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mrsmishler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Vomit, Violence, Excrement, Death, and Sexual violence
luisatkinson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Vomit, and Excrement
mvcarneal's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Vomit
slrsnz's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Saramago is not for everyone, people that need structured readings will certainly struggle with his novels.
That being said, this is my second book by him and his imagination amazes me. Truly makes you wonder about how fragile society can be in extreme situations like this, and how dependent we are of everyone, how connected we all are in one way or another. The story having a “good ending” doesn’t save the characters from all the hurdles they have yet to go through to return to a modern society.
Saramago is slowly becoming one of my favorites, you honestly get used to the dialogues and at times to me they flow way smoother than structured ones.
That being said, this is my second book by him and his imagination amazes me. Truly makes you wonder about how fragile society can be in extreme situations like this, and how dependent we are of everyone, how connected we all are in one way or another. The story having a “good ending” doesn’t save the characters from all the hurdles they have yet to go through to return to a modern society.
Saramago is slowly becoming one of my favorites, you honestly get used to the dialogues and at times to me they flow way smoother than structured ones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Murder, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, and Sexual violence
sappypatheticm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Confinement, and Gun violence
_ami_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
That was a very hard read, not because of the lack of quotation marks or paragraphing, but that halfway. I felt sick to my stomach. But it was a great story that explores the human mind and behaviour at these circumstances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Murder, Confinement, Death, Rape, Gore, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief and Infidelity
isaospina's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Leí esté libro por primera vez en el 2011, como tarea del colegio. En ese entonces yo tenía 15, tal vez 16 años, era lectora por hobby, una diversión. Mis lecturas tenían poco análisis y apenas estaba incursionando en el mundo de los clásicos.
Poco o nada recordaba de este libro, pero por doce años una cosa era clara: la Isa adolescente disfrutó, devoró, la marcó algo de este libro. ¿Qué? No sé porque no recordaba nada, pero siempre que lo veía en una librería pensaba "lo mucho que me gustó este libro cuando lo leí para esa tarea de español".
Doce años después por fin me decidí a leerlo de nuevo. Reticente, sí, tenía miedo de no disfrutarlo nada porque siendo sinceros, muchas de las cosas que disfrutaba cuando era adolescente ahora las aborrezco.
Afortunadamente no había necesidad de preocuparme. Este libro es uno en el mundo, es una obra maestra de Saramago. Es terrorífico, es filosófico, es una distopía de esas que hacen que se te erice la piel porque todo es demasiado real, todo es demasiado cercano a algo que ya hemos vivido.
Leer Ensayo sobre la ceguera después del a pandemia fue una gran decisión (no creo que mi estado mental en la cuarentena hubiera mejorado un ápice si lo hubiese leído en ese momento), si Saramago hubiera estado vivo en medio de la pandemia del covid-19 seguro hubiera escrito algo más, o se hubiera ido de para atrás al ver qué tan realista Ensayo de la ceguera parece cuando se copara con lo que se hizo y cómo se manejó la pandemia de la vida real.
Es claro que no es un libro para los débiles de mente o corazón, los sensibles a salvajismos y muchos, muchos relatos escatológicos. Todos estos relatos de lo horrible que puede volverse la humanidad son lo que hace que uno se haga mil y un cuestionamientos sobre la identidad personal, sobre qué nos hace humanos, la belleza, los sentimientos, el poder, las dinámicas sociales, las posesiones, la resiliencia y muchísimo más.
El ritmo es tan rápido que uno tiene que parar la lectura para recuperar el aliento, para hacerse preguntas y tratar de responderlas (fallando, claro). El estilo de lectura no es fácil, con capítulos extensos y sin cortes o guiones para definir los diálogos, pero poco o nada resta a la calidad del libro.
Poco o nada recordaba de este libro, pero por doce años una cosa era clara: la Isa adolescente disfrutó, devoró, la marcó algo de este libro. ¿Qué? No sé porque no recordaba nada, pero siempre que lo veía en una librería pensaba "lo mucho que me gustó este libro cuando lo leí para esa tarea de español".
Doce años después por fin me decidí a leerlo de nuevo. Reticente, sí, tenía miedo de no disfrutarlo nada porque siendo sinceros, muchas de las cosas que disfrutaba cuando era adolescente ahora las aborrezco.
Afortunadamente no había necesidad de preocuparme. Este libro es uno en el mundo, es una obra maestra de Saramago. Es terrorífico, es filosófico, es una distopía de esas que hacen que se te erice la piel porque todo es demasiado real, todo es demasiado cercano a algo que ya hemos vivido.
Leer Ensayo sobre la ceguera después del a pandemia fue una gran decisión (no creo que mi estado mental en la cuarentena hubiera mejorado un ápice si lo hubiese leído en ese momento), si Saramago hubiera estado vivo en medio de la pandemia del covid-19 seguro hubiera escrito algo más, o se hubiera ido de para atrás al ver qué tan realista Ensayo de la ceguera parece cuando se copara con lo que se hizo y cómo se manejó la pandemia de la vida real.
Es claro que no es un libro para los débiles de mente o corazón, los sensibles a salvajismos y muchos, muchos relatos escatológicos. Todos estos relatos de lo horrible que puede volverse la humanidad son lo que hace que uno se haga mil y un cuestionamientos sobre la identidad personal, sobre qué nos hace humanos, la belleza, los sentimientos, el poder, las dinámicas sociales, las posesiones, la resiliencia y muchísimo más.
El ritmo es tan rápido que uno tiene que parar la lectura para recuperar el aliento, para hacerse preguntas y tratar de responderlas (fallando, claro). El estilo de lectura no es fácil, con capítulos extensos y sin cortes o guiones para definir los diálogos, pero poco o nada resta a la calidad del libro.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Blood, Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Violence, Animal death, Car accident, and Confinement
guinness74's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An almost perfect book. An incredible work that is reminiscent of the early days of COVID, it has the grit of Upton Sinclair mixed with the wildness of Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies.’ A terrifying pandemic begins slowly but increases exponentially turning the world blind in Saramago’s novel. Chaos reigns as attempts are made to stanch the ‘infection,’ but the world continues to spin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Rape, and Police brutality
Minor: Infidelity and Vomit
thebigemmt505's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“It even used to be said there is no such thing as blindness, only blind people, when the experience of time has taught us nothing other than that there are no blind people, but only blindness.”
The premise of Blindness is this: the population slowly behind to go blind without any explanation. The world quickly devolves into chaos as human nature is stripped down to its bare bones. There remains only one sighted person throughout the book.
It’s difficult to review this one. The writing style is difficult to get used to, with long run on sentences and no breaks between character dialogue. The author stays grounded in the plot while also being quite philosophical. The pace of the book is mixed ; the progression of the narrative feels extremely fast while the way it’s written slows it down. The characters are meant to fill simple roles, not even having names, and while this is intentional, the behavior of these characters throughout the book does actually give them a lot of distinguishing characteristics. It’s technically a very well-done book, but the whole product feels…odd, in a sense.
It’s thesis is both obvious and vague. Breaking the fragile threads that bind society is not difficult, in the sense it takes just one disaster, just one collapse, just one event that’s too difficult to manage before all social cohesion dissipates. It’s cliche almost, pointing out the fragility of society. I think the book depicts a collapse much more obscene and rapid than what would actually happen, even if there are now some very real life parallels to be drawn between this and the recent pandemic everyone faced in the real world. Though way over the top, I think it puts into perspective how ephemeral society and it’s constructs are, and how quickly their artificial importance slips away in the face of crisis. Education has no importance. Money has no importance. Even names bear no importance anymore. If no one can see it, what power does it have? This, for better and for worse.
There’s a lot of symbolism I likely missed, though, which makes it even harder for me to fully flesh out my thoughts on the overall meaning and impact of this book.
My favorite moment in the book is definitely the first scene with the dog of tears. Through all the barbaric, disgusting, “animalistic” behavior of the blind masses, two sentient beings who can still see the humanity in one another bond. My interpretation likely isn’t what was meant to be drawn from it, but I found it beautiful nonetheless.
All in all, it’s not an easy read, though I’d argue it’s a rewarding one. It’s a bit of a slog at points, if only after reading the same three lines seventeen times to try and figure out who is saying what, but still an intriguing and engaging read. It makes for an interesting experience, unsettling and disturbing, read. Give it a go, if you’re really in the mood for something dark and literary.
The premise of Blindness is this: the population slowly behind to go blind without any explanation. The world quickly devolves into chaos as human nature is stripped down to its bare bones. There remains only one sighted person throughout the book.
It’s difficult to review this one. The writing style is difficult to get used to, with long run on sentences and no breaks between character dialogue. The author stays grounded in the plot while also being quite philosophical. The pace of the book is mixed ; the progression of the narrative feels extremely fast while the way it’s written slows it down. The characters are meant to fill simple roles, not even having names, and while this is intentional, the behavior of these characters throughout the book does actually give them a lot of distinguishing characteristics. It’s technically a very well-done book, but the whole product feels…odd, in a sense.
It’s thesis is both obvious and vague. Breaking the fragile threads that bind society is not difficult, in the sense it takes just one disaster, just one collapse, just one event that’s too difficult to manage before all social cohesion dissipates. It’s cliche almost, pointing out the fragility of society. I think the book depicts a collapse much more obscene and rapid than what would actually happen, even if there are now some very real life parallels to be drawn between this and the recent pandemic everyone faced in the real world. Though way over the top, I think it puts into perspective how ephemeral society and it’s constructs are, and how quickly their artificial importance slips away in the face of crisis. Education has no importance. Money has no importance. Even names bear no importance anymore. If no one can see it, what power does it have? This, for better and for worse.
There’s a lot of symbolism I likely missed, though, which makes it even harder for me to fully flesh out my thoughts on the overall meaning and impact of this book.
My favorite moment in the book is definitely the first scene with the dog of tears. Through all the barbaric, disgusting, “animalistic” behavior of the blind masses, two sentient beings who can still see the humanity in one another bond. My interpretation likely isn’t what was meant to be drawn from it, but I found it beautiful nonetheless.
All in all, it’s not an easy read, though I’d argue it’s a rewarding one. It’s a bit of a slog at points, if only after reading the same three lines seventeen times to try and figure out who is saying what, but still an intriguing and engaging read. It makes for an interesting experience, unsettling and disturbing, read. Give it a go, if you’re really in the mood for something dark and literary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, Gore, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit
citrusandwords's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Death, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Violence, and Vomit