Amazon.com Before Malerman’s Bird Box was on everyone’s lips, there was José Saramago Blindness, a dreadful tale of vision loss epidemic that led to the breakdown of society as we know it. This epidemic of “white blindness” that struck the embattled relationships among the city residents is at the heart of this splendidly terrifying novel by the world’s renowned Portuguese author.
It all starts when a driver stuck in a traffic jam suddenly and inexplicably becomes white blind (which means he couldn’t discern any shape or color). The fake Samaritan who helps get him and then makes away with his vehicle becomes the next victim of white blindness. A few hours later, the disease strikes a well-known eye doctor with his two patients.
And this goes on and on until the government has to set up an isolated mental hospital as a quarantine center for those already affected by the epidemic. Unfortunately, the guards of the new psychiatric ward had to open fire on those trying to escape quarantine. With minimal order, hunger, and water poverty, blind criminals turned on others, holding everyone captive, raping women, and robbing food banks.
It wasn’t long before the authorities ran out of options for overseeing an “exhausted” and “uprooted” world under siege, leading to an escalated state of chaos and panic. To add insult to injury, a fire broke out in the asylum and destroyed the “quarantine,” opening the door to blind inmates to interact with the rest of society.
There’s one heroic Samaritan who leads several strangers, including a dog of tears, a dark-glassed girl, and a motherless boy, through the deserted streets. The process turns out to be as tricky as the environment is terrifying. In every respect, Blindness is not about anarchy, but rather how our communities turn the blind eye to certain vices.
But then, as suddenly as the epidemic started, everything changes to an ironic end, which suggests that what we’ve seen amplifies the existential test of the strangers’ tolerance for each and courage.
Through the lenses of the guide, José beautifully combines the urgent demands of the present world with what’s to come in the future. The unmistakable parable of disorientation, loss, and chaos, vividly evokes the errors and realities of today’s society. This title has wowed sci-fi readers with its powerful lessons and depiction of human weaknesses and worst cravings, not to forget the triumph of the human spirit.
Despite this, Blindness doesn’t feel or read like a lesson. That’s partly thanks to the author’s impressive character development, urbane-style of storytelling, and mastery of plot. One thing you’ll notice right off the bat is that all characters are nameless. Saramago, instead, uses descriptive identification, such as a boy without a mother, a girl with dark glasses, or a dog of tears. Easier still, you can learn a ton about these characters in a way that enriches the story and captivates the reader.
Blindness ingrains much of what readers love about Gorge Orwell’s 1984 and the images themselves echo the experiences of Holocaust victims. All these aspects help in enriching the allegorical brilliance and texture that makes this title one of the best sci-fi books you’ll ever want to read.
Extraordinarily crafted and beautifully rendered, Blindness pushes the envelope when it comes to experimenting with feelings and thought-experiment. This is Saramago’s most optimistic yet most apocalyptic novel so far. His prose writing style comes at you with delightful intensity, and Margaret Jull Costa did a real bang-up job with the translation. The secret sauce is Saramago’s use of his signature style of lengthy, breathless sentences to drive the point home.
At the time when the coronavirus pandemic is still a fresh wound, this blazing post-apocalyptic tale is dazzlingly too real for comfort. For any reader who finds conversations about COVID particularly anxiety-inducing, this book may not be the distraction you need. However, Saramago’s evergreen story is an exquisitely written tale of chaos, resilience, and hope. Costa’s translation is vividly spot-on, so much so that you could feel each scene playing out in your mind as you read.
In conclusion, Saramago’s Blindness is a strikingly powerful story of the human will to beat all odds to survive and perhaps triumph in the face of adversity. From how the story leaps from the pages at a fun pace, it’s easy to understand why the Portuguese author scooped the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. One word: masterpiece. It’s an amazing read for any fan of Albert Camus’s The Plague or Franz Kafka’s cult classic The Trial.
