Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Ensaio sobre a cegueira by José Saramago

48 reviews

ajlct's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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m_a_j's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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bugzecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

No spoilers but the ending felt like it was rushed and finished prematurely and left me wanting and disappointed. There was also an astounding amount of ableism and harmful untrue stereotypes in this book that had me rolling my eyes and getting aggravated frequently. 

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madihoney's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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? No

3.5

Loved the premise of the book but extremely difficult to read. About 1 paragraph break per page, no quotation marks to indicate dialogue and no one has a real name (ie the doctor's wife, the pharmacist’s assistant, etc)

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diana311's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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sappypatheticm's review against another edition

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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


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_ami_'s review against another edition

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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.

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isaospina's review against another edition

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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. 

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guinness74's review against another edition

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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. 

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booitsnathalie's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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