Thursday, October 16, 2008

Currently reading . . .


This month we're reading The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. And doesn't it pack a punch‽ I imagine this book would be very confronting for many people. But more on that after the 6 Nov discussion . . .

As for a post on Parentonomics, our October book -- I haven't forgotten. Will post on this soon.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Blindness by Jose Saramago

This month, I took the liberty to read something different, since I wasn't going to be able to get a copy of Parentonomics in time. A month or so ago, I saw a preview for a movie called 'Blindness' where there is an epidemic of a contagion that causes blindness. I was intrigued by the plot, only to later discover that it is a book by Jose Saramago, a Portugese writer who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998. By coincidence, a friend of mine had a copy of the book, so I jumped at the opportunity to read it.

From the first page, I was completely drawn into the story, which begins with a man going blind while waiting in his car for the traffic lights to turn green. At this stage, it is not known that the blindness is contagious, and someone offers to take him home. Later, his wife takes him to the eye doctor, who is stumped by this man's condition. Only later, when the doctor himself goes blind, does he realise that this could be a potentially serious situation. In the attempt to contain the contagion, those that are afflicted are quarantined in an empty mental institution. And there, the real story begins.

Imagine a society where everyone is blind. Imagine having to fend for oneself without being able to see, and without any support. Saramago's novel depicts this situation, and in essence, the breakdown of society under such conditions. Those that are quarantined are ostracised. Those that are still able to see are scared of getting to close for fear of going blind. But how does one clean oneself, feed oneself and take care of ones wellbeing without external help? Let me just say that the consequences are not pretty.

Saramago's novel is one of extremely powerful imagery, almost frighteningly realistic. He initially seems to suggest that we are just one major disaster away from chaos. But is this a fair assumption? If we lived in a society without laws, without a governing body, would this lead to chaos? As the novel progresses, there is a change in the behaviour of people. By the end, there is almost an acceptance of the situation, which results in a different sort of social awareness and order. The blind have adapted to their limitations, and although it is not life as we know it, there is civility amongst the people. This seems to imply that people are to a certain extent malleable - that no matter what is thrown at us, society will always adapt. Does this mean that after any type of social disruption that ultimately some sort of order will be achieved?

Saramago's style of writing is unusual, and in many cases difficult to follow. No one has a name and is referred to by a defining feature (the first blind man, the girl with the dark glasses, the thief, the doctor's wife). There is also a overwhelming lack of punctuation, sometimes making it difficult to know who is talking to whom, with sentences often as long as paragraphs. But these aspects of the book intrigued me, as it was mentioned in the book, how do you put a face to a name when you can't see the face?

When I consider the books that I have read over the past year, many have touched upon this theme of social breakdown. I seem to have a fascination for reading about people who have been taken out of their normal environment, and seeing how they cope with change. I wonder what this says about me?