I read this because it's the sequel to "Blindness," and although I didn't wholeheartedly love that book, it was intriguing enough to make me want to know where the author was going to go with this.
The first half of the book makes no reference to the first book, and I was beginning to wonder if it was merely a conceptual sequel, but the characters from 'Blindness' appear in the latter portion of the book.
Mainly though, this book is Saramago's acerbic criticism of politics, his commentary on the suspicious nature of bureaucracy, power and the abuse of power, and how the innocent and the doers-of-good are crushed by such systems. Although it's less unpleasant to read than 'Blindness,' with its tangibly repellent descriptions, this book is even less uplifting.
However, it is accurate, true, and worthwhile.
Still... paragraphs, quotation marks, all the trappings of grammar... I like 'em, and think they're useful. Saramago doesn't.
The first half of the book makes no reference to the first book, and I was beginning to wonder if it was merely a conceptual sequel, but the characters from 'Blindness' appear in the latter portion of the book.
Mainly though, this book is Saramago's acerbic criticism of politics, his commentary on the suspicious nature of bureaucracy, power and the abuse of power, and how the innocent and the doers-of-good are crushed by such systems. Although it's less unpleasant to read than 'Blindness,' with its tangibly repellent descriptions, this book is even less uplifting.
However, it is accurate, true, and worthwhile.
Still... paragraphs, quotation marks, all the trappings of grammar... I like 'em, and think they're useful. Saramago doesn't.
I'm probably the only person who did NOT love this book. I actually didn't even finish it. I found Saramago's style of prose (long run on sentences with little or no punctuation) distracting and made it difficult to get into the story.
While communicating a poignent message through satire, the narrative made the city officials into such charactatures that I felt like I was getting beat over the head with the message "elected officials are hypocritical and absurd" - I get it; I got it on page 2.
I stopped reading before the plot turned "sinister."
While communicating a poignent message through satire, the narrative made the city officials into such charactatures that I felt like I was getting beat over the head with the message "elected officials are hypocritical and absurd" - I get it; I got it on page 2.
I stopped reading before the plot turned "sinister."
