From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

Blindness

José Saramago

Start date: October 1, 2016

Finish date: October 15, 2016

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

Discussion leader: Gertie

Why we're reading this: Book discussion for mid-October, read by October 15th. Interim discussion in the meantime, discussion fou…more
[close] Book discussion for mid-October, read by October 15th. Interim discussion in the meantime, discussion found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

TEXT BELOW PROVIDED BY A MEMBER OF THE GROUP: In an unnamed city in an unnamed country, a man sitting in his car waiting for a traffic light to change is suddenly struck blind. But instead of being plunged into darkness, this man sees everything white, as if he "were caught in a mist or had fallen into a milky sea." A Good Samaritan offers to drive him home (and later steals his car); his wife takes him by taxi to a nearby eye clinic where they are ushered past other patients into the doctor's office. Within a day the man's wife, the taxi driver, the doctor and his patients, and the car thief have all succumbed to blindness. As the epidemic spreads, the government panics and begins quarantining victims in an abandoned mental asylum--guarded by soldiers with orders to shoot anyone who tries to escape. So begins Portuguese author José Saramago's gripping story of humanity under siege, written with a dearth of paragraphs, limited punctuation, and embedded dialogue minus either quotation marks or attribution. At first this may seem challenging, but the style actually contributes to the narrative's building tension, and to the reader's involvement.

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AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

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What Members Thought

Nov 15, 2008 Kaye rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I listened to this on audiobook, because 1. I like audiobooks and 2. I hated this style of writing to read. The author writes in a stream of consciousness kind of style where entire conversations between multiple parties take place within one paragraph, no quotation marks, and only ellipses to separate them. That said, the story idea really intrigued me, so I decided to listen to it instead. The narrator (Jonathan Davis) did a great job and took all those nasty (imho) collapsed conversational pa I listened to this on audiobook, because 1. I like audiobooks and 2. I hated this style of writing to read. The author writes in a stream of consciousness kind of style where entire conversations between multiple parties take place within one paragraph, no quotation marks, and only ellipses to separate them. That said, the story idea really intrigued me, so I decided to listen to it instead. The narrator (Jonathan Davis) did a great job and took all those nasty (imho) collapsed conversational paragraphs and separated them out with different inflections.

I loved the first four fifths of this book. The chaos, the horrors, all of it was very real to me and seemed extremely plausible. The descriptions were very realistic and visual. For some reason, towards the end there is a major scenery change and the story started to pall a little. It felt a little rushed, and the resolution wasn't really much of a resolution to me. I wanted to know what would happen next, but there wasn't any way of knowing. I find the concept of rebuilding every bit as interesting as deconstructing, and since Saragamo gave so much attention and detail to the latter, I felt a little bereft of the former.

I noticed on some of these other reviews that people were interested in the blind statue issue in the church. My two cents is that maybe it was about not wanting the icons to see what the world had come to, or maybe God being sympathetic by suffering blindness as well. I don't know, but it was very interesting imagery. I didn't think of it as being offensive to God or to believers, but I know there is some disagreement on that. One final thing--I thought those philosophical thoughts running through the story that everyone is blind, but they just don't know it...well, I thought that was a little silly. It would have seemed more in place if people weren't actually blind.

Overall, for those that like the writing style, I would imagine it'd be great. For those of us who don't like it, listen to it on audio. If you like apocalyptic stories, it's definitely worth your time. It's a great illustration depicting how quickly society could crumble. ...more

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Jul 26, 2007 Jessi rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, fiction

An epidemic of "white blindness" has struck, and no one is immune. No one, that is, except for one strong and brave woman who happens to be an opthalmologist's wife. Fearing contamination and attempting to control the public, the government rounds up everyone who has been struck blind and everyone who has come in contact with the infected and herds them into an abandoned mental asylum.

This is the only book I can recall reading in which no names are given for the characters. That was a fascinatin ...more

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Nov 13, 2008 Brook rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed (if you can call it that, it's very bleak for a time) this book. The writing style, the way it reads, and forces you at time to reread, confusing you temporarily, goes perfectly with the story. I will not give anything away, but suffice it to say that I read it in one sitting, and was able to travel with the characters. A bit of King Rat, but with a much, much drier humor, which I love. Another author compared it to Love in the Time of Cholera, which I would agree with. ...more

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May 06, 2012 Aaron rated it really liked it

Shelves: apocalyptic

I enjoyed the book! No chapter numbers and no chapter names helped this book give me a sense of disorientation. The occasional philosophical quip - the nuggets of gold - wind their way through this book, translated from the Portugese. A good solid read. I found this book through having come across the movie a few years ago...and I am glad to have followed through with reading the book. Some minor changes, but overall, consistent.

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Jul 24, 2007 Jace rated it really liked it

The literary equivalent of the "Stanford Prison Experiment", Blindness shows us humanity at our best and our worst, and how quickly and effortlessly we can vascillate between the two. ...more

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Jan 20, 2008 Mia rated it really liked it

This book invites comparisons with _Waiting for the Barbarians_ (Coetzee) and _The Road_ (McCarthy); it didn't slay me like either of those books. Still: real good. ...more

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Sep 30, 2007 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: literature, i-own-it, speculative-fiction

Frankly, this was just too complex for me. It was one of those books that you could tell was brilliantly written but it was just a bit beyond my grasp.

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