I didnt find it too complicated, the main character is really likable, and the opening scene the election workers waiting for voters to arrive is my favorite part of either book. Blindness welcome to my very first book to movie adaptation comparison. Blindness is based on a novel by the nobel prizewinning portuguese author jose saramago, a dystopian allegory about the human condition, mass behavior in. From nobel prizewinning author jose saramago, a magnificent, mesmeri. So i went back to the earlier novels and put myself through a.
And that is, as the book will let you know in the first page, what happens if you, me, and almost everyone goes blind. Denatured, sometimes overexposed, sometimes too shadowy to see, it is an. Fernando meirelles adapts jose saramagos novel about the vision. List of books and articles about blindness online research. Its just a very interesting film, i had to think blindness over for a while, i was walking out of the theater and someone said it was the worst film she had ever seen in her life and when i went to the bathroom and saw another person who saw the movie said that it was such a powerful movie and that she was very pleased with the film and how it.
In may 2011, we received a parcel containing a dusty box of eight c90 cassettes. But things get dramatically worse as the blind people start to turn on one another and make things very violent and fatal towards each other. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation, blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of our worst appetites and weaknessesand humanitys ultimately exhilarating spirit. Blindness movie tiein 9780156035583 by saramago, jose and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Mark ruffalo and julianne moore as a married couple in the allegorical film blindness, directed by fernando meirelles and based on a novel. Blindness did the doctors wife actually go blind at the. The book takes a potentially hackneyed story everyone goes blind, except for one woman and turns it into a jarring look at how anything can become normal. Blindness is a very powerful movie and is over all worth the watch, i do have a couple problems with the movie, like the pacing of the movie as well as the story. Blindness is also, in many ways, a meditation on the many different kinds of blindness. Blindness caused by infectious diseases, such as trachoma, and by dietary deficiencies is common in underdeveloped.
Dec 28, 2010 in saramagos blindness, a vision of human nature jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. The embattled relationships among the people of a city mysteriously struck by an epidemic of blindness form the core of this superb novel by the internationally acclaimed saramago, the portugese author of, most recently, the history of the siege of lisbon 1997. The epidemy is over and now she has to rebuild her life along with everybody else. Blindness may be caused by injury, by lesions of the brain or optic nerve, by disease of the cornea or retina, by pathological changes originating in systemic disorders e. And that is, as the book will let you know in the first page, what. Sep 22, 2016 virgils surgery doesnt fix him and his vision begins to deteriorate again. It begins in a flash, as one man is instantaneously struck blind while driving home from work, his whole world suddenly turned to an eerie, milky haze. Oct 03, 2008 blindness is based on a novel by the nobel prizewinning portuguese author jose saramago, a dystopian allegory about the human condition, mass behavior in times of heightened fear and our. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. A driver stalled at a busy intersection suddenly suffers an attack of white blindness no other color, or any shape, is.
The novel blindness, by jose saramago, was published in portuguese in 1995 and translated into english in 1997. In the last pages of the book, as the white blindness finally abates, the doctors wife, whose eyes have borne all the burden of witnessing what the others in their sightlessness were spared, offers us a kind of answer. This is a an important book, one that is unafraid to face all of the horror of the century. Dec 14, 2009 the novel blindness, by jose saramago, was published in portuguese in 1995 and translated into english in 1997. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers on the doctors wife, her husband, several of his patients. Sep 02, 2008 blindness is perhaps the most known writing by jose saramago.
The best thing about the movie version of blindness is how much it makes you appreciate the transcendent novel by jose saramago. Blindness is a fantastic book, the best i have read in a long time. She didnt, it was just the natural way to end the book. Brazilian director fernando meirelles city of god brings jose saramagos muchloved novel blindness to the screen with this ambitious. A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness. Blindness is based on a novel by the nobel prizewinning. Based on the 1995 novel by portugals jose saramago, winner of the 1998 nobel prize for literature. Ensaio sobre a cegueira, meaning essay on blindness is a novel by portuguese author jose saramago. S ince its premiere at cannes this year, fernando meirelless film has been coldly received by many critics, on the grounds that it softpedals.
This famous book begins with a pandemic of blindness somewhereanywhere, which is unexplained and extremely unprecedented, rather transmitted, so that in a few days the society of suddenly and abruptly blind and helpless people is created. A portion of your purchase of this book will be donated to nonprofit organizations. Blindness is a relatively straightforward movie and is not particularly good or bad. Blindness is a 2008 englishlanguage thriller film and an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by portuguese author jose saramago about a society. The doctor says at the end of the book that he doesnt believe that they never went blind. The blindness that people had experienced was described as being white not black. Saramago was awarded the nobel prize for literature one year later, in. Saramago takes his characters to the very edge of humanity and then pushes them over the precipice. His people learn to live in inexpressible filth, they commit acts. Myla goldberg says saramago vividly illustrates disasters. It responds to the novels notes of apocalypse and dystopia, and its disclosure of a spiritual desert within the modern city, but also to its persistent.
So its a direct reference to her suffering the condition. This 65page guide for blindness by jose saramago includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 17 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Jan 23, 2016 instead of going for some really popular book or movie, ive decided to start off with oldie, but goodie. Instead of going for some really popular book or movie, ive decided to start off with oldie, but goodie. The film was written by don mckellar and directed by fernando meirelles, with julianne moore and mark ruffalo as the main characters. When you sit in a coffee shop at the corner of two busy streets and read a book about blindness, you find yourself thinking unfamiliar thoughts, and you believe, when you raise your head to watch the people passing, that you see things differently. Blindness is perhaps the most known writing by jose saramago.
Blindness is in many ways a horrific novel, detailing as it does the total breakdown in society that follows upon this most unnatural disaster. Its difficult to explain without giving too much of the plot away, so ill stick to generalisations. The author is known for his long sentences and paragraphs. The book is a really, really good old scincefictiondystopia novel, which reminded me a little bit of the day of the triffids by john wyndham which i really love. Blindness is a 2008 englishlanguage thriller film and an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by portuguese author jose saramago about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Before id let an author of such evident power give me the horrors, hed have to earn my trust. Choose expedited shipping if available for much faster. Saramago, who never agreed to sell the rights of any of his books to any film producer, did so in this case and after a long negotiation. Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. But not all the books are this much famous and interesting books. This book is being made into a movie and the trailer intrigued me. Blindness is a worthy film, and in many ways a beautifully made one the opening and closing sequences are the best.
But in between its heavy, gloomy and at times pretty hard to sit through. The movie version of blindness gave me a clear mea. Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created society of the blind quickly breaks down. Watch blindness full online for free, watch now the full movie at. Saramago was awarded the nobel prize for literature one year later, in 1998, in no.
In saramagos blindness, a vision of human nature jose saramago tells the grim tale of a city devastated by an epidemic of blindness. Wikipedia warned me that the author does not give any of the characters names. Whats the difference between ensaio sobre a cegueira the book and blindness the movie. Based on the novel by nobel prizewinning novelist jose saramago, blindness takes place in an unspecified modern city, where a small group of people are afflicted with a disease that takes away their vision and fills their eyes with nothing but a vast, featureless whiteness like im swimming in milk, as one character puts it. In this work, entitled essay on or about blindness, jose saramago proposes a simple element with which he chooses to explore human traits. One of the most enjoyable features of blindness is the writing style, which is at one both personal and almost documentary. Amid the analog crackle of the first tape, we heard a. And download blindness pdf ebook free via the download button at the end. Have you ever waited for your favorite book to be turned into a movie. Jan 16, 2014 the story behind notes on blindness from the directors. Jan 03, 2020 well stop supporting this browser soon. For the best experience please update your browser. It is ironic how a film about how ugly humans can become when there are no laws or institutions why do you. It is one of his most famous novels, along with the gospel according to jesus christ and baltasar and blimunda.
Now a major motion picture a city is hit by an epidemic. The story behind notes on blindness from the directors. Jun 09, 2018 your grandma always said the book was better. Seeing is a lot more complicated and less entertaining than blindness. With 2008s adaption of jose saramagos famous novel, she was probably right. The book ive chosen for today is blindness by jose saramago. The character has the same name in both the book and the movie. Virgil spent the whole movie dealing with people who wanted to cure his blindness instead of loving him the way he was, and the film succeeded in portraying that as an ugly way to be an ally. Blindness dystopian fable becomes an overwrought movie.
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