IN REVIEW | BLINDNESS

Blindness book

This is definitely one of those books that at only one-third of the reading had already conquered a permanent hole in my heart and quickly crawled up to the top three of my favorite novels books of all times.

José Saramago's work is not everyone's cup of tea, that's a fact. I know for granted that Baltasar and Blimunda (Memorial do Convento) got to my hands at the wrong time of my life when in school I was obliged to read, what seemed to me like, endless pages of a boring historical romance with far too many details (is there such a thing?) and lack of punctuation. Little did I know how much I would fall in love with his work, years later.

Blindness was a Christmas gift from my mom and it was the first book that she read from this author. Even though we have very different styles, even when it comes to books, my curiosity was huge and I couldn't wait to dive into the sea of words with reduced punctuation.

Not everyone appreciates the author's writing style and I completely understand where people come from when saying that "it's too confusing" or "I had to read the same paragraph twice, several times". Personally, I adore it not only because of its originality and irreverence but also because it forces us to be extra attentive, which easily sucked me into the story. Another interesting detail that I appreciate about most of his work is that usually the characters don't have a forename, instead, they're referred to by nicknames such as "the old man with the black eye patch". I find it more engaging that way because it gives a lot of visuals instead of just a name. It's like what happens in real life, you know? You more easily remember the face than the name itself. You know what I mean, right?

Blindness Jose Saramago

For those of you who don't know, I am very easily distracted and when it comes to reading I need to be in a calm and silent environment in order to fully dedicate myself to the book. Only that way I am able to open the portal that transports me to another dimension, and to me reading a book is all about that. When it comes to this book, in particular, I'm glad that I choose to do it alone and on my own, because it is such a strong reading that I felt like it can physically hurt, in a way.

The story portraits an inexplicable mass epidemic of blindness that affects practically everyone. Just the idea on its own is already scary, but this actually touches a subject that is one of my sub-conscience fears for as long as I can remember.

Throughout the book, we follow the horrifying and decadent experience of a small group of people that get together due to the circumstances of life. Each individual has a special characteristic which makes the group interesting and creates a great dynamic.

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It's actually hard for me to talk about this book without giving away too much to the people who haven't read it and would like to. Especially because I would like you to read it like I did, with an open mind and without knowing much about it.

Trying not to spoil anything for you guys, I only want to add that this is not a typical romance/novel, on the contrary, it shows more of how the human being is rotten than the great things in life. Maybe that's the reason why it spoke so much to me. It is a book that arouses a lot of emotions, especially rebellion, pity, and anger and it is definitely something that I think everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

Blindness José Saramago

Have you ever read it? Let's start a conversation about it in the comments below.

Is there any book that you'd recommend me to read or that you're curious to see a review here on the blog?

6 comments

  1. Rita Fernandes8/18/2017

    I haven't read it yet,because I saw the movie and it left such a strong effect,you know?
    I thought at the time "I must wait until I forget most about this movie,or the book won't give me what I want" ^.^"
    and many eyes later,if I think a little about it,I can almost see the movie in my head,the hole of it!
    So I think I'll read As Intermitências da Morte instead next :)

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    1. Oh no! Never watch the movie first! haha! I'm quite curious about the movie actually. But I see what you mean, I'm also a bit hesitant to watch the movie because the book was already strong enough for me and I'm afraid that I can't handle the visuals.
      Oh that's actually a nice tip! I'll see if they have the English version here at the library to read it next. I'm currently reading "O Lobo das Estepes" from Hermann Hesse.

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    2. Rita Fernandes8/20/2017

      I know, it was a valuable lesson haha
      I can borrow you later if you want,in pt ;)

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  2. Li esse livro no ano passado e apesar dempertencer a esse grupo de que falaste em que preciso de por vezes ler uma frase mais que uma vez para a poder compreender sou mega fã do Saramago.:D

    Another Lovely Blog!, http://letrad.blogspot.pt/

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    1. Hahah! Também fui suspeita disso, mas até foi o que me cativou mais quando comecei a ler as obras dele!

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