Blindness
by José Saramago · first published 1999
73% recommend20% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Literary fiction with an allegorical, science-fiction-tinged premise about society under sudden collective blindness; readers praise its unusual long paragraphs and unnamed characters, and call it a good first Saramago.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…Art of War by Sun Tzu 4-If Nature Is the Answer, What Was the Question? By Jorge Wagensberg 5-Sacred hoops by Phil Jackson 6-Fear from freedom by Erich Fromm 7-Michelangelo biography of a genious 8-Blindness by Jose Saramago 9-On writing by Stephen King
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗…are: FICTION 1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Americanah 2. Terezia Mora - Der einzige Mann auf dem Kontinent (not translated yet I think) 3. Octavia E. Butler - Parable of the Sower 4. Jose Saramago - Blindness 5. James Baldwin - If Beale Street Could Talk NONFICTION 1. Melba Patillo Beals - Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High 2. Sendhil Mullainathan…
on “The Best Books I Read in 2014” ↗Try Blindness by Saramago. It's kind of science-fictiony in the theme but its literary fiction.
on “Ask HN: Non-sci-fi fiction recommendations?” ↗Fiction: "Blindness" - Jose Saramago
on “Brutality of Life Reading List” ↗José Saramago. "Blindness" is his most famous book, and probably the easiest to get into.
on “Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87” ↗…Iain M. Banks has some accessible but interesting sci-fi (recommendations: Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons), and it's hard to go wrong with anything Jose Saramago wrote (recommendations: All the Names, Blindness, Death With Interruptions).
on “Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?” ↗Do a deep dive on Saramago. You can start with Blindness. I'm biased because I'm from Portugal but the man was a genius. In the end you may leave with more questions than when you started the book,but you will be satisfied!
on ““The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot” ↗I read José Saramago and at times felt his writing similar to Vonnegut. Perhaps you’ll like it. Blindness is a good first read.
on “Still alive” ↗Blindness by José Saramago and The road by Cormac McCarthy. Both offer a look at how humanity holds up under difficult circumstances. Do not watch the movies, read the books.
on “Ask HN: What book bit, stung and shook you deeply?” ↗> The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - Jose Saramago Have you read Blindness? I liked The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, but personally I liked Blindness a lot more.
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗Let me add also Blindness by José Saramago, it has pages-long paragraphs and sentences, characters have no names just descriptions… it’s surprising at first but not hard to get into. Amazing book!
on “Short Little Difficult Books” ↗This list has Blindness by Saramago as a history book. Is this a joke going over my head?
on “Mind-expanding books” ↗Like the article. It reminds me the book from Saramago that inspired the movie: Blindness (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861689/). But it's important to note that it's completely different the case where a born blind person and a person that becomes blind. So it might be useful to speak with…
on “Things I learned by pretending to be blind for a week (2013)” ↗…necessary if you want to write people believably because all people are morally ambiguous. Either way, I don't think believable characters are necessary. I recently read a pair of Saramago novels - Blindness and Seeing - that don't contain believable characters. They're all caricatures. The novels still work, and they're still acclaimed. I have two perspectives on judging the quality of literature: 1.…
on “Mrs. ‘Stoner’ Speaks: An Interview with Nancy Gardner Williams” ↗Blindness by Jose Saramago under History?
on “Mind-expanding books” ↗