Blindness: Review
Blindness by José Saramago tells the story of a doctor who loses his sight early in a blindness epidemic. For sighted readers, the description of the immediate feeling of helplessness and dependency on others is dramatic. The tension rises as people all around the city (and apparently, the world) succumb to blindness. The first to succumb, including the doctor are imprisoned in a former asylum in a futile attempt to prevent the spread of the blindness. Groups of inmates form. As contact with the outside dwindles, some groups turn violent, extracting vile and horrifying punishments on more peaceful groups. Eventual escape offers no great salvation, as the world outside has reduced to scavenging hordes in a city bereft of all essential services, including sanitation.
I was impressed by the world-building and the clever descent-into-chaos storytelling. However, the author seems obsessed with the idea that mankind is just a hair's breadth away from reverting to its most primal urges. While recent events perhaps prove Saramago's point, I found the constant assault of indignities went beyond what was necessary. Novels like The Road are plenty bleak, but expose the most horrific sides of humanity in smaller doses, to better effect.
Rating:
- Recommend? Only for the strong of stomach
- Buy as a gift? No
Last modified on 18 Oct 2026 by AO
Copyright © 2026 Andrew Oliver