Winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. A city is hit by an epidemic of 'white blindness.' The blindness spreads, sparing no one. Authorities confine the blind to a vacant mental hospital secured by armed guards. Inside, the criminal element among the blind hold the rest captive: food rations are stolen, women are raped. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers through the barren streets. The developments within this oddly anonymous group -- the first blind man, the old man with the black ...
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Winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. A city is hit by an epidemic of 'white blindness.' The blindness spreads, sparing no one. Authorities confine the blind to a vacant mental hospital secured by armed guards. Inside, the criminal element among the blind hold the rest captive: food rations are stolen, women are raped. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers through the barren streets. The developments within this oddly anonymous group -- the first blind man, the old man with the black eye patch, the girl with dark glasses, the boy with no mother, and the dog of tears -- are as uncanny as the surrounding chaos is harrowing. A parable of loss and disorientation, of man's worst appetities and hopeless weaknesses, "Blindness" is one of the most challenging, thought-provoking, and ultimately exhilarating novels published in any language in recent years.
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I wasn't very impressed by Saramago's writing style. Since he's won a pulitzer prize, I guess I'm just unable to appreciate his talents. I thought the story just went on and on about the same problems. Would have been better off getting this from the library instead of paying for it.
As far as the book condition: perfect condition and was delivered promptly.
gnomey
May 25, 2010
Blindness
Without explanation, people start going blind. Their blindness is white, which makes it all the more puzzling. The government quickly reacts by quarantining the blind, and using armed soldiers to keep them locked away.
Once people go blind, they're no longer 'people' or 'citizens' - they're 'THE INFECTED'. They're not fed adequately, and not allowed any medicine or cleaning products. The government could sent in workers in biohazard suits to distribute food and basic supplies, and provide medical care, but the government doesn't care. They put soldiers at the gates to the building where the blind are housed, and instruct them to shoot at the slightest provocation.
Very quickly, society inside the quarantine facility breaks down. The blind break into factions, and fight each other over food, valuables, and women.
The blind don't know it at the time, but their breakdown inside the asylum mirrors what is happening in the streets outside, and of course, outside of the book as well.
Praterviolet
May 11, 2009
Raises Anxiety Levels
A haunting story. Reminded me of the horror stories reported by the media that occurred in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.
smokedswede
Mar 12, 2009
good read
this book is an interesting read about an epidemic of blindness. the author is very effective at conveying group dynamics in a stressful condition.
BKsf
Nov 7, 2008
Beautiful and Bleak
If you're willing to overlook his punctuation style (i.e. many unnecessary commas, no quotation marks, quotes that flow in the middle of sentences set off by a capital letter) or if you can just get used to it, the book can be very rewarding. The dialogue was beautiful, and at times the language and imagery were utterly devastating. Its message is consistent from start to end, which can be somewhat one-note-ish, but the plot is well constructed and propels the action of the novel forward in spite of an arguably static message.
