“Blindness,” by Nobel Laureate José Saramago, is not a light read. It’s one of those artfully crafted, stick-with-you-forever books that once finished will prompt you to cavort through the streets grateful to be alive and gifted with sight.
An entire city is struck blind. The first cases are contained in an abandoned mental hospital. Other than early food drops, the entire population is left to their own devices to sort out their new reality. The story focuses on seven nameless strangers who band together in the midst of the ensuing chaos. Together they attempt to survive the confines of the hospital and, later, a much changed world that they slowly journey back into.
“Blindness” is an eye-opening glimpse into the many faces of human nature. It speaks of triumph over adversity in a world gone mad. Note to the reader: It does have a happy ending, one that seems to bring the world into clarity as the book closes and life goes on.
It may be the book to make you put down your smartphone and look around.
Keena KimmelOwner of White Rabbit Books and Curiosities
