Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Ensayo Sobre La Ceguera by José Saramago

16 reviews

gentle_garbage_baby's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I don't know what to feel about this book. It starts off interestingly enough, with the writing style unique as a wall of text - barely any punctuation. After a few chapters I came to realise that this style

might reflect the blindness of the characters - they can't see - and therefore can't read - so the author makes it harder for the you as the reader to read the book.

I might be looking too much into that but it's how I understood the choice to write like this. After a while the text got easier to read, but it became more boring than anything else.

I have a few problems with the characters as well. If I was to describe the doctor's wife in any way, I would say she's the type of person to run along the tracks when a train is coming towards her; not sideways to get out of the way of it. Many of the characters at some point say things which I think are supposed to be profound and and philosophical, but they mainly came across as annoying and pretentious.

I really wanted to like this one; I thought the premise was super interesting, but in the end whole thing just kind of annoyed me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Vomit, Gun violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This story is a fascinating, and dark, look at humanity. The whole thing plays out like a social experiment - what would happen to us if we all suddenly went blind? By refusing to name the characters, it adds to the dehumanizing effects of the story. And by occasionally omitting to note which character is speaking, it adds to the confusion. Unfortunately, because of this lack of identifying information, I felt that some scenes dragged on a little too long. But overall, I enjoyed this bleak, hypothetical examination of the human race. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Grief, Rape, Excrement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Sexism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

tmbrundage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Compelling and thoughtful book, but graphic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Grief, Torture, Gore, Confinement, Bullying, Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, Murder, Infidelity, Gun violence, Death, and Violence

f_zanini's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Sexism

diana311's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Blood, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

_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.

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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

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. 

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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

kstericker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

moscatel's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Continuo a amar o estilo do Saramago, é tão único e cheio de personalidade. Entendo que não seja para todos, por causa dos devaneios e juízos de moral constantes, mas eu acho que tem o seu charme.
Estive o livro todo a tentar formular para que defeito humano é que a cegueira era uma analogia (ou metáfora, não sei bem a diferença) e porque é que só uma personagem não cegou, mas não consegui chegar a nenhuma conclusão.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Confinement, Excrement, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts

vibmesq's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Police brutality, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Misogyny, Gore, Death, Animal death, Physical abuse, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Rape, Grief, and Confinement