"The world is a surreal pageant," writes Stephen Kuusisto. "Ahead of me the shapes and colors suggest the sails of Tristan's ship or...
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reviews
Sep 17, 2007
Sharron
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I loved this book about a man and the guide dog who helped him find his way. The book isn't a sentimental love story about a man and his dog but rather a compelling story about a man whose unwilligness to acknowledge his visual limitations put him at mortal risk. The author is a poet and the prose is very lyrical. I read this book years ago but still think of it often and with great affection. It is an amazing journey which brings him to the dog that would finally help him to see in so many
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Oct 07, 2011
Karen
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This is an absolutely amazing memoir of being legally blind since birth. The author was raised before the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, by parents who didn't want to acknowledge his blindness and by a relatively unsympathetic public school system. Despite those facts, he somehow madly rode his bicycle, charged through life, and achieved advanced degrees in poetry and literature. Written with both wry humor and some very real pain, one can't help but be amazed by the author's ten
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Dec 19, 2011
Andrew
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This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I base this simply on the fact that it is a book I’ve needed to read, and I wished that I had read a long while ago: a memoir by a blind man. A well-written, literate, sometimes funny, sometimes sad story that describes many of the same travails I’ve experienced myself.
But I suppose I should back up a step and say that the best thing about Kuusisto’s voice here is not that he is a blind man speaking about being blind. What makes this such a More...
But I suppose I should back up a step and say that the best thing about Kuusisto’s voice here is not that he is a blind man speaking about being blind. What makes this such a More...
May 23, 2010
VeganMedusa
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A lovely book about a man who fought his blindness for most of his life. Following his journey from "I can't admit I'm blind, I have to pass or no one will want to know me" and finally to "okay, I'm blind and I need help", it's beautifully written (he's a poet) and a great insight into visual impairments and the coping mechanisms people develop (photographic memory to memorise walking routes and books, pretending to be drunk/clumsy when running into things). I nearly cried
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Aug 26, 2008
Becca
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I never understood blindness. Now I'm closer. Plus, it's poetry.
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Dec 08, 2010
JackieB
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I could finish this. Mainly due to the gruelling subject. This man's parents made him grow up pretending he could see because they didn't want the stigma of having a blind child. They insisted he went to a state school without any support instead of a shool which would have helped him manage his blindness. His Mum even bought him a bicycle to use on the roads. It's a miracle he lived to be an adult. I couldn't stand to read about the daily bullying and terror he lived with due to his irres
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Sep 17, 2011
Ali
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Beautifully written. Is it just me, or are poets who venture into prose really good writers? Stephen Dobyns and Raymond Carver also come to mind. I did feel it was a little rushed near the end. He is in college, and fifteen pages later he loses the use of his only eye and gets a guide dog. Speaking of, the way he wrote of that experience was so vivid it made me feel triumphant and joyful, almost as if I, too, had just gotten a dog and had been set free into the world, even though I do not have a
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May 10, 2008
Bruce
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This book is a memoir of the author. This book is about the author's journey where he struggled with his blindness. Clearly, the author is addicted to poetry and pursued this as his passion. I read some poetry, though not often, there's so much in there I wonder where my literature history has gone. :-(
If poetry is what you like, go for this book. If not, there's a lot of references to the numerous poets and a strong use of analogies between poetry and the author's experience with b More...
If poetry is what you like, go for this book. If not, there's a lot of references to the numerous poets and a strong use of analogies between poetry and the author's experience with b More...
Dec 27, 2011
Jessica
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Yes, this is an incredibly written memoir, but I had no patience for the lack of responsibility the author took for his life. He chose to live like a victim while trying not to be a victim of his blindness. It wasn't until 39 that he accepted that he was blind and sought resources. I have no patience for people who complain and choose to do nothing.
Dec 12, 2011
Jeffrey
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This is a beautifully written book that I would not have read except that it was chosen by a friend for our book club. I am so in awe of the author's use of language. Reading this book makes me feel that I could never write a book, because I could never write so beautifully! My words would be dull and gray and stumble in the dark compared to the kaleidoscope of color from this almost blind author. It also opened my eyes (!) to issues of disability and how we treat the disabled - no, and how I tr
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Dec 03, 2008
Anna
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Startlingly beautiful, enlightening, funny, tragic, strange. Like the best music you've ever heard. It's a brilliant book--no surprise, considering Kuusisto is one of the more brilliant people you'll encounter in a lifetime.
You'll read some 1,500 odd books before you die. Move this one up on the list.
You'll read some 1,500 odd books before you die. Move this one up on the list.
Jan 31, 2009
Danielle
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I really loved reading this book. Even though you come to the book knowing the author is blind, his language and images are so brilliant and vivid that you realize that being blind is not a disability, it is just another way of "looking" at the world.
I recommend it to everyone.
I recommend it to everyone.
Feb 14, 2011
Rachael
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Kuusisto's book is so "consumable" that I sailed through it and want more. Thus, I've bought his second memoir but haven't read that yet. Nothing better than a memoir written by someone who can write, and write well.
Feb 02, 2009
I learned a lot about being blind, and about being Steve Kuusisto. This book is so beautiful and gut wrenching. REally heartbreaking, but then has a happy ending.
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May 11, 2009
Grace
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This was really fun to read because his father was the president of my college, and it was fun to read about his childhood in a town that I got to know so well.
Apr 23, 2010
Kevin
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Loved the poetic descriptions of a world that is felt and heard more than seen. Insightful.
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Aug 12, 2009
Kimberlyn
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an excellent memoir of his life growing up trying to "pass" as sighted. Excellent and enlightening.
Apr 18, 2009
Rebecca
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A man who is legally blind tries to pretend he isn't. . . and succeeds for years.
Sep 07, 2008
Nancy
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This book is a tour of the world seen through the eyes of a legally blind poet. Kuusisto captures an idea of blindness that even sighted people understand, something deeper than just loss of sight. His physical blindness suggests he can't see, but his reader begins to understand that sight is far more intellectual than physical in Planet of the Blind. The book is lyrical and understated and is much like visual art in the images it inspires.
Feb 23, 2009
Daphne
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I was suppose to read this in college and I never did. This time I mean it.
The book was alright. It was literally a memoir of just being blind. That's all he focused on. It's almost as if, that is all he his. I could have done without him quoting poems all the time. Maybe it's cute that he is able to quote poems in opportune times, but that doesn't translate on paper.
The book was alright. It was literally a memoir of just being blind. That's all he focused on. It's almost as if, that is all he his. I could have done without him quoting poems all the time. Maybe it's cute that he is able to quote poems in opportune times, but that doesn't translate on paper.
Jul 09, 2008
Sarah
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Kuusisto is a poet, and it shows in the way he tells his life story. Every description is unique, and his metaphors are interesting for their poetry and for the way they show seeing people a world they can never know. It's difficult to imagine how a blind person could go most of his life pretending he sees, but this book will enlighten you.
Jan 29, 2012
John
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Author's childhood was spent trying to fit in as someone who happened to be "near-sighted" - truth is he's been legally blind since the time he started school. Getting to the "liberation" scene of him going out for the first time with Corky, not having to worry about where he was going, is worth the read alone.
Mar 24, 2008
Sarah
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I picked up this book because I wanted better understand how my friend, Kim, sees the world. This book turned out to be so much more-- coming-of-age story, history of the A.D.A., survey of great english poetry, and ultimately, perhaps, a story of a man and his dog. This is a good book.
Jun 16, 2009
Erin
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This is an inspiring memoir about the author's blindness. How he "passes" as a sighted person for much of his life is both amazing and torturing to consider, and finally his acceptance of himself as he is led me to think about how much we can learn from his account.
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Sep 25, 2008
Em
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I started this book and put it down. Last night I finished it and, whew, it was touching. You can tell this guy is a poet first and an everything else writer after.
Sep 21, 2008
Carol
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This book along with his next one, Eavesdropping, are his story. Inspiring and a pleasure to read.
