I started reading this book because of the talk about it on Twitter. At first I scanned through the text, thinking it was a joke. Being visually impai...moreI started reading this book because of the talk about it on Twitter. At first I scanned through the text, thinking it was a joke. Being visually impaired myself, I was overwhelmed by the attention to detail as far as the main character being blind was concerned. The author has obviously done his research into JAWS, Braille Displays, etc, and once I started actually reading the novel I managed to put aside my original opinion in favor of adopting a different view. It occurred to me that the amount of detail regarding blindness had been used by the author in place of the amount of detail he could have included if he had chosen to write about a sited character.
Once I had adopted this view, I did not find it hard at all to start enjoying the actual storyline. When I do read mainstream books, this is the type of book I read, so the plot appealed to me. And once I'd started reading, I couldn't stop. Not because I was astonished at the quality of writing, or at the huge variety of vocabulary used. In fact, not even because of the plot, as I still believe the storyline to be decidedly average. But it was the type of book that I had to read in large chunks, otherwise I would have lost interest very quickly. And that is why it has only received a 3 star rating from me. 4/5 star ratings will be reserved for books that, for lack of a better phrase, blow my mind, and really make me want to read them, no matter how long the duration between reading sessions is, or how many chapters I read during said sessions.
Many people chose to be offended by the portrayal of visual impairment in this book. And while I see there point for the most part, the fact remains that this is a work of fiction, and that no matter how much research the author may or may not have completed before writing this text, he will never be able to accurately portray blindness from the perspective of a blind individual. He is not blind, and has grown up in a sited world. No amount of Googling or interviews can change that.(less)
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