Blindness

Jose Saramago's Blindness is a minor sci-fi/dystopian masterpiece, as it traces the spread of a viral epidemic that causes people to become blind. The narrative realistically considers the impact of such an event on human loyalty, reciprocity, politics, and even hygiene. Meanwhile, Saramago’s enchanting style, full of long paragraphs and stream-of-consciousness thoughts, gives the book the feel of a fable or fairy tale. Here he recounts how even water becomes a prized commodity:

This time she took the lamp and went to the kitchen, she returned with the bottle, the light shone through it, it made the treasure inside sparkle. She put it on the table, went to fetch the glasses, the best they had, of finest crystal, then, slowly, as if she were performing a rite, she filled them. At last, she said, Let’s drink. The blind hands groped and found the glasses, they raised them trembling. Let’s drink, the doctor’s wife said again. In the middle of the table, the lamp was like a sun surrounded by shining stars. When they had put the glasses back on the table, the girl with the dark glasses and the old man with the eyepatch were crying.

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