Blindness by Jose Saramago
Paperback, 352 Pages
2008, Mariner Books
ISBN: 0156035588
Synopsis
A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" that spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers—among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears—through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses-and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit.
Review
I saw and loved the movie Blindness before even realizing it was based on a book. It's an amazing story. While the movie lacked the depth of the book, I think the movie was easier to understand and get into. My problem with the book stems from the writing style. The book is a collection of run-on sentences filled with commas. There isn't a quotation mark to be found. Most correct punctuation rules are completely disregarded. I found it very difficult to tell who was speaking, which wasn't helped in the least by the lack of names. The blind need no names, the book claims. Characters are defined by a distinguishing characteristic - the doctor, the first blind man, the boy with the squint, etc.
The story is self-explanatory. The city goes blind. Mayhem ensues. While seemingly basic, the way the story unfolds in truly terrifying. The blindness isn't the enemy. The other people are. When put into a this type of situation, people's true (and often horrific) colors show. Saramago goes beyond surface concerns and manages to get at the core of the issue. He throws every horrendous possibility at his characters, making them truly earn their survival.
Blindness offers one of the strongest female characters I've ever encountered - the doctor's wife. This book deals with the very worst of mankind's treatment of one another. The things she witnesses and experiences would break anyone and yet, this unnamed women is inspirational in her ability to carry on.
As a modern American reader, I found myself asking the obvious questions. Why weren't the soldiers wearing bio hazard suits? Why wasn't the government working on a cure as opposed to this poor attempt at quarantine? Things of that nature.
Very few books could survive this type of formatting nightmare, but the story manages to shine through the mess. Blindness is an amazing tale of surviving when all hope is lost.
Rating
Hmmmmm, I bought this one for the challenge and keep putting it off, we will see.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a great book, as well. I didn't think the doctor's wife was all that strong. At least, she kept quiet for a very long time, and was really pushed into the role of leader, because she was the only one who could see.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see the movie sometime. I've heard it's pretty dark, but I do want to see it!
I read this book about a month ago, here's my review: http://leeswammes.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/blindness-by-jose-saramago/
It's true about the formatting - and yet somehow I thought it actually ADDED to the book. I adore this book, though I still haven't seen the movie. Guess I have to get on that.
ReplyDeleteI read the book years ago, but I remember loving it. The writing style/format can be quite difficult to follow at times, but I think it works for the story. I own the sequel, Seeing, but I haven't read it yet.
ReplyDeleteAs for the movie, Julianne Moore was incredible. In fact, the entire cast was phenomenal and the movie really lived up to my expectations.
The writing style on this one actually was too much for me - I never finished it. Keep meaning to since it seemed like such a great story. Glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI think I might see the movie first and then decide if I want to read the book. Not the way I usually do things, but that lack of punctuation thing sometimes really annoys me.
ReplyDeleteI read this some time last year and loved it. But do agree it was a bit to understand at times.
ReplyDelete@Marce - Since you've come to terms with your disinterest in dystopia, I'm not sure Blindness would work for you. You might want to check out the movie first before trying the book.
ReplyDelete@leeswammes - I didn't see her as strong because she eventually became the leader, but more because of all she had to witness that didn't break her. To even go with her husband to begin with, and then to deal with all that came with that and still stick by him was way more than I would have done.
@brizmus - I've heard a lot of people who thought the format enhanced the story. I can see how it would work for some, but any type of stream of consciousness novel always causes me to have to backtrack and reread so much that it detracts from the experience for me.
@Nikki - I googled the sequel and it didn't see quite like what I expected it to be. The synopsis made it sound more like a politically themed novel rather than a post-post apocalyptic follow-up. It seemed to have a more heavy-handed message than Blindness did, but that's just the feel I got. The movie was amazing. I didn't know it was based on a book when I saw it, but as soon as I found out I had to read this book.
@Emily - I don't know if I would have liked it as much, or even been able to finish it either, if I hadn't seen the movie first. Having an idea what was going on made for less confusion due to the format.
@mummazappa - I can't stand creative formatting. Drives me nuts. Like I said to Emily above, seeing the movie first totally made the book easier in my mind.
@Nely - My liking it with the formatting speaks volumes for the story. Most books like this make me want to poke out my eyes.
I agree with brizmus. While the format was difficult to read, I felt that it helped me experience the confusion of what the characters were going through. Not being sure who was speaking, not being able to easily skim ahead to see what happens, just having to read what was happening right at that moment. However, there aren't many books with this kind of format that could make me keep!
ReplyDelete@alitareads - Thinking back on the book, I can totally see how that would actually create the feelings I think Saramago was going for. Unfortunately, I always see this type of thing as a distraction. The story was able to support the format, which I really appreciate, but had it been written in a more standard form, I probably would have loved the book as opposed to just liking it.
ReplyDeleteHmm I think I'll just stick to the movie on this one. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a similar premise to The Day of The Triffids.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck is a 'dog of tears'?
I think I'd probably find the lack of punctuation irritating too. The same thing bothered me in The Road by Cormac Macarthy.
@Tara SG - Good choice. The movie was a lot more fluid for me, if that makes sense.
ReplyDelete@Evelyn Applegate - I haven't read The Day of the Triffids yet, but it has been on my wish list for a while.
Since no one had names in the book, neither did the dog. The dog licks the woman's tears, so therefore it's called the dog of tears.
And yes, exactly. I could not stand the punctuation in The Road. And the story was so bleak and lacking in action that the writing format made it unbearable. At least Blindness made more going on.