind men and women, as well as those who have been in contact with them, away in an abandoned asylum where they will wait out their sickness. If and when they regain their sight they may be free to leave, but until then they are not to leave the premises for fear the epidemic will spread. If they try and escape they will be shot and killed.
But not everyone is without sight. The doctor's loving wife has faked blindness in order to accompany her husband to his prison, and this woman proves to be our eyes into a world so horrific, so grotesque and disturbing that she is forced to consider her sight an even larger curse than the world's blindness.
Saramago takes this prose and develops an intricate look into the mental deterioration of modern society. The actions of the government are rash and harsh; understandable within the realms of sheer panic yet detestable when considering the fate they are assigning innocent humans. As the living conditions for the ill worsen they soon begin to feed into the panic, their dealings with one another becoming rabid and fierce. They begin to turn on one another, taking advantage of others weaker than they despite sharing the same condition. Saramago marvelously brings these intense feelings of hopeless misery and dread to the reader in a way that evokes real human emotion. One wonders what would happen if anything to this magnitude were to overtake our country. One wonders if we would be reduced to the animals these one time humans have become.
Within this story lies the beating heart of a beautiful soul, the nameless face of the doctor's wife. This woman is truly one of the most well rounded characters I've ever had the privilege to get to know, to truly understand. Cursed with the ability to see the decaying world around her, the doctor's wife gradually shifts through emotions that we can relate to. There are such beautiful moments of understanding within this novel where we get a glimpse into the genuineness of her soul, the kindness that she possesses that contradicts the selfishness surrounding her.
Some have noted the way in which the novel is penned, and I'm happy to see that I am not the only one who made the distinct connection between the authors writing style and the overwhelming feeling of blind confusion. By writing in a way that distinguishes no one around you, you begin to feel as confused and as lost as the blind inhabiting this novel. With the expulsion of quotation marks and the minimal use of a paragraphed structure the reader can easily find themselves grasping for some clarity that is not to be found. This can deter some, but in my opinion it is a genius decision to bring the reader down to the level of those they are reading of. I often like to place myself within the characters mind myself (for instance I found myself only reading this book in the dead of night with no light but that of my flashlight so as to block out my surroundings and delve completely into their blindness) and so having this extra connective tissue made that transition all the more effortless.
`Blindness' is masterfully crafted and brilliantly written. It is as horrifying as it is mentally challenging. It is a novel that forces the reader to reflect upon their own reactions and truly causes the reader to question their views. The epidemic that accosts the characters in this story may seem far-fetched, but the eventual deterioration of civilization is not an aftereffect too far off from accuracy. As one reads `Blindness' they are stricken with pangs of panic as they consider these conditions forced up themselves; and what makes it all the more horrifying is that it doesn't seem too unrealistic.
In the end, `Blindness' has an effect quite the opposite on the reader; it opens their eyes and allows them to see the world in another light.
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- Baltasar and BlimundaPaperback$12.38 shippingGet it as soon as Tuesday, Jan 28Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Purchased new and received used
Ordered a new copy but received a used one from a different publishing house. Still a totally readable copy, but it’s a bit dirty. Probably just a simple mistake from the holiday bustle.
Top reviews from other countries
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- DeySpeakable MeReviewed in India on November 13, 2020
Blindness by José Saramago - Highly recommended
Blindness by José SaramagoBlindness by José Saramago - Highly recommendedDeySpeakable Me
Reviewed in India on November 13, 2020
An intense psychological thriller, so beautifully written. It's another contagion, where in a city people getting blind randomly starting from a traffic signal and then spreading through looking into their eyes. The blindness is called White Evil. Infected people being sent for quarantine, their hellish life there, how they survive when the governance collapsed and how it ends.
The story itself is so engrossing, I've completed in just 5-6 days. The powerful writing gives a sense of being one member of the flock, you become one of them, seeing or not seeing every action over there. One thing is hard to place is the dialogue, a dialogue or a conversation is written on a stretch only separated by commas. There you might have the problem to identify who's saying what, but you get this eventually.
Highly recommended for all class of readers.
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- Nadine DennisonReviewed in Australia on June 11, 2019
Excellent author of quality.
