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Blindness  By  cover art

Blindness

By: José Saramago
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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Publisher's summary

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

What listeners say about Blindness

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It was a excellent story.

After experiencing COVID I'm thankful it wasn't this. Talk about a nightmare. Thankful for my vision.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Struggled to finish.

Somewhat realistic for just over half of the book, decent character development, ending is terrible. I wouldn't recommend it.

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Yeah not bad

It was good, but there were so many quotes and phrases and metaphors it got ridiculous and it got to the point where I thought I just need to see this out. Glad I did, but not my favorite read. Weird.

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  • ml
  • 10-12-20

Not your usual post apocalyptic story.

This story is worth your consideration. Not your usual post apocalyptic story. It is closest to a story like "Lord of the Flies" rather than an ordinary horror tale. Large parts of this story are enormous amounts of allegorical "religious" tracts. All very interesting comparisons, (IMHO). Typical redemption seems to be a central search themed throughout this book. Could be worse, the subject, however unrecognized, is very important to all humans. This story is worth consideration.

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Nice imagery

There are some nice scenes with a kernel of a good story, somewhere in there.
The first half is good, but soon devolved into trivialities. Overall worth a listen.

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well done

this was a tough story about the heights of the human capacity to care compared with its capacity to hate what they fear

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Beautiful all around

Great Story. I see it as an allegory on how beauty can still be found in a dark hopeless world. Great Narration. The reader did an excellent job of altering his voice to distinguish between the different characters. Well done.

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I Cried

I read the book, then listened to it then read it again, then had my brother listen to it (loved everything up until the ending). I have recommended this book numerous times to many people and haven't heard a single bad thing about it. the narration was 🦆ing awesome. get this book if you haven't already!

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Don't miss the opportunity

Enjoy this fantastic book. The way José Saramago presents his history is absolutely incredible I really recommend.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Eye catching...(pun intended)

Saramago took me down a road that made me question some of the simplest things taken for granted. Not once disappointed on the simplicity of the story that kept me on edge to the end. I look forward to more of his writings.

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