The embattled relationships among the people of a city mysteriously struck by an epidemic of blindness form the core of this superb novel by the internationally acclaimed saramago, the portugese author of, most recently, the history of the siege of lisbon 1997. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there social conventions quickly crumble and the struggle for survival brings out the worst in people. In blindness, a city is overcome by an epidemic of blindness that spares only one woman. The book was not available on audible yet, so i went to the book store and purchased. The blindness study guide contains a biography of jose saramago, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. This postmodern, apocalyptic novel was originally written in portuguese, and was translated into english by giovanni pontiero with additional help from margaret jull costa.
The book s structure juxtaposes scenes of survivors of the epidemic with the sudden end of the world as we know it, as the georgian flu wreaks havoc. Jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. The film was written by don mckellar and directed by fernando meirelles, with julianne moore and mark ruffalo as the main characters. Authorities confine the blind to a vacant mental hospital secured by armed guards under instructions to shoot anyone trying to escape. A distinguishing aspect of the epidemic is the speed of its onset in individual cases. Or, in the case of nobel laureate jose saramago, give it blindness. Blindness unabridged blindness unabridged audiobook, by jose saramago. Like blindness, albert camuss novel the plague takes up questions of affliction, social unrest, and the human condition through the lens of an epidemic. In blindness, we learn that an epidemic of blindness is sweeping through a city, and from that premise, saramago tackles all of human nature love, loyalty, fear, jealousy, bravery, heroism, cowardice, violence, happiness, disappointment its all in there, revealed through characters so beautifully rendered, so vibrant on the page, that. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hoarding the meager food rations and committing horrific acts. Blindness book san francisco public library bibliocommons. Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created society of the blind quickly breaks down.
There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangersamong them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a. A city is hit by a sudden and strange epidemic of white blindness, which spares no one. Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women. Translated from the portuguese by giovanni pontiero. We follow this microcosm of society for the duration of the book. A city is struck by an epidemic of white blindness. These days, since the covid2019 epidemic is going on, are the perfect time to catch up with saramagos amazing book blindness. The city in which this catastrophic epidemic of blindness breaks out is. After an epidemic of white blindness strikes a city, survivors struggle to live while coping with sudden sightlessness. Blindness, a book about the consequences of a whole population suddenly losing its sight, is harrowing, but only too easy to believe. We return to the city years later in saramagos seeing, a satirical commentary on government in general and democracy in particular.
This book was brutal in the most literal sense of the term. For instance, one of the first is a man driving his car who loses his sight while waiting at a traffic signal. Dec 28, 2010 in saramagos blindness, a vision of human nature jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers on the doctors wife, her husband, several of his patients, and assorted others, who are thrown together by chance. Blindness, the 1995 book by portuguese author jose saramago, tells the story of a society thats been struck by a virulent epidemic of blindness. The epidemic has no identifiable cause, nor known mode of transmission. A city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness whose victims are confined to a vacant mental hospital, while a single eyewitness to the nightmare guides seven oddly assorted strangers through the barren urban landscape. A city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness which spares no one. In the novel, the entirety of society is stricken by an epidemic of blindness that turns everyones field of vision into a milky white as opposed to the usual black. Magnificent dystopian fiction which narrates the human response to an outbreak of an untreatable disease which has incredible infection rates.
Firstly, the premise of his book is somewhat fantastic. This book is about the chaos that ensues when a city is struck with an epidemic of blindness in which its victims see only white. Imprisoning the afflicted in a disused mental hospital and treating them the way the authorities do is genius. Additionally, franz kafkas skepticism about capitalism and bureaucracy in works like the trial closely resembles saramagos portrayal of power in blindness. Oct 16, 2019 from nobel prizewinning author jose saramago, a magnificent, mesmerizing parable of loss a city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness that spares no one. December 28, 2010 jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. Blindness book king county library system bibliocommons. Authorities confine the blind to a empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women. An international bestseller this is a shattering work by a literary master.
Boston globe a city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness which spares no one. He is taken to an eye doctor, who does not know what to make of the phenomenon and soon goes blind himself. Jose saramagos blindness and the endless darkness of the. The 20 best pandemic books to read during coronavirus. She becomes a guide for a group of seven strangers and serves as the eyes and ears for the reader in this profound parable of loss and disorientation. In blindness, we learn that an epidemic of blindness is sweeping through a city, and from that premise, saramago tackles all of human nature love, loyalty, fear, jealousy, bravery, heroism. The novel is hugely rewarding and saramago tells us much about the dangers we face today and the facile political assumptions, such as democracy and law and order, that so many of us take for granted. Dont let covid19 be a story of blindness gretna breeze. The first man to succumb sits in his car, waiting for the light to change. Governments and churches may fall, custodians of the peace may falter, but saramago keeps his. This postmodern, apocalyptic novel was originally written in portuguese, and was translated into english by giovanni pontiero with. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations, and assaulting women. Dec 20, 2015 winner of the 1998 nobel prize for literature.
This is the book to read if you want to sort of, you know, assess. Blindness has a number of stylistic elements that are characteristic of saramagos work. Blindness is a great idea for a story, an epidemic with a difference. In saramagos blindness, a vision of human nature kunc. Almost every tragedy presented in the pages of blindness is a personal tragedy. Blindness by jose saramago is not a book that you read more than once it is a suffocatingly immersive dive into the failings of human nature. The blindness of the novel operates in this same allegorical vein, using blindness as a metaphor for ignorance. Blindness book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons.
Saramago resists the temptation to look at the spreading epidemic from a macro level. Review of blindness by jose saramagos beforewegoblog. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. Blindness book skokie public library bibliocommons. The city in which this catastrophic epidemic of blindness breaks out is never identified.
From nobel prizewinning author jose saramago, a magnificent, mesmerizing parable of loss a city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness that spares no one. Many themes that are present in the novel are anticipated in this first section. But its primary subject is survival in the face of a nonlethal epidemic and its byproductsno sanitation, no food, and barbarous behavior. Blindness, my third epidemic book, also features moments of heroic decency and personal guilt. It looks at how humans can devolve into savages when put in certain situations, in this case when a white blindness epidemic breaks out and causes people to suddenly lose their sight for no explicable reason. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangersamong. Blindness is a 2008 englishlanguage thriller film and an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by portuguese author jose saramago about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Oct 21, 2019 blindness by jose saramago is not a book that you read more than once it is a suffocatingly immersive dive into the failings of human nature. Blindness free pdf, doc, fb2, rtf free download ebook.
Diary of a mysterious epidemic neuropathy is a firsthand account of the epidemic of blindness and the hardships of life in cuba at the time of the special period that followed the collapse of the soviet union and the tightening of the us embargo. A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness. Society breaks down quickly, and only one woman has retained her sight. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers around a doctor and his wife, several of the doctors patients, and assorted others, thrown. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers on the doctors wife, her husband, several of his patients, and.
A city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness that spares no one. Blindness book chicago public library bibliocommons. Authorities confine the blind to a vacant mental hospital secured by armed guards. Myla goldberg says saramago vividly illustrates disasters. Jun 05, 2017 blindness is the account of an epidemic in which people lose their sight. The blindness in the platonic allegory serves as a barrier to understanding just as the blindness in the novel is itself something incomprehensible the doctors are baffled as to its cause, how it spreads and what can stop it. James fetter is a graduate student at notre dame university. She and a small group of quarantined internees must survive the nightmare. Later come the girl with dark glasses, the boy with the squint, the old man. Inside, the criminal element among the blind hold the rest captive. Originally published in english in great britain in 1997 by the harvill press a city is struck by an epidemic of white blindness. A driver stalled at a busy intersection suddenly suffers an attack of white blindness no other color, or any shape, is. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers around a doctor and his. Blindness is the account of an epidemic in which people lose their sight.
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