#21: Seeing by José Saramago

Seeing is the follow up book to Saramago’s 1995 novel Blindness. In the first book, a unnamed city is plagued by a white blindness in which everyone but one woman is affected. Chaos obviously ensues. Four years later (Seeing), the same city faces another issue altogether when 83% of its citizens decide to vote but leave their ballots blank. This is of course their right, but the government sees it as a hostile maneuver and take it personally. Saramago’s works are often referred to as parables and these are no different. The writing is sometimes hard to decipher as there is a lack of periods, virtually no proper nouns, and zero quotation marks. However, once you get use to it, the story is compelling and tough to put down. The metaphor of Seeing is especially thought provoking given the current state of government in the United States and even more so given the nature of how it handles those who “rebel” against what is expected of them. I would say more, but alas, I’d rather you read it yourself. 

P.S. For those also inclined to learn more about the author, Jose Saramago has a story of his own. He has been ostracized in his own country of Portugal for his communism, atheism, and writing of Jesus Christ as a fallible human being. Although he has received many awards including the Nobel Prize in Literature, his ideology continues to place him in a state of controversy. More information at Wikipedia.  

P.P.S. Blindness is being made in to a movie starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and Gael Garcia Bernal. IMDB and pictures of the premiere in Cannes.