Saramago’s Blindness is a dissection of how quickly humanity unravels when the lights go out

💡 In Blindness, Nobel laureate José Saramago does more than just chronicle a fictional plague; he performs a cold, clinical dissection of how quickly our social, political, and economic structures crumble the moment the rule of law vanishes.

The plot: The story ignites at a crowded intersection when a driver suddenly goes blind. Unlike the usual descent into darkness, he is plunged into a milky, radiant whiteness. This white blindness spreads like wildfire, becoming a contagious epidemic that brings the city to its knees. In a desperate bid for control, the government herds the first wave of victims into a mental asylum, where hierarchies and moral codes disintegrate. Amidst the horror, one woman retains her vision, faking her own blindness and becoming a witness to the collapse of civilization.

What we liked: Saramago famously strips away traditional punctuation, weaving dialogue into long, breathless paragraphs without the use of standard indicators. While this wall of text can feel disorienting at first, it is a brilliant stylistic feat — it forces the reader into the same state of sensory confusion and helplessness experienced by the characters. By refusing to name his characters or specify a setting, Saramago elevates the novel into a universal parable. He strips his subjects of their identities to prove that this specific brand of societal rot is not localized; it is a latent possibility in any community, anywhere in the world.

Our verdict: A cornerstone of modern literature, Blindness is anything but a light read. It is heavy, visceral, and at times deeply unsettling. Yet, it remains an essential experience that demands we confront the fragility of the social contract and the thin line between civilization and savagery. If you’re on the hunt for a read that will lead to a wealth of introspection, pick up Blindness.

WHERE TO READ IT- You can find the paperback version at Diwan and Amazon.