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Blindness

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Blindness

By: José Saramago
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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About this listen

A city is hit by a sudden and strange epidemic of "white blindness", which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there social conventions quickly crumble and the struggle for survival brings out the worst in people.

There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers -among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears - out of their prison and through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing.

A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the 20th century, by Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago, Blindness has swept the masses with its powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses - and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit.

English translation by Juan Sager.

©1997 Juan Sager (English translation); 1995 Jose Saramago and Editorial Caminho (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America Crime Fiction Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Medical Psychological Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Scary Exciting Crime Heartfelt
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Feeling completely steamrollered by this amazing novel! I listened to a BBC America audio, via Audible, and, although it was an English translation of the original Portuguese, the text retained its poetic quality, horrific and beautiful. Perhaps Margaret Atwood crossed with Cormac McCarthy! I appreciated the 'no names' device - the woman with dark glasses, the first blind man, the woman nobody knows - as it aided understanding their world. The philosophising throughout is very moving and I thought that the calm narration by Jonathan Davies was the perfect way to immerse myself in this dystopian city.

Gripping and chilling

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I like the concept of everyone going blind, but the author hasn't made it into an interesting story. It only covers a small social group. The book started really well, but I was disappointed afterwards.

A bit too long

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Absolutely hooked on the story! The narrator is outstanding. I feel like the bad reviews are very unfair. Yes the book is detailed but you have to remember these characters are blind, so they are going to speak in detail. The listener is also basically blind as they can't see the characters or world, therefore, the detailed narration is absolutely needed.

As someone that's half blind, I can really relate to this book and it shared a lot of similarities with the Covid-19 pandemic, at least early on - which I found interesting. My favourite character was the eye doctor, and it's interesting that a person that specializes in blindness goes blind himself. I do wish he was the character to keep his eyesight instead of his wife though, as it would make more sense for him to be the leader as he's studied eyes his whole life.

I wasn't expecting much from this novel due to all the bad reviews but it's one of my favourite audiobooks and I believe it deserves more praise. My only issue is the awful movie cover...audible, please keep movies and audiobooks separate! If you are interested in blindness or pandemics PLEASE listen to this aueiobook.

This book is PERFECT as an audiobook!

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I loved this book. My first book by Saramago and i am lookimg forward for more.

Deep thoght about our reality.

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a great read, you get wisked away from page one into a world of blindness

gripping

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