Blindness reminds us to look, and more than that, to see clearly all those things around us that we hold dear. I was eighteen and my small italian town was hosting the same year the sole literature festival of its whole history we have plenty of. A driver stalled at a busy intersection suddenly suffers an attack of white blindness no other color, or any shape, is. Blindness literature essays are academic essays for citation. Blindness, a book about the consequences of a whole population suddenly losing its sight, is harrowing, but only too easy to believe.
Ensaio sobre a cegueira, meaning essay on blindness is a novel by portuguese author jose saramago. 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. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations, and assaulting women. Blindness is in many ways a horrific novel, detailing as it does the total breakdown in society that follows upon this most unnatural disaster. The first edition of the novel was published in october 18th 2009, and was written by jose saramago. And download blindness pdf ebook free via the download button at the end. It is one of his most famous novels, along with the gospel according to jesus christ and baltasar. Saramago s regular newspaper and radio commentaries reflect views that are always inspired by his deep concern for his fellow man. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. With gorgeous prose, this thoughtprovoking book shows us how our world, ever so concerned and consumed by appearances, would deal with the loss of our most relied upon sense. In fact, it is fitting that camus and kafka come to mind in considering this book, if only as a kind of speed rating.
Blindness is the account of an epidemic in which people lose their sight. Three times is two times more than ive ever voluntarily read any other book in my adult life. One of the most enjoyable features of blindness is the writing style, which is at one both personal and almost documentary. He died in june 2010 and it seems a shame that not all of his books. Its difficult to explain without giving too much of the plot away, so ill stick to generalisations. Blindness, a book about the consequences of a whole population suddenly losing its. In saramago s blindness, a vision of human nature jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. I found this book hard emotionally to read, but harder mentally and physically to put down. Pdf caim book by jose saramago free download 182 pages. Saramago stalks two of our oldest themes in the tale of a plague of blindness that strikes an unnamed european city. Blindness, by jose saramago, can cross cultures, and was an amazing personal experience. A city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness that spares no one. Surely, saramago is in a league that requires comparison with such writers, on the basis not only of skill but subject matter, too. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read blindness.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading blindness harvest book. Blindness is a fantastic book, the best i have read in a long time. This, on the face of it, is an odd description of blindness, for in that book it is. In 1998 he was awarded the nobel prize for literature. Pdf blindness book by jose saramago free download 326.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 326 pages and is available in paperback format. The main characters of this fiction, science fiction story are the doctor blindness, the doctors wife. Imprisoning the afflicted in a disused mental hospital and treating them the way the authorities. Blindness is a novel by portuguese author jose saramago. This is a an important book, one that is unafraid to face all of the horror of the century. The city in which this catastrophic epidemic of blindness breaks out is. Jose saramago has 210 books on goodreads with 3372635 ratings. Blindness reminded me a lot of the works of john wyndham especially his disturbing novel, the day of the triffids. The first edition of the novel was published in 1995, and was written by jose saramago. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation, blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of our worst appetites and weaknessesand humanitys ultimately exhilarating spirit. Blindness is a great idea for a story, an epidemic with a difference.
We were already blind the moment we turned blind, fear struck us blind, fear will keep us blind. This postmodern, apocalyptic novel was originally written in portuguese, and was translated into english by giovanni pontiero with. 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. Jose saramago creates a similar test case in his novel blindness, an account of social collapse spurred by a rapidly spreading epidemic in which more and. The only other book ive read by the author is, the gospel according to jesus christ so i really didnt know what to expect with blindness.
Later come the girl with dark glasses, the boy with the squint, the old man. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the 20th century, by nobel prizewinning author jose saramago, blindness has swept the masses with its powerful portrayal of mans worst appetites and weaknesses and mans ultimately exhilarating spirit. 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. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and. The main characters of this fiction, religion story are. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jose saramago 19222010 was the author of many novels, among them blindness, all the names, baltasar and blimunda, and the year of the death of ricardo reis. In 1998, saramago received the nobel prize for literature, and blindness was one of his works noted by the committee when announcing the award. Blindness harvest book by jose saramago and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Review of blindness by jose saramagos beforewegoblog. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Jose saramago s writing style is unique and, at times, very dense given that he largely dispenes with paragraphs and character names, but well worth persevering with. Ursula k le guin acclaims jose saramagos seeing, a nobel.
This is the story of the collapse of society following a worldwide plague of literal blindness. Blindness tells the story of an anonymous city that is stricken with a mysterious illness that blinds a majority of the population. He was born into a poor rural family in central portugal in 1922 but was being hailed as one of the worlds best novelists by the end of the 1990s. Blindness harvest book kindle edition by saramago, jose, giovanni pontiero. But not all the books are this much famous and interesting books. It is one of his most famous novels, along with the gospel according to jesus christ and baltasar and blimunda. Free download or read online blindness pdf epub book. Once he has the blind man home, he proceeds to steal the first blind mans car.