Blindness

Mar 24, 2012 Nataliya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone with a conscience.

Shelves: 2012-reads, excellent-reads, awesome-kickass-heroines, favorites, dystopia-postapocalyptic

This book left me speechless (which is a rare occurrence). Please enjoy the pictures to illustrate the plot while I recover my gift of rambling.

An unexplained plague of "white blindness" sweeps the unnamed country. Initial attempts to hastily quarantine the blind in an abandoned mental hospital fail to contain the spread. What they succeed at is immediately creating the easy "us versus them" divide between the helpless newly blind and the terrified seeing. Before we know, we are immersed in the...more This book left me speechless (which is a rare occurrence). Please enjoy the pictures to illustrate the plot while I recover my gift of rambling.

An unexplained plague of "white blindness" sweeps the unnamed country. Initial attempts to hastily quarantine the blind in an abandoned mental hospital fail to contain the spread. What they succeed at is immediately creating the easy "us versus them" divide between the helpless newly blind and the terrified seeing. Before we know, we are immersed in the horrifying surreal world of hopelessness, filth, violence, and hate, where the true enemy is not their affliction but people themselves, which we can see through the eyes of the only person who appears immune to blindness.

“Perhaps only in a world of the blind will things be what they truly are.”

As the blindness epidemic spreads, we see the disintegration of society just like we witnessed the destruction of humanity in the quarantine area. Excrement covers sidewalks, dogs munch on human corpses, the blind rot in the stores after futile attempts to find food. Even the saints in the churches are blinded. The world is a bleak picture of desolation and destruction.

... Lovely, no? ....

We don't know why it happened - whether it's a test, a warning, or a punishment. Instead, we get a nagging haunting feeling that the real blindness was there all along - the blindness towards the others, the blindness towards our real selves, and the physical blindness served as a way to unveil it. What was always there but went unseen before because it used to be easy to shrug off. Fear. "Us against them" attitude. Greed. Contempt. Hatred. Selfishness. Love of power. Cowardice. Apathy. Isolation. Filth. Rape. Murder. Theft. Ignorance. Indifference. Blaming the victim. It was all already there, and blindness amplified it. And, as society decays and falls apart, the question of what is means to be human comes up.

“I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.”

Things that made us human are gone. Faces don't matter. Names don't matter. Homes don't matter. Possessions don't matter. Shame and modesty are gone. Medicine is useless. Government is useless. Morals seem obsolete. Empathy is gone. Is anything left? Anything inside us?

“The difficult thing isn't living with other people, it's understanding them.”

The vestiges of humanity are the only rays of hope in this bleak world. The girl with the dark glasses taking care of the boy with the squint. The man with the eye patch and his love. And the doctor's wife, the only one who retained her sight. Why? Was it because she was the most human? Or maybe she remained human because she retained her sight? Who knows? She is quiet and caring, leading the blind, washing the raped women, weeping over the dead but killing if she must. She sticks by her morals even if she is forced to violate them. She is the guiding light and the quiet hero in this world of ~~darkness~~ whiteness, keeping her charges from degradation without expecting anything in return.

“If we cannot live entirely like human beings, at least let us do everything in our power not to live entirely like animals.”

The style of this book may not be for everyone (disclaimer: I loved it!). The pages are filled margin to margin with solid wall of text. There are no dialogue marks, and the seemingly mundane bits of everyday speech are separated only by capital letters. Sometimes you need to almost read the sentences out loud to get a feel for who is speaking (it's very fitting that the book about the blind is better perceived in a non-visual medium). The sentences are long (in a European fashion), run-on, and beautifully punctuated. It is not a book to skim, it requires concentration, and definitely is not a light read. If all of the above does not scare you, you should give this one a try.

I will finish this review with the plea in the epigraph for this thought-provoking eye-opening (no pun intended) book: "If you can see, look. If you can look, observe." Please, do. Let's try to look past our own blindness and actually SEE.
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Jun 18, 2007 William rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: identity

When you sit in a coffee shop at the corner of two busy streets and read a book about blindness, you find yourself thinking unfamiliar thoughts, and you believe, when you raise your head to watch the people passing, that you see things differently. You notice the soft yellow light of the shop reflecting off the bronze of the hardwood floors. You notice among the people coming from the train two girls who intersect that line, spilt, call back, and go their ways, dividing into the two directions o...more

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May 10, 2010 Megha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, kickass

Whichever way you interpret it, you will find that most of all Blindness is about being human.

In a world full of blind people, where the civilization as we know it has completely deteriorated, people are no more identified and judged based on their profession, social status, outward appearances etc. All that remains to distinguish one person from another is one's voice, and the kind of person one is. When people are struggling for survival, trying hard to hold on to life, they drop all the outw...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Jeffrey Keeten rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

”The advantage enjoyed by these blind men was what might be called the illusion of light. In fact, it made no difference to them whether it was day or night, the first light of dawn or the evening twilight, the silent hours of early morning or the bustling din of noon, these blind people were for ever surrounded by a resplendent whiteness, like the sun shining through mist. For the latter, blindness did not mean being plunged into banal darkness, but living inside a luminous halo.”

We have all e...more

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May 14, 2011 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

Whoa! This will be a bit scatterbrained. Maybe I will come back later and try to really give this the long, well-thought-out review that it deserves, but right now I am too busy basking in a mix of discomfort and disorientation.

Somewhat important fact concerning this book and my review and rating of it: I saw this movie first, and felt that it (to be totally clear) fucking sucked*, but was fascinated by the plot enough to randomly pick up this novel one day when I so happened to pass a faced-ou...more Whoa! This will be a bit scatterbrained. Maybe I will come back later and try to really give this the long, well-thought-out review that it deserves, but right now I am too busy basking in a mix of discomfort and disorientation.

Somewhat important fact concerning this book and my review and rating of it: I saw this movie first, and felt that it (to be totally clear) fucking sucked*, but was fascinated by the plot enough to randomly pick up this novel one day when I so happened to pass a faced-out used copy of it. Basically, I went into it with my judgments high, readier than you could believe to just really hate all up on it. I've been holding on to it for several years, and started reading it the other day for no discernible reason other than the fact that my current poverty, unemployment, and general constant state of having "the Fear" have been driving me toward post-apocalyptic horrorscapes. I can only assume that this is so that I can comfort myself with several different somewhat subconscious thought-patterns, such as "Ehhh, it could always be a lot worse. You could literally be living in rags and surrounded by shit, rather than just figuratively." Well, this novel definitely takes that notion to a whole new level, through the hideous descriptions of the living quarters of the confined blind people, slipping in diarrhea, crawling on all-fours through piles of diarrhea, fucking in diarrhea, sleeping in diarrhea, eating food sitting in crates surrounded by diarrhea, vividly depicted rape scenes with descriptions of all manner of sex fluids mixing with blood and screams of terror and, of course, diarrhea; umm, this is an ugly book. I have a strong stomach, and there were actually 3 or 4 times while reading that I faintly felt like I was going to hurl. It takes a powerful writer to invoke such an emotional response as to actually elicit physical bad feelings, and he does not handle it with disrespect or embrace it simply for its shock value like, for example, that chicken rape scene in Pink Flamingos (aside: fuck that movie). Every element of terror in the book is carefully placed there in order to highlight the tenuous divide between man and beast. I won't bore you or insult your intelligence by explaining the metaphor of "blindness," but I will say that it is used well, and doesn't feel trite despite how sort of terribly obvious it seems.

Be forewarned that the writing style may bother some people. If you were annoyed by the lack of punctuation distinguishing dialogue in The Road, then this book is most certainly not for you, as Saramago gives no formal names to his characters and frequently shifts who is talking in the middle of a sentence along with refusing to punctuate any of the dialogue. I can fall into the stream-of-consciousness style of writing as it is similar to my sloppy, random "thinking style," but I can also see how it is not for everyone. In this instance, it communicates the universality of the experiences the blind are facing, how they are all in the same boat (well, technically mental institution), all victim to the same needs to eat and sleep and defecate and piss and fuck and fight, so it is really of no concern who is speaking, as they are all screaming out the same frustrated banshee yell.

This book is fantastique. Sorry for all the swearing and whatnot, but if you couldn't make it through this review without getting all fussy and wound-up, then you won't make it 50 pages into this kick in the balls of a novel. Consider this coarse review as my way of sparing you.

*To be fair, I think part of me was just really pissed that THIS GUY was the big, mean, evil, rapey, sadistic, sociopathic creep in the movie. Come on! He just makes awkward boob jokes and has no social graces, but he's sweeeeeeeeet and imaginative and stuff, too. Okay, the silly girly-girl in me is done taking over this review, as she has made that nausea I was previously speaking of suddenly return.

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Jun 12, 2007 Sammy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: b-the-good

This is definitely a book that people will either love or hate. It's just that kind of book. Not everyone is going to pick this up and like it. Even the people who end up really liking it, while reading it keep finding themselves putting down the book, looking around the room and sighing in discomfort, wondering if they should really continue. They will though, and they will once again find themselves fully immersed.

Jose Saramago writes this specific story in such a way that you are one of the b...more

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Michael Thomas Angelo You are so right in your summation,. I have picked the book up and put it down numerous times over the course of my reading. I wasn't sure I would fin...more
Oct 16, 2009 08:12am

Lauren Wow this description is right on. I'm reading it now and I struggle every time as to whether I want to continue or put it down. I even reAlize I'm rea...more
Jan 16, 2011 05:42pm

Rachel Your review makes me think maybe I should give this another shot. I stopped reading while they were still in the hospital, so maybe I missed the best...more
Aug 08, 2012 04:51pm

Nov 28, 2008 Abdullah Suliman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواية جدا رائعة ومميزة

ثق تماما أنك عندما تشرع في قراءة "العمى" فلن تكون كأي رواية قرأتها مسبقا. فهذه الرواية لها طابع خاص بأسلوب مميز ويكاد يكون غريب نوعا ما ولاتستسيغه في بداية قراءتك للرواية.

كما ذكر الكثير ممن قرأها, الأحداث تنفجر في وجه القارىء من السطور الأولى.. بلا مقدمات أو تمهيدات. عن نفسي تفاجأت من قوة البداية وقوة تأثيرها وجذبها للقارىء بأسلوب غامض مثير للريبة!

من الأشياء التي شدت انتباهي هي عدم وجود أي أسماء أشخاص أو مدن أو أماكن أو شوارع وغيرها.. الرواية عمياء تماما فلا تكاد ترى فيها...more رواية جدا رائعة ومميزة

ثق تماما أنك عندما تشرع في قراءة "العمى" فلن تكون كأي رواية قرأتها مسبقا. فهذه الرواية لها طابع خاص بأسلوب مميز ويكاد يكون غريب نوعا ما ولاتستسيغه في بداية قراءتك للرواية.

كما ذكر الكثير ممن قرأها, الأحداث تنفجر في وجه القارىء من السطور الأولى.. بلا مقدمات أو تمهيدات. عن نفسي تفاجأت من قوة البداية وقوة تأثيرها وجذبها للقارىء بأسلوب غامض مثير للريبة!

من الأشياء التي شدت انتباهي هي عدم وجود أي أسماء أشخاص أو مدن أو أماكن أو شوارع وغيرها.. الرواية عمياء تماما فلا تكاد ترى فيها شيئا! فتجد أن الأشخاص في الرواية يُعرفون بالوصف لا بالأسماء (الأعمى الأول - الطفل الأحول - الفتاة ذات النظارة السوداء.. الخ) الحوارات متداخلة مع بعضها البعض. فلن ترى نقطتين رأسيتين أو علامة تعجب او ذكر الشخص المتكلم, فيجب على القارىء معرفة من المتحدث وإلى من يتم توجيه الكلام بنفسه.

أرى ان المشاهد الجنسية في الرواية أخذت أكبر من حجمها في سرد أدق التفاصيل فيما حدث. صحيح أن الرواية من المفترض أن تحدثك كأعمى, وأن تصف لك أدق التفاصيل -وهذه من إيجابيات الرواية- لكني لم أستسغ التفصيل الذي أورده الكاتب في المشاهد الجنسية .

النهاية رائعة.. بل ممتازة جدًا! خصوصا الثلاث أسطر الأخيرة منها, حركة رائعة وذكية من الكاتب! لن أتحدث عن المزيد حتى لا أحرق الأحداث على من لم يقرأها. :)(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Dina Nabil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-change-my-life, pdf

http://suchasmallaffairs.blogspot.com...
هناك روايات لا تنسى.."العمى" واحده من تلك الروايات

قد لا تجد سبب مباشر لاعجابك بها او لاعطائها نجوم التقييم بلا حساب لعله التشويق..لعلها الشخصيات المرسومه بدقه و حرفيه...او لعله اسلوب سارامجو المتقن الذى يصنع من الفسيخ شربات و يستطيع بقلمه ان يحول اى روايه و فكره بسيطه الى سونته رائعه و ها هنا ليست فكره بسيطه انها روايه "العمى" بكل طاقتها و روعتها

يأخد من يدك ليريك ماذا يمكن ان يتحول له البشر حين يعودون للبدائيه الام حين تجوع البطون...كيف تختفى الاخلاق و الا...more

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Mar 09, 2008 Laura Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Laura Jean by: Amy

Science fiction literature. Yes, it is possible.

Here's a response I wrote to the book:

Blindness by José Saramago, published in English in 1997, is a pre 9-11 parable that aptly depicts the debasement of which humans are capable in extraordinary circumstances, and is therefore relevant to contemporary audiences struggling with government incompetence and the consequences of apathetic cruelty. While his characters and nearly all those living in the book’s fabulist scenario struggle with their own...more Science fiction literature. Yes, it is possible.

Here's a response I wrote to the book:

Blindness by José Saramago, published in English in 1997, is a pre 9-11 parable that aptly depicts the debasement of which humans are capable in extraordinary circumstances, and is therefore relevant to contemporary audiences struggling with government incompetence and the consequences of apathetic cruelty. While his characters and nearly all those living in the book’s fabulist scenario struggle with their own blindness, the creation of order from chaos, and the power of primary drives (hunger, lust, violence, etc.), these characters simultaneously exhibit traits that are examples of their human reasoning. When hungry, the woman with the dark glasses gives the boy with the squint her food. The blind accountant sides with violence and tyranny in exchange for larger rations and authority. In the horror of their circumstances, these unnamed characters are equalized, each becoming an animal with only tenuous threads of identity, held together by small demonstrations of intellect. Saramago creates a desperate world so complete, so fantastic, that the reader is left trying to see the shape of things through the all illuminating description, dialogue, and action, just as the characters grope their way through the white blindness with which they are stricken.
But what does it mean? What is Saramago saying about human nature when depicting the authoritarian criminality of some humans and the meekness of others in desperate situations? While Saramago’s depiction of abuse and submissiveness are accurate to the real life actions of humans in such instances as the Stanford Prison Experiment and more recently, the treatment of internees at Abu Ghraib, there seems to be a larger commentary at work on how humans conduct themselves in society. At the end of the book, when the characters are beginning to regain their sight and the symptoms of white blindness are subsiding, the doctor’s wife tells her husband: “Do you want me to tell you what I think..I don’t think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.” As the only character to never lose her sight, these words seem ironic, but she is touching on a parallel between the animalistic foundation they have been reduced to, and the blindness that precipitated this change.
In the same way that humans are forever capable of acting on their most base instincts, losing all boundaries of human decency, the doctor’s wife recognizes that the blindness is always there, behind the seeing, where the shadows and boundaries fall away, flooded by light. In this milky state, she has seen humans lose their sense of self, propriety, and hope, and understands that the threat is always imminent. As the only seeing person in the book, she has lived with this threat throughout the epidemic, and upon everyone else regaining their sight, she, not her ophthalmologist husband, diagnoses them. It is the seeing that is the condition, and blindness their natural state. It is seeing that gives each the foundation to construct identities and governments. But as humans, they each remain blind to their own blindness. They are unable, in their seeing state, to see the constant threat; they are unable to see the reversion back to the base, the animal, the blindness within.
If Saramago’s work is a parable, as I have proposed, it is a cautionary tale about the decisions of which we are capable when faced with harrowing choices and the haunting of ignorance. For it is sight that gives us knowledge, and when reasoned, knowledge that gives us insight. In the extraordinary circumstance of their blindness and the preservation of sight in the face of extreme misery (in the case of the doctor’s wife), Saramago’s characters are forced to make moral decisions on basic criteria – to eat or not to eat? To be naked or to be clothed? While these decisions may be insignificant to the seeing, provided for, or fortunate, to the afflicted and desperate, and as Saramago demonstrates, to all – they are the foundation of what makes us human.

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Sep 23, 2008 Saman added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

رمان خوف‌ناك و تفكرانگيز (كوري) يا ترجمه‌ي صحيح‌تر آن(نابينايي) با جملاتي كه در زير مي‌آيد شروع مي‌شود. سرآغاز كتاب هم اين چنين نوشته شده است
وقتي مي‌تواني ببيني، نگاه كن
وقتي مي‌تواني نگاه كني، رعايت كن
«از كتاب مواعظ»

كه صد البته چنين كتابي وجود خارجي ندارد و نويسنده با اين سرآغاز مي‌خواهد نكته‌اي را در لفافه گوشزد كند: اين يك داستان موعظه‌وار است

درباره‌ي رمان (كوري) و نويسنده‌اش بسيار نوشته‌اند و اخيراً نيز پس از سال‌ها نويسنده‌اش اجازه‌ي به تصوير كشيدن داستانش را به يكي از استوديو‌‌هاي هاليوود...more رمان خوف‌ناك و تفكرانگيز (كوري) يا ترجمه‌ي صحيح‌تر آن(نابينايي) با جملاتي كه در زير مي‌آيد شروع مي‌شود. سرآغاز كتاب هم اين چنين نوشته شده است
وقتي مي‌تواني ببيني، نگاه كن
وقتي مي‌تواني نگاه كني، رعايت كن
«از كتاب مواعظ»

كه صد البته چنين كتابي وجود خارجي ندارد و نويسنده با اين سرآغاز مي‌خواهد نكته‌اي را در لفافه گوشزد كند: اين يك داستان موعظه‌وار است

درباره‌ي رمان (كوري) و نويسنده‌اش بسيار نوشته‌اند و اخيراً نيز پس از سال‌ها نويسنده‌اش اجازه‌ي به تصوير كشيدن داستانش را به يكي از استوديو‌‌هاي هاليوود داد و جشنواره كن امسال(2008) نيز با اين فيلم افتتاح شد

خواندن داستان (كوري) لذتي‌ست توام با ترس و تفكر: اگر من آنجا بودم چه كار مي‌كردم؟ اگر اين شرايط براي من پيش بيايد چه كار مي‌كنم؟ و يا اگر اين بلا نازل شود چه مي‌شود؟ و هزاران اگر ديگر

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861689

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چراغ زرد شد. دو اتوموبيل جلويي پيش از اين‌كه چرغ قرمز شود رد شدند. آدمك سبز براي پياده‌ها روشن شد. مردم كه منتظر بودند راه افتادند تا از روي خط‌هاي سفيد آسفالت از عرض خيابان رد شوند... سرانجام چراغ سبز شد، اوموبيل‌ها فوراً راه افتادند، اما بعد معلوم شد كه همه‌شان آنقدرها هم تر و فرز نيستند. اتومبيل جلو خط وسطي تكان نمي‌خورد، لابد عيبي پيدا كرده، پدال گاز شل شده، دنده جا نمي‌رود...اتومبيل‌هاي پشت سر يكريز بوق مي‌زنند... مردي كه توي اتومبيل نشسته سر به سويشان بر مي‌گرداند، اول به يك طرف و بعد به طرف ديگر، پيداست كه با داد و فرياد چيزي مي‌گويد، حركت لب‌هايش نشان مي‌دهد كه چند كلمه را تكرار مي‌كند، نه يك كلمه بل‌كه سه كلمه، چون بعد كه يكي به هر ترتيب در را باز مي‌كند، معلوم مي‌شود كه مي‌گويد: من كور شده‌ام
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May 17, 2007 Amos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saramago is an incredible writer and I think Blindness is, hands down, his best novel.

There are no names in the book (the narrator identifies everybody by their traits) which makes the characters universal. In typical Saramago style, there are very few paragraph indents and very few periods, but a great number of commas. Also, as Saramago readers have come to expect, the language is deceptively simple yet loaded with meaning. Saramago conveys in half a dozen words what another writer would take...more

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deleted user I love your review of this book. I have just finished reading this book and can't stop thinking about it.
Aug 21, 2007 06:36am

Kyle Blalock I like what you said about the universal aspects of his writing, that's something I thought about but couldn't pin point the way you did in this revie...more I like what you said about the universal aspects of his writing, that's something I thought about but couldn't pin point the way you did in this review.

Here is my review, I need some questions answered as you will see. This is my first Saramago book and some outside thought would help.

I was recommended Blindness for a topic of critical writing for a philosophy class. After I finished reading, I was expecting some sort of existential epiphany. I can’t say that I am disappointed with what I got from it, but I can’t say that I am satisfied with how I perceived the book.

The book definitely depicts our dependence on vision in order to live in a cohesive society. Obvious statement I am sure. I am trying to pick out exactly what the author is trying to say about “vision” and I don’t think that I am getting what he is trying to say about that. Maybe nothing. Maybe the deprivation of sight is a device he uses to segue into the potential of human nature.

We are given an array of human specimens to focus on, each reacting differently to their circumstances and conflicting interest. Their potential good and potential bad elements are exploited in a way that shows man’s capacity for an animal pursuit. Their waddling in shit, need for sex, and hostility over food rations, combined with the loss of clothing, superficial belongings, and ego, seems to be symbolic gestures of our condition.

A major point that I am hung up on is the fact that the doctor’s wife didn’t lose her vision. I don’t know why. I think maybe her faith and compassion for humanity give her the right to see. Like she understands…so she has the ability, right, or privilege to see??? I’m discombobulated. I don’t know Jose Saramago’s philosophical outlook in regards to religion, but I think that maybe this woman can see because God wants her to. Maybe she can see because of her dedication to humanity. If so, why is the boy blind, or the old man? I think I am off.

Maybe this is more of a political work, dealing with portraying the interconnectivity and cooperation among men in society as I have said.

Though I can’t help to feel that this work is trying to represent a spiritually philosophical ideal. I felt an emotional sense of compassion throughout, yet I also felt cynically misanthropic about our species at the same time.

We’re only human. I guess that is what I am getting. Maybe some other opinions could help sharpen mine. (less)
Feb 10, 2009 09:45pm

Sep 15, 2008 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: someone who would enjoy a story about the effects of crisis on society

Shelves: ew25best

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "...Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day we'll find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think, Yes, do, I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see."

In 1998, Portugese writer Jose Saramago won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In his novel, Blindness, he uses an inexplicable epidemic of blindness, striking an unnamed city to illustrate how a society might unravel under the stress of a crisis that limits food, w...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Petra X rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

In H.G. Wells In the Country of the Blind the only person who can see suffers great discrimination and has to agree to have his eyes removed and become as blind as the rest of the people who over the generations have adapted to life without vision. In Saramago's book, the only person who can see is the heroine of the book. This is a device for telling the story which is the collapse of the social order as with just about all dystopian stories. One wonders if, given time, those blinded by the dis...more In H.G. Wells In the Country of the Blind the only person who can see suffers great discrimination and has to agree to have his eyes removed and become as blind as the rest of the people who over the generations have adapted to life without vision. In Saramago's book, the only person who can see is the heroine of the book. This is a device for telling the story which is the collapse of the social order as with just about all dystopian stories. One wonders if, given time, those blinded by the disease wouldn't adapt as in Country of the Blind and then resent those who can see and would instead of relying on the few sighted people for help despise them for the obvious power they have and would be in a position to exploit, or at least be suspected by the blind of exploiting.

I read the book and watched the film. I didn't find Saramago's style easy to read. Extremely long sentences, endless paragraphs and an idiosyncratic grammar made me have to concentrate on the reading more than the subject matter. It was worth it, but written in standard English I think I would have enjoyed it more. The film was a good, standard, Hollywood film meaning it appeals to the masses, has pretty people and no depth and has been designed to make money. I quite enjoyed it, but am glad I read the book first.

Although I found this book interesting, I didn't find it the cutting edge work of genius that I had read about. I don't think I would ever read another Saramago because life is too short to struggle through such a difficult writing style. The book took me about three times as long as if it had been written in a more usual manner. It seems to me to be an ego thing to write in a way that is completely different to anyone else and to how we were all educated to write. This applies just as much to the reviewers on GR who don't ever use paragraphs and or/capital letters, but it's one thing reading a review and another a whole book - I'm prepared to go along with someone's style if they write good reviews, but a whole book.... no, not again.(less)

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Sep 30, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, apocalyptic-or-post-apocalyptic, 2008

There are some books where, as you are reading them, you can actually feel them enrich your life, broaden your mind, wow you with their awesomeness. For me, Blindness is one such book.

This is a classic example of "highbrow" literature because the way it is written is an artform, and just as important as the subject matter, but I wouldn't want that to put you off. It's not an alienating book, I don't think; it's not that it's difficult to read as such, just plays with conventions a lot.

Set in an...more

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Aug 26, 2007 Marieke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: leila, dave

this is the first of a two-part inquiry by jose saramago into the implications of the phenomenon of cultural blindness. because it is jose saramago, and he is a literalist, he makes this come alive by introducing us to a city hit by a sudden and devastating blindness epidemic. no one knows why the first man (in a sense, very much like albert camus' first man in his ambiguous and rather anonymous depiction in the novel) went blind, or why it becomes infectious. understandably, complete chaos ensu...more this is the first of a two-part inquiry by jose saramago into the implications of the phenomenon of cultural blindness. because it is jose saramago, and he is a literalist, he makes this come alive by introducing us to a city hit by a sudden and devastating blindness epidemic. no one knows why the first man (in a sense, very much like albert camus' first man in his ambiguous and rather anonymous depiction in the novel) went blind, or why it becomes infectious. understandably, complete chaos ensues, but we realize that one woman, the wife of the opthalmologist first exposed to the blind seeking help, is inexplicably immune. i have come to think that she represents the spiritual guide that helps us through the novel, and somehow manages to remain a bastion of calm and reason even in the face of horrific circumstances. in other words, she is a grace, a muse embodying hope. the main characters, a core of five or six of the first individuals to go blind, must find their way through the labyrinthine and kafkaesque setting of the mental institution designated by the government for quarantine. the blind are herded there, left with little sustenance and no guarantee of supervision and very quickly people become survivalist, some altruistically, and some in a savage, aggressive and violent manner. the haphazard organization that emerges is threatened by a band of rogue blind men who demand food and supplies from the various barracks and rape the women. as in 1984, there is an announcement played over a loudspeaker at the same time every day, repeating instructions and essentially threatening death if anyone plans to escape. deftly and surreptitiously, the opthalmologist's wife helps as many people as she can. left to their own devices, the inmates soon understand that the entire city has been overtaken. in many ways, this book is a tender character study revealing the rapidity with which human frailty wreaks havoc on moral codes and ethical systems. i read the second part of the series, "seeing", but i would NOT recommend this, as saramago's extremely fluid style, sometimes annoyingly lacking in punctuation, does not serve the less philosophical project of exploring the political resistance of the people involved in the epidemic years later. this book was ultimately readable, frightening, and fits under the aegis of the apocalyptic/disaster literature that some of the greatest living writers have been causing to flourish.(less)

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Aug 28, 2007 Maryam Shin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: رمان

كتاب كوري يكي از بهترين كتاب هايي بود كه من تا به حال خوندم. اينقدر در داستان غرق شده بودم كه حتي فرصت نوشتن جملات زيبايش را پيدا نكردم و به همين خاطر مي خوام در اولين فرصت براي بار دوم بخونمش تا جملات قشنگش رو براي هميشه براي خودم بنويسم....

خلاقيت نويسنده اش برام قابل تحسين بود.

ولي اصلا نمي تونستم تصور كنم كه اگر واقعا چنين اتفاقي كه براي شخصيت هاي اين داستان افتاد، روزي اتفاق بيفته حال و روز ما چطوري ميشه!

نكته ي جالب براي من اين بود كه هيچ كدوم از شخصيت هاي داستان اسمي نداشتند و حتي در مكالم...more

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Mehrbanoo کتاب کوری کتاب خیلی تکان دهنده ای بود برای جامعه بشری. وقتی کتابو می خوندم فکر می کردم واقعا اگه این اتفاق (کوری همگانی) برای جامعه بشری اتفاق بیفته و...more
Aug 31, 2007 12:32am

Pegah از نظر من کتاب کوری می تونست بهتر نوشته بشه
نیازی نبود اون همه صحنه های مسخره توصیف بشن
البته باید بگم که توصیفات این کتاب باعث شد من یک روز با این که...more
Oct 08, 2007 05:31am

Mohsen peiravi دقیقا همینطوره در بعضی داستانها و رمانها انسان غرق می شه میمیره عاشق میشه حتما بخونیدش واقعا کتاب خوبی
Apr 17, 2011 10:35pm

May 31, 2011 Fahad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, favorites

العمى

في الثامن عشر من يونيو الماضي توفي (جوزيه ساراماغو)، خبر وفاته اخترق العزلة الاختيارية التي كنت أفرضها على نفسي، وأعاد لي ذكريات روايته (سنة موت ريكاردو ريس)، والتي قرأتها يوما ً وكتبت عنها بالطبع، كتابة لا ريب أنها مدفونة في مكان ما، بين كتابات أخرى متقادمة، في تلك الرواية اكتشفت ساراماغو، الأديب البرتغالي وصاحب نوبل 1998 م، بأسلوبه المميز الذي يسمونه السرد المتعدد الأصوات، حيث تتخلل السرد أصوات الأبطال، كلماتهم التي تأتي سريعة، قصيرة، في نهر الرواية الجارف.

الذاكرة أعادت لي أيضا ً، نية قرا...more العمى

في الثامن عشر من يونيو الماضي توفي (جوزيه ساراماغو)، خبر وفاته اخترق العزلة الاختيارية التي كنت أفرضها على نفسي، وأعاد لي ذكريات روايته (سنة موت ريكاردو ريس)، والتي قرأتها يوما ً وكتبت عنها بالطبع، كتابة لا ريب أنها مدفونة في مكان ما، بين كتابات أخرى متقادمة، في تلك الرواية اكتشفت ساراماغو، الأديب البرتغالي وصاحب نوبل 1998 م، بأسلوبه المميز الذي يسمونه السرد المتعدد الأصوات، حيث تتخلل السرد أصوات الأبطال، كلماتهم التي تأتي سريعة، قصيرة، في نهر الرواية الجارف.

الذاكرة أعادت لي أيضا ً، نية قراءة روايته الأخرى (العمى)، والتي تشكل مع (كل الأسماء) مساحة ساراماغو في مكتبتي الصغيرة، فرغم أعمال ساراماغو الكثيرة والتي ترجم بعضها إلى اللغة العربية، إلا أن ما تحصلت عليه هو هذه الثلاث فقط، أعود للنية التي كادت أن تكون مؤجلة مرة أخرى، لولا أني وجدت فراغا ً نادرا ً هذه الأيام.

في (العمى) ساراماغو هو ذاته نفس الأسلوب، نفس الروح الساخرة التي بالكاد نلمسها، نشعر بوجودها خلف الجدية الظاهرة، الرواية تدور أحداثها في مكان ما، مدينة لا تحمل اسما ً، بلد لا يحمل اسما ً، حتى الأبطال يكتفي ساراماغو بألقابهم، فهذا الطبيب، وهذه هي زوجة الطبيب، وذلك هو الكهل ذو العين المعصوبة، وتلك هي الفتاة ذات النظارات السوداء، وهذا ما يجعلنا نعتبر الرواية متحررة من المحلية، فهي تقع وتحدث في كل مكان، هي حكاية الإنسان عندما يتغير وجوده لتغير شرط وحيد من شروطه، وهو تغير مروع كما يطرحه ساراماغو، ويتلخص في تساؤل ممكن، ماذا لو عمي الناس تباعا ً؟ عمى لا سبب ظاهر له، والرواية لا تفتش أو تهتم بسبب العمى، وإنما تركز على الناس الذين تركوا للعمى في مكان محدود، مشفى مجانين سابق، حشر فيه العميان خوفا ً من أن يكونوا معدين، فرغم أن العلم يقول أن العمى لا يعدي، إلا أن توالي فقدان الناس لأبصارهم يتحدى العلم، في ذلكم المشفى يبدأ العميان في محاولة التعايش مع الوضع الجديد، التعليمات الحكومية التي تذاع عليهم كل يوم، تحذرهم من الخروج، أو الاقتراب من الحراس المستعدين للقتل، تقدم لهم وجبات غذائية، وتترك الباقي لهم، عليهم أن يعتنوا وينظفوا أنفسهم، نلاحظ مجتمعا ً جديدا ً ينمو، مجتمع يتخبط، فحتى حقيقة وجود مبصر وحيد في ذلك المبنى العتيق، مبصر لم يكشف نفسه، وادعى العمى ليتدخل فقط عند الضرورة، لم َ بقيت زوجة الطبيب وحدها؟ لم َ لم تعمى كما البقية؟ لا تفسير، فالرواية لا تقدم هذا النوع من التفسيرات، زوجة الطبيب استفاد منها الروائي كمحرك للأحداث، شاهد عليها، قائدة للقطيع الأعمى الذي تولت مسئوليته بعدما عميت المدينة كلها، وانهارت الحكومة، واحترق المبنى الذي كان مشفى مجانين، ثم نزل عميان، ثم ساحة تموج فيها الفظائع، كالعصابة التي احتكرت الطعام، وقايضته بالمال، ثم بالنساء، الإنسان وحش عندما يريد، حيوان عندما يفقد كل ما يربطه بالحضارة المصنوعة، هذا ما يقوله ساراماغو، الطبيب يعرف أن زوجته ترى، ومع ذلك يخونها مع الفتاة ذات النظارات السوداء، كأنما عندما لا يرى هو، يصبح المنكر ممكنا ً، الرواية تعرض علينا مشاهد تيه الإنسان، وهشاشته، كما تعرض لنا لمحات يخرج فيها الإنسان من الدرك، يستعيد إنسانيته، يحاول النجاة بروحه عندما لا يمكنه النجاة ببدنه، وهو صراع هائل، نراه في المشفى، في المدينة عندما يخرج الأبطال من المشفى ويجوبون المدينة التي تحولت إلى قبائل من العميان الباحثين عن طعام وعن سقف.

وكما جاء العمى بغتة، زال بغتة، بل قد لا يكون زال كما تقول زوجة الطبيب “لا أعتقد أننا عمينا، بل أعتقد أننا عميان، عميان يرون، بشر عميان يستطيعون أن يروا، لكنهم لا يرون”.

هل نحن في عماء؟ هل نحن لا نرى؟ نعم… وفي أشياء كثيرة.

العمى
جوزيه ساراماغو
ترجمة: محمد حبيب
من منشورات: دار المدى
الطبعة الأولى 2002 م
عدد الصفحات: 379 صفحة(less)

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Mar 06, 2013 [P] rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Have you ever played the ‘Or…’ game? Yeah, that's what I'm calling it: the 'Or' game. It’s the kind of thing you play when you’re lazily lounging around with friends or with your partner. It’s not a complicated game, it won’t be replacing your Playstation in your affections any time soon. It works a little bit like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDBOeW...

So, basically, it involves asking each of the people present at that moment in time, ‘what would you prefer X or Y?’ I am at work right no...more

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Oct 05, 2008 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: dystopias, reviewed, 2008, blog_etb

This was definitely a thought provoking book.

What would the world be like if we all suddenly lost our ability to see? Would we try to help and protect each other or would we adopt such a heightened sense of self-preservation that it would make every other living being an enemy? Would we lose our humanity along with our sense of identity...?

It took me a little while to get the feel for this book, literally. Dialogue was reduced to a disorienting jumble of voices, which was effective in making s...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

انتهيت من قراءة الرواية مع رفاقي في صالون الجمعة...

استمتعت بقراءتها وكانت سهلة واحداثها متتابعة ما أن تبدأ حتى لا تستطيع التوقف تريد أن تنهيها في أقرب وقت..

أسلوب ساراماجو مميز حيث أنه يسرد بشكل متعدد على لسان الشخصيات أو افكارهم الداخلية، بجمل قصيرة متتابعة فجأة يكتب ما قالته زوجة الطبيب والجملة التي بعدها ما يفكر فيه الآخرون وبعدها ماتفكر فيه...
وهكذا بشكل متتابع..

أرتبكت في البداية (من يتحدث هنا) (هذا صوت افكار الأعمى الأول أو صاحبة النظارة السوداء.. الخ) ثم تعودت على هذا الأسلوب الجميل..

الترجم...more

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Mar 15, 2007 spencer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like Stephen King without all the punctuation.

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Dec 19, 2012 Ginny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Il sonno della ragione genera mostri"

description

La famosa frase di Goya mi è tornata alla memoria leggendo questo romanzo che, come dichiarato espressamente dall’autore, tratta di una cecità metaforica intesa non tanto come perdita del senso della vista, quanto piuttosto come smarrimento delle facoltà razionali e delle norme etiche che regolano il vivere civile.
Luoghi e tempi in cui si verificano gli eventi non vengono precisati, per indicare che quanto raccontato può succedere in ogni parte del mondo e...more "Il sonno della ragione genera mostri"

description

La famosa frase di Goya mi è tornata alla memoria leggendo questo romanzo che, come dichiarato espressamente dall’autore, tratta di una cecità metaforica intesa non tanto come perdita del senso della vista, quanto piuttosto come smarrimento delle facoltà razionali e delle norme etiche che regolano il vivere civile.
Luoghi e tempi in cui si verificano gli eventi non vengono precisati, per indicare che quanto raccontato può succedere in ogni parte del mondo e in qualunque tempo; inoltre, l’identità dei personaggi è appositamente lasciata indefinita, perché di fronte al “sonno della ragione” l’individuo perde ogni legame con il proprio vissuto culturale, sociale, affettivo e umano. Ad accentuare il senso di angoscia suscitato dalle situazioni, contribuisce con efficacia strabiliante la scrittura di Saramago, incalzante e a volte frenetica, che utilizza in modo essenziale la punteggiatura servendosi unicamente della virgola e del punto fermo per le pause e riportando una di seguito all’altra anche le battute dei dialoghi, con l’unico accorgimento della lettera maiuscola a indicare l’alternanza degli interlocutori.
L’epidemia di cecità “bianca” che progressivamente colpisce tutti gli abitanti di questa fantomatica città (o addirittura del mondo?) crea dunque uno stato di crisi che, come accade in genere per le situazioni estreme, libera la vera natura umana e i suoi più bassi istinti. Lo spirito di sopravvivenza prevale su ogni altro sentimento, portando anche l’essere più mite a farsi prevaricatore nei confronti degli altri e quello più fiero ad accettare crude umiliazioni e degradanti compromessi.
Gli unici occhi in grado di “vedere”, e non solo fisicamente, sono quelli di una donna, splendida figura letteraria che, pur assistendo come tragica testimone a miserie e crudeltà inimmaginabili, sa conservare uno sguardo compassionevole e farsi sostegno e guida verso la luce e la speranza.
Un libro che lascia il segno.
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Feb 09, 2013 Adam Floridia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is easier for me to lambaste a book when it is a translation; after all, maybe it is not the author who should be held accountable for the text’s flaws. Whether or not the translator is culpable, Blindness indeed has many flaws.

First: In order, one must assume, to make the reader’s experience as tantamount to the characters’ as possible, there are no names and no quotation marks to indicate speech. That’s fine enough, but he chooses not to use periods either, that makes almost every sentence,...more It is easier for me to lambaste a book when it is a translation; after all, maybe it is not the author who should be held accountable for the text’s flaws. Whether or not the translator is culpable, Blindness indeed has many flaws.

First: In order, one must assume, to make the reader’s experience as tantamount to the characters’ as possible, there are no names and no quotation marks to indicate speech. That’s fine enough, but he chooses not to use periods either, that makes almost every sentence, whether it is conversation or not, a long-ass run-on, there is no reason for it, it is not like the final chapter of Ulysses, the whole thing just pissed me off and made me hate reading, good books don’t do that.

Second: The narration, or rather the narrator, is not consistent. It/he/she/they shift from third person omniscient, to third person limited, to first person seemingly present in the scene, to first person removed and either omniscient or limited, to first person plural all of the above. This is not like Mitchell’s books in which different characters narrate different sections—this is just one voice that paradoxically and capriciously changes. Oh, and that has reminded me that the tense suddenly shifts from past to present then shifted back to past then shifts again all arbitrarily. Pathetic!

Third: Unfortunately, the only constant that the narrative voice does have is a meaninglessly verbose style. While I laud Nabokov for one sentence that appears to be a paragraph, that is only because that sentence is composed of so many beautiful parts (all punctuated correctly, no less) that work together to create an even more beautiful image. This writing is more akin to the wandering, rambling speech of Grandpa Simpson which, while hilarious on The Simpsons, has no place within this story.

Finally: The countless instances in which suspension of disbelief is just impossible. A whole city/country/world suddenly goes blind? Okay, sounds like an interesting premise—I’ll buy it. How the author has these newly-blinded people speak and act, well that’s just too much. My main gripe is actually with the primary protagonist, the Doctor’s wife, the only one who does not lose her eyesight. Her utter lack of action and sense of responsibility for the majority of the book almost made me quit reading. I would suggest that one of the themes evident is how readily civilization/morals/mores/humanity/meaning can deteriorate when something changes (like, for instance, being stranded on a desert island with only your schoolmates or Camus' The Plague). My contention is the seeing-woman, who is clearly supposed to be portrayed as the hero, is responsible for many of the injustices and just downright abominable acts that happen. Does she cause them? No. But does she prevent them from happening? No. After all, there’s some saying like “with great eyesight comes great responsibility” or something like that, but for all the trite aphorisms she spouts she must not have heard that one. Hers read like lines in a “B” (at best) grade movie: “We are already half dead, said the doctor, We are still half alive too, answered his wife,” “The woman I was then wouldn’t have said it, I agree, the person who said it was the woman I am today, Let’s see then what the woman you will be tomorrow will have to say…” and “it is his duty to follow her, one never knows when one might have to dry more tears.” All stagy, affected drivel. Finally, hey woman who can see: why not grab a damn flashlight when going down a dark hall or worrying about night setting in? Yes, silly things like that bothered me. They are the things I can overlook in that “B” action movie, but not in a good book.
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Mar 08, 2013 Aubrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nobel-prize-people, 1000-guardian, translated, portuguese, heartbreak, 4-star, reviewed

José Saramago wields two doubled edged swords in this book. The first, his streamlined prose, phrases stripped and spliced together in endless commas culminating in a single pointed period. The second, his social commentary. Both make the book into a powerful piece of literature, but only as long as they work. A single misstep in either will cause the reader to tumble down into a swamp of confusion and dismay, enough to ruin all the good writing that has led up to it.

Take the prose, for example....more José Saramago wields two doubled edged swords in this book. The first, his streamlined prose, phrases stripped and spliced together in endless commas culminating in a single pointed period. The second, his social commentary. Both make the book into a powerful piece of literature, but only as long as they work. A single misstep in either will cause the reader to tumble down into a swamp of confusion and dismay, enough to ruin all the good writing that has led up to it.

Take the prose, for example. No quotation marks, no indentations between different speakers, just long lines of interchange melded with setting description and whatever else the narrator feels is appropriate. Akin to Woolf, Hugo, many others who delight in long and rolling sentences that span page after page, and with similar results. Effective wielding of this technique, as Saramago so often does, gives you passages that build and build until the final period leaves you at the crescendo, a pinnacle that would have been smaller had the usual conventions been observed.

...There might be a problem, What is that, Minister, We shall find ourselves obliged to put staff there to supervise the transfers, and I doubt whether we will be able to count on volunteers, I doubt whether that will be necessary, Minister, Why, Should anyone suspected of infection turn blind, as will naturally happen sooner or later, you may be sure, Minister, that the others who still have their sight, will turn him out at once, You're right, Just as they would not allow in any blind person who suddenly felt like changing places, Good thinking, Thank you, Minister, may I give orders to proceed, Yes, you have carte blanche.

See how beautifully that works? But when it doesn't, when the words blend into a formless smudge and phrases mix themselves up into obscurity, then the train of thought is lost, and the reader is left in the middle of a page, fruitlessly going over the lines for a trace of meaning. It doesn't help that here especially is where the weaker aspects of the author's social commentary kick in.

If the reader has any knowledge of the Holocaust and its camps, they will see the parallels. People who are perceived as a contagion and locked up without a moment's hesitation by their government, a situation that begins in normality and progresses through each increasingly uneasy phase until all the veils are stripped away from the basest horror and despair. There are some differences caused by the contagion being an actuality, one that eventually escapes its anarchic quarantines and renders the world blind, but otherwise the similarities are clear. Where the differences become impossible to reconcile is within the story itself, as it is one thing to narrate facts and figures of events that once were all too real, and another to write them from imagination alone. In the latter case, one does not feel restricted in judging the events oneself is putting on the page, and that is when things become messy.

There are some places where this moralistic commentary is striking in its intensity and truth, to be sure. A great many, to be fair, and it is not hard to believe while reading them that this author was worthy of his Nobel Prize.

...A great night, yes sir, exclaimed one of them licking his chops and another confirmed, Those seven were worth fourteen, it's true that one of them was no great shakes, but in the middle of all that uproar who noticed, their men are lucky sods, if they're man enough for them. It would be better if they weren't, then they'd be more eager. From the far end of the ward, the doctor's wife said, There are no longer seven of us, Has one of you vamoosed, someone in the group asked, laughing, She didn't vamoose, she died, Oh, hell, then you lot will have to work all the harder next time, It wasn't much of a loss, she was no great shakes, said the doctor's wife. Disconcerted, the messengers did not know how to respond, what they had just heard struck them as indecent, some of them even came round to thinking that when all is said and done all women are bitches, such a lack of respect, to refer to a woman like that, just because her tits weren't in the right place and she had no arse to speak of.

And yet, much like the prose, there are places where this great moral paintbrush leaves ugly streaks that readers must puzzle through. Did the author really mean this, they ask themselves, or are they speaking through a character that, for all their goodness, have the altogether human tendency to think correlation implies causation?

...but should I turn blind, if after turning blind I should no longer be the person I was, how would I then be able to go on loving him, and with what love, Before, when we could still see, there were also blind people, Few in comparison, the feelings in use were those of someone who could see, therefore blind people felt with the feelings of others, not as the blind people they were, no, certainly, what is emerging are the real feelings of the blind...

...Perhaps humanity will manage to live without eyes, but then it will cease to be humanity, the result is obvious...

Do you mean this, Mr. Saramago? Or are you giving life to these thoughts that the doctor's wife has, thoughts that you do not yourself share but feel that your character, whom you have put through so much, would? Because if I were blind, Mr. Saramago, I would not be so complacent about these subtle accusations, that lacking eyesight makes me something less than human. If you were blind, you would not either. But the line between you and your fiction is a flimsy and deceptive one, and it does me no good to ask questions that you yourself cannot answer.

But I cannot help asking one more.

...for we must not forget how the shameless girl tempted him into bed, well, as everyone knows, with women it is always a case of buyer beware.

You were doing so well, Mr. Saramago! But now we have a case where both your prose and your morals have overlapped into a thorny bramble of inscrutable meaning, and it would be oh so easy to misinterpret this and other instances like it as misogyny. The problem is, the pages before belie this evidence of a shallow and unfeeling mind, and I do not know what to think.

In light of that, I leave you with four stars for your book. It has an undeniable beauty and power to it, to be sure. But there are instances when these traits wreak havoc in their efforts to reach greater heights, and I cannot in good conscience ignore them.

(less)

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Feb 08, 2008 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: deep, contemplative readers who aren't bothered by depressing topics

Shelves: fiction

This book was a major challenge for me to finish. For that reason, I cannot give it more than two stars, maybe 2 1/2. I admire this author's cautionary tale, but there are so many parts that I did not like. The first half of the book drove me crazy with frustration. It took me quite a while to get used to the author's lack of grammar. I had a difficult time getting into the story. I still do not understand why names for the characters are unnecessary. I think that people can be called a name eve...more This book was a major challenge for me to finish. For that reason, I cannot give it more than two stars, maybe 2 1/2. I admire this author's cautionary tale, but there are so many parts that I did not like. The first half of the book drove me crazy with frustration. It took me quite a while to get used to the author's lack of grammar. I had a difficult time getting into the story. I still do not understand why names for the characters are unnecessary. I think that people can be called a name even if they are blind. It was very confusing.

Basically, a contagious disease of white blindness eventually overtakes a nation. No one can see anything but whiteness, except the eye doctor's wife. She can only help those in direct contact with her. She and her husband, along with other characters are quarantined at a mental asylum. Because no one can see, chaos ensues. While trapped in the asylum, under guard by the military, a group of blind thugs with a gun hijack the food supply and require the rest of the blind people to pay for the food with valuables. After there were no more valuables to pay with, then the thugs require that the women pay for everyone's food by servicing them sexually. I thought this part of the book to be uncomfortable and explicit. I can imagine and I don't need to know exactly how someone is forced into sexual relations with a bunch of animalistic men. Too much information! Another annoying and unnecessary plot point was when the eye doctor sleeps with the "girl with the dark glasses," whom I refer to as hooker girl. The wife who can see watches the whole thing and then cries with them about the entire situation. She never gets upset and they bond together afterward. I have a hard time believing this would even happen. Blindness does not equate to a complete loss of morals. The author just says that the one night stand between them happened and never explains why. It was lame. Then the hooker girl is in love with the old man with the eyepatch by the end of the book. Who did this author want this girl to be really?

Thank goodness for the last quarter of the book. By then, it was easier to read and more interesting. After the asylum burns to the ground, the story is much better with the final seven characters out in the city. I would've liked more of the story outside of the asylum. I am not doubting that quarantines would be used like crazy if large amounts of people started to go blind.

This book did make me think. Like I said, I can appreciate what Mr. Saramago was doing. He is a good writer for the right "reader." I am just not into his style of writing. I prefer a different type of doomsday novel. The ending was solid and happy after a whole bunch of depression and poop on the streets. Thank goodness! (less)

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Mar 26, 2008 Yulia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-to-me-by-frank

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This supposed classic falls apart after the midway point, when the patients who are quarantined escape the hospital and we realize the entire city has gone blind, leaving the reader to wonder, why did they remain in quarantine if the virus had spread beyond its walls and why did the army continue to give them meals even when those outside the city had to scrounge for food and chaos was overrunning the city? A greater meaning is never given to the epidemic (whether due to social, moral, or politi...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Wafaa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

في رواية العمى ، الجميع فقدوا القدرة على الرؤية وبقي مبصر( مصبرة ) واحد
لفتني ان الدولة يترأسها رئيس واحد، ومجلس النواب/ الشيوخ يترأسها رئيس واحد، ولكل حلف او مؤسسة او جمعية مندوب او ناطق واحد باسمها،ولكل معسكر او جيش قائد واحد……
وهذا المبصر قد يقوم بأعمال هي في ظاهرها شرّ ولكن مضمونها الخفي لا يحمل الا الخير.
وهذا المبصر لا تكفيه القدرة على النظر ليقود نفسه ومن حوله من العميان، المبصر الحكيم ،الصّبور ،والشجاع وحده القادر على القيادة.
.اه …كيف كان سيعيش الأعمى دون حاسة السمع واللمس ، او دون وجود لمن...more في رواية العمى ، الجميع فقدوا القدرة على الرؤية وبقي مبصر( مصبرة ) واحد
لفتني ان الدولة يترأسها رئيس واحد، ومجلس النواب/ الشيوخ يترأسها رئيس واحد، ولكل حلف او مؤسسة او جمعية مندوب او ناطق واحد باسمها،ولكل معسكر او جيش قائد واحد……
وهذا المبصر قد يقوم بأعمال هي في ظاهرها شرّ ولكن مضمونها الخفي لا يحمل الا الخير.
وهذا المبصر لا تكفيه القدرة على النظر ليقود نفسه ومن حوله من العميان، المبصر الحكيم ،الصّبور ،والشجاع وحده القادر على القيادة.
.اه …كيف كان سيعيش الأعمى دون حاسة السمع واللمس ، او دون وجود لمنهج او فطرة ( لا اقصد الغرائز)
جاء وباء العمى ليعيد البصيرة والتعقّل للعميان ولكي يقدّر الأعمى نعمة البصر ( ذكرني بالآية ١٨ من سورة النحل: وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ)
شخصية المبصر في الرواية أنثى ، لما؟، الأنثى صبورة ،عَطوف عاقلة، و قدرت التحمل عندها أكبر "كمّاً" عنها عند الذكور.

الكاتب ملحد حسبما قرأت وله روايتين عارضتها الكنيسة وانا اذكر لا لاحكم ولكن هذا يفسر كونه في اخر الرواية وضع العاصبات على أعين تماثيل وصور القديسين والمسيح في الكنيسة وطلا أعين الرسوم بالابيض على جدران الكنيسة…… وهنا أعارضه لان ما يحل بالبشرية هو من صنع أيدينا بشكل او بآخر……

أسلوب الكاتب جميل جدا ومعبّر. ألغى استعمال التنقيط عند بدء ونهاية الحديث ولم ينتقل من سطر لاخر عندما كان ينتقل الحديث من واحد لاخر ، ولم يستعمل أسماء بل أوصاف لشخوص الرواية . والحمد لله انه قسم الرواية الى فصول والفصول الى مقاطع :). لا انكر اني أحببت ابداعه هذه الطريقة ولكنها متعبة . ولفتني انه في نهاية الرواية لم يغير أسلوبه هذا رغم التغيير الذي طرء في النهاية( لا أريد إفساد الرواية على احد) ، وكانّه يقول لنا الأمور متوقّفة على التغيّرات في نفوس وتصرفات الشخصيات لاحقاًٍ ، وبعدها عرفت من الأصدقاء ان للرواية جزء ثاني واسمها البصيرة، وحينها فهمت المقصد....
أحببت الرواية جدا ولكن لم استطيع إعطاؤها الخمسة نجوم.

سأكتفي بهذا الاقتباس لقد عنى لي الكثير :
هناك دائما من يملؤون بطونهم لأنهم فقدوا الشعور بالحياء

قراءة ممتعة مع أصدقاء الصالون: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...(less)

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Nov 07, 2011 Angus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-laureates, reviewed-and-blogged, 5-stars

Original post at Book Rhapsody.

***

Intro

Blindness is one of the book selections for this month in our book group, and I am, unfortunately for most, the moderator. I was trusted with the task because almost everyone knows how big a Saramago fan I am. I would say for the umpteenth time that Saramago is like a grandfather to me.

So the old man is dead but his novels are still alive. I can only hope that they will outlive us all. The Nobel laureate was a prolific writer despite starting his literary c...more

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Oct 12, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wish that Saramago had been able to summon the ideas or fortitude to endow Blindness with an ending more fitting to what had taken place for some three quarters of the story; for that matter, the conceit of a mysterious lactoblindness that afflicts all but a minute portion of the populace contains within it the potential to proceed in any manner of directions not chosen by the Portuguese author—but we can only read that which he decided to create. I hadn't high expectations coming into this bo...more I wish that Saramago had been able to summon the ideas or fortitude to endow Blindness with an ending more fitting to what had taken place for some three quarters of the story; for that matter, the conceit of a mysterious lactoblindness that afflicts all but a minute portion of the populace contains within it the potential to proceed in any manner of directions not chosen by the Portuguese author—but we can only read that which he decided to create. I hadn't high expectations coming into this book—my only other exposure to Saramago being the merely average The Double—and was thus somewhat pleasantly surprised by how grimly gripping it turned out to be. In particular, the horrors that take place in the asylum when the bully-boys assume control, and the disturbing images Saramago inflicts upon the reader of eyeless apes spraying semen upon their desperate female victims, drives home the vulnerability of man to the law of the jungle that still lurks just below the surface of manufactured civilization, a steady, roiling pressure that awaits but the slightest opportunity to vent forth through our thin patina of humanity with all of its raw and brutal consequences.

That Saramago chose to portray the unnamed affliction as a darkened slope descending into barbarity may disappoint some readers—for myself, the nasty turn the tale takes seems utterly appropriate. In a world that hums along to the chorus of a million toilet bowls flushing every second, you can lose sight of how easily, how rapidly a community of stunned, panicky and depressed individuals suddenly made sightless by mass calamity would find themselves stumbling through other people's shit—how quickly other people's shit would come to accumulate around communal areas like a subsidiary nation of fecal citizens. It's a gross and revolting thought, but when I look at the filth that people so routinely contribute to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside—a place where hope is in markedly short supply—I find it's one that rings true. (less)

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Jan 16, 2010 Venus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

وجدان که خیلی از آدمهای بی فکر آنرا زیر پا می گذارند و خیلیهای دیگر انکارش می کنند،چیزی است که وجود دارد و همیشه وجود داشته است.اختراع فلاسفه عهد دقیانوس نیست،یعنی اختراع زمانی که روح چیزی جز یک قضیه مبهم نبود.با گذشت زمان،همراه با رشد اجتماعی و تبادل ژنتیکی کار ما به آنجا کشیده که وجدان را در رنگ خون و شوری اشک پیچیده ایم و انگار که این هم بس نبوده،چشمها را به نوعی آیینه رو به درون بدل کرده ایم،نتیجه این است که چشمها غالبا انچه را سعی داریم با زبان انکار کنیم بی پروا لو می دهند.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Book Junkies: April 2013: Blindness by Jose Saramago	13	20	Apr 18, 2013 11:49pm
Why such disturbed literature for school reading?	39	135	Mar 24, 2013 01:13pm
صالون الجمعة: العمى \| 2-2013	188	253	Mar 04, 2013 09:35am
The Sword and Laser: Blindness	4	95	Feb 14, 2013 02:27pm
Paintings mentioned in book	4	39	Jan 31, 2013 09:30am

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