Frabjous Times

review disaster book fiction

Blindness, by José Saramago

I just read Nobel Prize winning author's José Saramago's book Blindness and would like to mention certain plot points in light of recent events.
  • People who band together in impromptu tribes in order to survive.
  • Looters in search of food.
  • Promises from the government (food, medical care, maintenance of order) which are not kept.
  • Corpses left out in the open.
  • Rape, murder, and riot.
  • Shooting in cold blood.
  • Cessation of utilities and other city services.
  • Families broken up with no knowledge of the other members' whereabouts.
  • The loss of sanitation.
  • Overcrowding of the afflicted in officially designated temporary quarters.
  • The plight of the animals.
His little book The Tale of the Unknown Island is almost completely different, except for the anonymity of the characters. Maybe he just doesn't like giving them names?
Originally published: 2005/10/10 22:47:28