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A review by cseibs
For the Benefit of Those Who See: Dispatches from the World of the Blind by Rosemary Mahoney
3.0
I received this book for free as a First Reads book.
There is a fine line between providing useful information about how the blind live and turning them into sideshow freaks to be gawked at. Mahoney seems to narrate her own evolution from seeing the blind as frightening marvels to accepting them as people who happen to experience the world differently. I appreciated her final chapters where she shows more comfort around the blind, but it still felt a little awkward in that she felt the need to comment on how normal they were, as though that in itself is remarkable. I think the nature of this type of book makes it difficult not to paint with broad strokes and, thus, there is an inherent patronizing tone. I never completely got away from the sense that Mahoney was acting the role of the magnanimous white lady helping these poor blind folk.
That said, I appreciate the chapters on the history of the blind and the biomechanics of blindness. I found her discussion of those who had their vision restored to be fascinating. In all, though, I think I would rather have read a book about blindness written by a blind person, and I think I will be picking up some of the memoirs Mahoney references in the future.
There is a fine line between providing useful information about how the blind live and turning them into sideshow freaks to be gawked at. Mahoney seems to narrate her own evolution from seeing the blind as frightening marvels to accepting them as people who happen to experience the world differently. I appreciated her final chapters where she shows more comfort around the blind, but it still felt a little awkward in that she felt the need to comment on how normal they were, as though that in itself is remarkable. I think the nature of this type of book makes it difficult not to paint with broad strokes and, thus, there is an inherent patronizing tone. I never completely got away from the sense that Mahoney was acting the role of the magnanimous white lady helping these poor blind folk.
That said, I appreciate the chapters on the history of the blind and the biomechanics of blindness. I found her discussion of those who had their vision restored to be fascinating. In all, though, I think I would rather have read a book about blindness written by a blind person, and I think I will be picking up some of the memoirs Mahoney references in the future.