Saramago, Blindness

Has nobody read the book :/

I've read the book, then watched the movie. For some reason that part is even more disgusting in the movie. It's weird because the other books I read by him didn't have such an 'extreme' scene.

>>9842965
I would assume he wanted to show to what blind obedience leads. Glad that you agree. I'm just not sure whether it was necessary. Perhaps some people would be more affected in this way than showing some act of rebellion and portraying the rebels as heroes or something.

I couldn't sleep afterwards, to be honest. What are you supposed to do in this case (theirs, not mine).

>>9842959
it's a really good book anon, saramago is slightly underrated on this board.

saramago likes this fabulistic thought experiments because it gives him an excuse to push things to an extreme, "excessively," but the idea is for it to be overbearing.

>>9843009
idk.. they didn't go out of choice. it was a decision they made in order to survive. maybe it's more that force gives power to all the wrong people, and even those who can see through them have less power than them.. simply because force is the power to kill, and sight is the power to manipulate.

Are you reading it in Portuguese? I already hate his prose in Portuguese, which is my native language, so I wonder how good can a translation of his style really be.

And I think "Blindness" is a commie parabole, and that's so fucking juvenile it hurts my brain to think about it. Can Saramago even not concede to proselitism once in a while? I've read 2 of his books and found this aspect of the works to be insufferable. Everything is too fake, too direct, too morally plain. You combine this with his prose and end up with a crappy crappy book.

In other words, the movie is unironically better.

>>9844381
>blindness is a commie parable

what does that mean? you know saramago is a huge leftist right?

while i agree saramago is often very direct with his ideological views (gospel jesus christ, cain, seeing), i would not classify blindness under that, nor would i say his masterpiece, death with interruptions, qualifies. in those books he's attacking/lampooning broad human comedy and errors than any specific ideology or politics

i like his prose in english. it serves his unique style well.

I read an Spanish translation of it and enjoyed quite a bit, that scene was indeed disturbing at the same time i got a boner while reading it, but I fap a lot to facialabuse and that kind of shit.

What, you can'd handle it when some alphas decide they wanna cuck all the betas? Power corrupts, simple as that. Give a man a gun and he'll rape your wife, just look at the Stanford Prison Experiments and that shit.

It's a pretty good book, but not the best I've read of Saramago (my favorite is the Gospel According to Jesus Christ)

>>9844513
>facialabuse
mah man! what do you think about meatholes and max hardcore? There is a beauty in someone allowing themselves to be broken down like that, like a sexual kenosis

>>9841630
I enjoyed it, it was pretty harrowing in certain scenes and the complete desperation by certain people. If you choose to finish it, the sequel "Seeing" is very good.

Best Saramago is History of the Siege of Lisbon

>>9844576
Yeah I dig it but FA feels more authentic, max hardcore can be disgusting which is good, but at the same time a bit theatrical.

>>9844652
I agree, I feel like Khan Tushion tries a bit too hard some times, although Meatholes has the best mental breakdowns. I enjoy the comedy aspets of FA a lot, some of that shit is gold, like when the black female bodybuilder is lifting Bootleg (or w/e his name is) for reps.

The significant difference from this to the scene in Blindness is the level of voluntariness, where the man with the gun has near absolute power and is under no contract or idea of professionality, so he can allow himself to indulge fully in his lusts. Interesting that he doesn't think of potential consequences post-Blindness, though. IIRC the people are still waiting/hoping for a cure at this point of the novel.

>>9844602
Thanks, I'll finish it and I will read Seeing next.

>>9844568
I think it's more important to know what we do after we are certain that power corrupts, I think this is his idea.

>>9844381
I'm reading in Bulgarian, it's an amazing translation that makes me love his style. I'm also as left as possible and I don't think he overdoes it with the communism allegories.

>>9844324
Thanks for the reply, I like him and I'll continue. It's nice to challenge your ideas about literature, and his good enough to be the one doing it.

>>9844513
Man, my dick was about to move but I'm so happy I didn't get hard. There's hope.

I do think that the story feels kinda plain after they get away from the prison but that scene and the rest of the book are great. There is something about Saramago, mainly about the style, that I find to speak mind. Or at least I thought so when I read him.

>>9841630
i stopped reading the book because it was too fucking depressing.

>>9844381
>Can Saramago even not concede to proselitism once in a while

Most of the time, he doesn't.

As an ardent right-winger (and Portuguese native speaker too) I don't think Saramago ever gets to the point of damaging his characters or his story in order to explain a communist idea.

I recommend two short, light books of his: As Intermitencias da Morte, and A Viagem do Elefante. I dont think theres much politics in those.

I think you seem to have too much of a 'formed' opinion on him, so this will be hard to change. But anyway...

>>9846658
Read the two books I mentioned above. The first was translated into English as 'Death with interruptions' or something similar. The second, I dont know if it was translated, but just look for a Saramago book with 'Elephant' in the title (it's a romanticized chronicle of the real voyage of an Elephant from Portugal to Austria in the 16th century - a gift from the PT king to the emperor).

>>9846724
Exactly. I usually don't get immersed in stream of consciousness narratives, and I think he does not do this, but it has a similar vibe and is so open. It really flows. Can't find a better word.

>>9846822
Good that you still read him and talk about him objectively. I will check these books, thanks. Some other Portuguese writer that you'd recommend?