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sofiax's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
pastelv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hadeanstars's review against another edition
4.0
So, you know when you start watching a genuinely creepy horror film and you’re not half way through yet it’s starting to make you feel uncomfortable and weird and your first thought is to abandon the viewing altogether? Experience however counsels that you have to finish the film to get the catharsis, otherwise you won’t sleep well! That’s exactly what this excellent novel requires. I wasn’t half way through and I found myself reading a scenario of such unremitting disgust and horror that I really thought I couldn’t carry on with it, and I very nearly gave up. I’m so glad I persevered.
In this story there is an epidemic of blindness which has soon infected the entirety of society. It deals very well with the wider implications of such a pandemic, but more excruciatingly, it really places you in the box seat to witness the true horrors of such a devastating scenario.
I chose this to read because I keep finding it in lists of the greatest sci-fi novels ever written, but it is not really science fiction, except that it imagines a specific unlikely catastrophe, albeit there is no attempt to explain the science. Neither is it set in the future. There are no technological solutions. It is much better described as post apocalyptic fiction, and on that qualification alone does it stray into the general avenues of sci-fi.
It is well written and extremely compelling, and you want to know what becomes of the central characters, however, be warned: it contains some extremely unpleasant and harrowing scenes! 7/10
In this story there is an epidemic of blindness which has soon infected the entirety of society. It deals very well with the wider implications of such a pandemic, but more excruciatingly, it really places you in the box seat to witness the true horrors of such a devastating scenario.
I chose this to read because I keep finding it in lists of the greatest sci-fi novels ever written, but it is not really science fiction, except that it imagines a specific unlikely catastrophe, albeit there is no attempt to explain the science. Neither is it set in the future. There are no technological solutions. It is much better described as post apocalyptic fiction, and on that qualification alone does it stray into the general avenues of sci-fi.
It is well written and extremely compelling, and you want to know what becomes of the central characters, however, be warned: it contains some extremely unpleasant and harrowing scenes! 7/10
ricardoreadingattempts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tamy4815's review against another edition
5.0
um livro famoso desses nao tem nem o que elogiar que ja nao tenham falado, eu achava o filme pesado, mal imaginava que o livro era muito pior, inclusive só nao fiquei mais traumatizada porque ando lendo graça infinita e lá estava ainda pior que aqui com alguns personagens.
Saramago faz todo tipo de reflexao, a minha preferida foi sobre sentimentos, a passagem mais bonita do livro, cria excelentes personagens e tudo que você possa imaginar que poderia acontecer num mundo que todos ficassem cegos acontece, ele é da mesma escola que o george rr martin frequentou, e isso te deixa arrasado, porque ele escreve tão bem que você se sente na historia, antes você se sentisse cego, você se sente como o personagem que vê e isso te suga emocionalmente.
Saramago, amei te conhecer, mas agora sei que você é perigoso com seus livros, entao tô esperta com você.
Saramago faz todo tipo de reflexao, a minha preferida foi sobre sentimentos, a passagem mais bonita do livro, cria excelentes personagens e tudo que você possa imaginar que poderia acontecer num mundo que todos ficassem cegos acontece, ele é da mesma escola que o george rr martin frequentou, e isso te deixa arrasado, porque ele escreve tão bem que você se sente na historia, antes você se sentisse cego, você se sente como o personagem que vê e isso te suga emocionalmente.
Saramago, amei te conhecer, mas agora sei que você é perigoso com seus livros, entao tô esperta com você.
quenchgum's review against another edition
5.0
"If you can see, look. If you can look, observe." -Book of Exhortations
"I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see."-Blindness
I have not read a book this painfully physical since Infinite Jest. After 300 pages immersed in a realm of inexplicable blindness, I find myself staring at my dog in wonder as she managed to jump up next to me on the couch. What were the chances that she wouldn't hit me? Or that she'd jump and hit the edge? How did she find just the right spot? Wait.. right. We're not blind.
OR ARE WE.
Classic Saramago move.
This isn't a review, but I have a couple of things to say.
One, again: this book was painfully physical. There are no quotation marks--all you hear is the cadence of a new voice chiming in, knowable only by its capitalization. Your eyes blur reading huge pages of unbroken prose and these capital letters, much like a voice in the darkness, alert you to what is happening. You find yourself looking up after every 50 pages bewildered and thankful that you do, indeed, have your eyesight.
Two: Saramago's writing is fantastic.
Three: the entire point of the book is summarized in its epitaph. Everything else is gravy.
Delicious gravy, though.
"I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see."-Blindness
I have not read a book this painfully physical since Infinite Jest. After 300 pages immersed in a realm of inexplicable blindness, I find myself staring at my dog in wonder as she managed to jump up next to me on the couch. What were the chances that she wouldn't hit me? Or that she'd jump and hit the edge? How did she find just the right spot? Wait.. right. We're not blind.
OR ARE WE.
Classic Saramago move.
This isn't a review, but I have a couple of things to say.
One, again: this book was painfully physical. There are no quotation marks--all you hear is the cadence of a new voice chiming in, knowable only by its capitalization. Your eyes blur reading huge pages of unbroken prose and these capital letters, much like a voice in the darkness, alert you to what is happening. You find yourself looking up after every 50 pages bewildered and thankful that you do, indeed, have your eyesight.
Two: Saramago's writing is fantastic.
Three: the entire point of the book is summarized in its epitaph. Everything else is gravy.
Delicious gravy, though.
champers4days's review against another edition
1.0
I think the concept of this book was intriguing, but I really couldn’t get behind the story due the narrator’s interrupting and philosophizing style of commentary (vaguely like that found in Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being) coupled with a pretty repulsive blend of misanthropy and misogyny. In the end, all of the components of a good book were present, but something went drastically wrong in the execution...
kyle___________'s review against another edition
slow-paced
This was a terrible book. The writing style is so annoying to read. I hated it. It was so bad it made me not want to read books anymore.
iglowpinkinthenightinmyroom's review against another edition
5.0
Un libro sumamente interesante que nos muestra hasta que punto podemos llegar como humanidad para vivir. A mí parecer me faltaron más momentos de tensión, y el final estaba un poquitín flojo pero me ha gustado igualmente y por supuesto que lo recomiendo.