The Country of the Blind

By: H. G. Wells

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer, now best remembered for his science fiction novels and often credited as being the father of science fiction.

'The Country of the Blind' is the strange story of a mountain guide who accidently falls off a cliff ledge in the Andes. He survives the fall unhurt, and finds himself in a remote valley where a tribe lives completely cut off from the rest of the world.

A hereditary illness has meant that for 15 generations all the members of the tribe have been born blind. As a result, they now have a highly evolved sense of hearing, scent and touch. 'In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king,' thinks the mountaineer. But he finds that the gift of sight is far less useful or appreciated that he had expected in the country of the blind.

Public Domain (P)2016 Red Door Audiobooks

philosophy and politics

The Country of the Blind is an interesting meditation on philosophy and politics in the form of a science fiction. Wells shows us how we are committed to believing what we believe: that our own colored glasses lead us to believe our opinions are facts and make us unwilling to be open to differing ideas. He show that while our society, culture, beliefs and government can be changed, we are often (usually) too attached to our current position to be willing to make the change. Going into this review I was planning to give the book 3 stars, but as I wrote the last few sentences, I realized how powerful and applicable this message is today. I honestly think this story would be far better as a novel. I wanted more.