Highest Rated Review by the Community
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Jun 27 '10
Pros: Uhmmm, it was OK, I guess. A 'different' story line uniquely written.
Cons: Unique style of writing, fair amount of apocalyptic disorder, old story retold.
Summary: ...The idea of surviving in a world turned upside down has been explored time and again in literature and film. Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, my favorite book Earth Abides, The Diary of Anne Frank, Lord of the ... read more
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Oct 24 '11
Pros: -Written powerfully and truthfully-Grim and meaningful-Achingly unforgettable
Cons: -Very graphic, not for kids!-The writing/translating can be difficult to navigate.
Summary: Jose Saramago has won a Nobel Prize in literature. After having perused a modest amount of his material, not only do I concur, I wholeheartedly believe that this, Blindness, is his magnum opus. It's not every day you recieve, in metaphoric whiteness, the ... read more
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Jun 04 '10
Pros: Wonderful story idea.
Cons: Horrible writing structure.
Summary: The premise of this book was amazingly done. Jose Saramago's blindness is about an unknown city where one day, someone suddenly goes blind. Its not the normal blindness however, he sees only a milky white. And soon it is found ... read more
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Jan 06 '08
Pros: exhilarating, different
Cons: style of writing can be difficult to grasp
Summary: This is my first book my Jose Saramago and immediately I was enraptured by his unique sense of style. His portrayal of the human existence is done in such a shocking manner, one begins to question the entity of blindness in such a pure physical sense. ... read more
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Jan 14 '06
Pros: Provocative ideas, evocative prose
Cons: We are all blind
Summary: Anyone who has been exposed to the writing of José Saramago will never forget it. Some will hate it, complaining that his lack of normal punctuation and rambling writing style are too hard to read; too difficult to understand; too much work for a ... read more
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Nov 28 '04
Pros: A book to open one's eyes to the human condition...
Cons: If you have not read Saramago before, it may take effort to grasp his style
Summary: I readily admit that I've limited my literary vision to mostly sci/fi and fantasy plus the occasional biography or extended socio/political rant, but as I've gotten older, I've found that my biblio-focus is changing. I want clarity in the books I ... read more
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Oct 14 '04
Pros: Compelling, thought-provoking, study of social breakdown and anarchy.
Cons: Lengthy paragraphs may be confusing for some readers.
Summary: I first discovered Jose Saramago after hearing conflicting reports on his book "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ"; after one reading of that volume, I was hooked. "Blindness" shows Saramago for the genius he truly is. It starts off simply enough; a ... read more
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Jun 30 '01
Pros: intriguing story · engaging stream of consciousness narrative · inspiring characters · interesting thoughts
Cons: narrative with minimalist punctuation might turn off some · ending might leave some readers unfulfilled
Summary: What if it all broke down, I asked, Everything.
Everything, you repeated, What do you mean.
Well, you know, society, the world as we know it, the whole enchilada, a total and complete meltdown, Some say we got on that ... read more
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May 22 '01
Pros: Thought provoking, original, frightening and uplifting
Cons: At times almost too disgusting in detail
Summary: What can I say? I've read several other epinions on this novel and I have rarely seen such disagreement. Some rave about it and give it five stars while others rave at it and give it one or two stars. As I prepared to write my review, I thought of the ... read more
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Mar 29 '01
Pros: Thought provoking.
Cons: Difficult to read, difficult to understand, unbelievable society.
Summary: Perhaps Saramago got the Pulitzer prize for provoking the peewaddin out of the judges. Yes, this story made me think...sometimes about the society he constructed, but more often about how irritating was his experimental writing style.
A man ... read more
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Mar 07 '01
Pros: A deeply moving and carefully built novel about the fragility of society.
Cons: Awkwardly translated from the original Portuguese
Summary: I was enticed into purchasing a copy of José Saramago’s Nobel prize-winning novel Blindness after reading the praise that fellow Epinions members nita, mgreber and erik_kosberg had offered for the book. After finishing the ... read more
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Sep 18 '00
Pros: Makes you think
Cons: Sometimes hard to read
Summary: As children, we often pretend that we are blind. We close our eyes tightly and try to see if we could get by with only our hands to feel the way. At times throughout my life, as I have seen a blind person walk down the street with relative ease, I have ... read more
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May 28 '00
Pros: Gripping plot with allegorical underpinnings
Cons: Difficult to read in spots
Summary: While I often enjoy the literary prowess of such mainstream intellectual writers as Irving, Helprin, and Erickson, I find myself gravitating time and again toward the horror genre, toward writers such as Simmons, Barker, Straub, and Koontz. I've done ... read more
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May 10 '00
Pros: powerful content and prose; great read (especially on a gloomy or stormy day in the quiet of one's household)
Cons: As fair warning, the style of prose and the tone of the novel can be at times hard to concentrate through, but it adds to the tension of the book. Stick out the first chapter and you will find that this is a fantastic book.
Summary: Despite being a translation of author Jose Saramago's work from Portuguese to English by Giovanni Pontiero, this book is one of the smartest books I have read in a while. As a commentary on society as it stands, "Blindness" does well to ... read more
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Apr 13 '00
Pros: Interesting concept, good opening
Cons: Didn't hold up, began to bore
Summary: While I found this book interesting, it wasn't something I'll come back to again and again as I am to other prize-winners. BLINDNESS opens with a an extremely intriguing concept. Perhaps it was in the translation that it lost the intrigue and began to ... read more
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