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Blindness

Series: Harvest Book
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Blindness by Nobel laureate José Saramago depicts a city struck by a sudden epidemic of "white blindness" that spares no one. Authorities quarantine the afflicted in an abandoned mental hospital, where lawlessness prevails and survival becomes brutal. The story follows one sighted individual leading seven strangers through the desolate and chaotic streets, exposing humanity's darkest behaviours and deepest resilience.

This powerful parable explores themes of loss, disorientation, and the indomitable human spirit in the face of societal collapse.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5100

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This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in intense literary fiction, allegorical narratives, and philosophical examinations of society under pressure. Suitable for mature audiences comfortable with challenging and sometimes harrowing themes.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Portuguese Nobel Laureate Saramago tells a fantastic tale about a city hit by an epidemic of "white blindness," in this work that is the basis for the upcoming movie with Julianne Moore.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

International Bestseller A stunningly powerful novel of humanity's will to survive against all odds during an epidemic by a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

"This is a shattering work by a literary master."--Boston Globe

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. 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—through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing.

A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation, Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of our worst appetites and weaknesses—and humanity's ultimately exhilarating spirit.

"This is an important book, one that is unafraid to face all of the horror of the century."--Washington Post

Series: Harvest Book

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  • Blindness
    International Bestseller A stunningly powerful novel of humanity's will to survive against all odds during an epidemic by a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. "This is a shattering work by a literary master."--Boston Globe A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but...
    Paperback
    $5100
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780156007757

Publisher: Mariner Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 October 1999

Country: United States

Imprint: Mariner Books

Audience: Teenage

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 272g

Pages: 352

About the Author

JOSÉ SARAMAGO (1922-2010) was the author of many novels, among them Blindness, All the Names, Baltasar and Blimunda, and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. In 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Also by José Saramago

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  • Blindness
    A chillingly powerful dystopian vision from one of Europe's greatest writers. No food, no water, no government, no obligation, no order. Discover a chillingly powerful and prescient dystopian vision from one of Europe's greatest writers. A driver waiting at the traffic lights goes blind. An ophthalmologist tries to diagnose his distinctive white blindness, but is afflicted before he can read...
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  • Manual of Painting and Calligraphy
    The very first novel written by the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Saramago. H. is a struggling artist with a commission to paint a portrait of a well-known industrialist. Whilst the industrialist sits for the portrait, H. begins an affair with his subject's secretary. Meanwhile, the painting starts to fail. For inspiration, H. takes a trip to Italy to contemplate the works...
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  • Cain
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    Cain
    Experience a brief encounter with José Saramago, the Nobel Prize-winning author, in his provocative and philosophical retelling of the biblical story of Cain. Written in the last years of Saramago's life, Cain is a controversial and witty story of a wilful, authoritarian God. After killing his brother, Cain is condemned to wander the earth. As he moves through time, he...
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  • Raised from the Ground
    Published for the first time in English, this deeply autobiographical novel by Nobel Prize-winning writer José Saramago tells the powerful story of the Mau-Tempo family. This deeply personal work follows the changing fortunes of the Mau-Tempo family—poor, landless peasants not unlike the author's own grandparents. Saramago charts the lives of the family in Alentejo, southern Portugal, as national and international...
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  • All The Names
    A subtle and insightful story about boredom, passion, curiosity, and memory from the Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago. Senhor José is a lonely civil servant who spends his days labouring in the labyrinthine stacks of Lisbon's central registry. Among the file-cards for the living and the dead, one—of an apparently ordinary woman—will transform his life. Breaking away from his strict routine,...
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