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marc129's review against another edition
2.0
It is the wet dream of every anarchist: a society without government, without coercion and repression, where everything runs by itself, where everyone knows his place and does his duty. In this book Saramago outlines such a situation in an unnamed capital. The city is completely abandoned by the government, in a panic reaction because in two successive elections the citizens had voted blank. The focus is not so much on the anarchist virtues, but on the cramped and especially cynical way in which the politicians and government leaders respond to this tacit popular uprising.
Saramago here unleashes his most fierce sarcastic talents, resulting in hilarious conversations between ministers of government, in which the world is turned upside down, showing how gruesome the exercise of power can be. Simply delicious! This part deserves at least 3 stars in my (harsh) rating system.
But after about 200 pages the author suddenly changes tack and turns the story into a sequel to his masterly novel [b:Blindness|40495148|Blindness|José Saramago|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528481068l/40495148._SY75_.jpg|3213039]. Out of the blue a number of characters from that novel emerge again. It is not entirely clear to me what the point of this is, and what it adds to the story. In addition, Saramago gets lost in side intrigues about a at first stern, but then very conscentious police officer. No, this "Seeing" – apart from the absurd sarcasm in the first half of the novel – does not reach the level of the fabulous "Blindness". (rating 2.5 stars)
Saramago here unleashes his most fierce sarcastic talents, resulting in hilarious conversations between ministers of government, in which the world is turned upside down, showing how gruesome the exercise of power can be. Simply delicious! This part deserves at least 3 stars in my (harsh) rating system.
But after about 200 pages the author suddenly changes tack and turns the story into a sequel to his masterly novel [b:Blindness|40495148|Blindness|José Saramago|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528481068l/40495148._SY75_.jpg|3213039]. Out of the blue a number of characters from that novel emerge again. It is not entirely clear to me what the point of this is, and what it adds to the story. In addition, Saramago gets lost in side intrigues about a at first stern, but then very conscentious police officer. No, this "Seeing" – apart from the absurd sarcasm in the first half of the novel – does not reach the level of the fabulous "Blindness". (rating 2.5 stars)
rbcp82's review against another edition
5.0
Two things first:
1) I was surprised to find a review of this book by Ursula LeGuin in the Guardian.
2) The novel has the best epigram:
Let's howl, said the dog
---- The Book of Voices
Writer of allegory, but super realist in regards to human nature. "...not only does the universe have its own laws, all of them indifferent to the contradictory dreams and desires of humanity, and in the formulation of which we contribute not one iota, apart, that is, from the words by which we clumsily name them..."
threat to the stability of the system; a brutal blow against the democratic normality.
what can't be cured must be endured
Like Thomas Bernhard and Roberto Bolano, Jose Saramago is one of the most distinguished distinguishable writer, mainly due to his distinctive use of syntax in narrative. When I was in my 20s, I read several novels of his, much to my liking, and his novel "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ," still lingers in my soul, the book more than any others that confirmed and supported my view on religion.
As can be seen from a similar cover, "Seeing" is a companion piece to "Blindness," his most well-known work. I read this in 2020, during the pandemic and racial turmoil due to police violence in the U.S.A. It was fortunately for me to have found this book at this very moment.
The author never reveals what caused this plague of blank ballot.
Scapegoat...
...that the proof will appear when it's needed...
...the voters, who are the supreme defenders of democracy. P. 6
...what is happening here could cross the border and spread like a modern-day black death... P. 51
...the simple right not to follow any consensually established opinion. P. 61
... the immediate removal of the government to another city, which will become the country's new capital, the withdrawal of all the armed forces still in place, and the withdrawal of all police forces, this radical action will mean that the rebel city will be left entirely to its own devices...
The most common occurrence in this world of ours, in these days of stumbling blindly forward, is to come across men and women mature in years and ripe in prosperity, who, at eighteen, were not just beaming beacons of style, but also, and perhaps above all, bold revolutionaries determined to bring down the system supported by their parents and to replace it, at last, with a fraternal paradise, but who are now equally firmly attached to convictions and practices which, having warmed up and flexed their muscles on any of the many available versions of moderate conservatism, become, in time, pure egotism of the most obscene and reactionary kind. P.99
It seemed that the police were, after all, not essential for the city's security, that the population itself, spontaneously and in a more or less organized manner, had taken over their work as vigilantes. P. 102
"Bring me results and I won't ask by what means you obtained them."
...That there are cases when the sentence has been handed down before the crime has even been committed... P. 229
...If there's no guilty party, we can't invent one... <-- Police superintendent.
...But it's not only when we have no eyes that we don't know where we're going...
...As I've learned in this job, not only are the people in government never put off by what we judge to be absurd, they make use of absurdities to dull consciences and to destroy reason... P. 268
...how often fears come to sour our life and prove, in the end, to have no foundation, no reason to exist. P. 300
...no doubt, of a professional criminal of the worst kind
...I can understand that necessity knows no law, that the ends justify the means.
Ending is too much.
1) I was surprised to find a review of this book by Ursula LeGuin in the Guardian.
2) The novel has the best epigram:
Let's howl, said the dog
---- The Book of Voices
Writer of allegory, but super realist in regards to human nature. "...not only does the universe have its own laws, all of them indifferent to the contradictory dreams and desires of humanity, and in the formulation of which we contribute not one iota, apart, that is, from the words by which we clumsily name them..."
threat to the stability of the system; a brutal blow against the democratic normality.
what can't be cured must be endured
Like Thomas Bernhard and Roberto Bolano, Jose Saramago is one of the most distinguished distinguishable writer, mainly due to his distinctive use of syntax in narrative. When I was in my 20s, I read several novels of his, much to my liking, and his novel "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ," still lingers in my soul, the book more than any others that confirmed and supported my view on religion.
As can be seen from a similar cover, "Seeing" is a companion piece to "Blindness," his most well-known work. I read this in 2020, during the pandemic and racial turmoil due to police violence in the U.S.A. It was fortunately for me to have found this book at this very moment.
The author never reveals what caused this plague of blank ballot.
Scapegoat...
...that the proof will appear when it's needed...
...the voters, who are the supreme defenders of democracy. P. 6
...what is happening here could cross the border and spread like a modern-day black death... P. 51
...the simple right not to follow any consensually established opinion. P. 61
... the immediate removal of the government to another city, which will become the country's new capital, the withdrawal of all the armed forces still in place, and the withdrawal of all police forces, this radical action will mean that the rebel city will be left entirely to its own devices...
The most common occurrence in this world of ours, in these days of stumbling blindly forward, is to come across men and women mature in years and ripe in prosperity, who, at eighteen, were not just beaming beacons of style, but also, and perhaps above all, bold revolutionaries determined to bring down the system supported by their parents and to replace it, at last, with a fraternal paradise, but who are now equally firmly attached to convictions and practices which, having warmed up and flexed their muscles on any of the many available versions of moderate conservatism, become, in time, pure egotism of the most obscene and reactionary kind. P.99
It seemed that the police were, after all, not essential for the city's security, that the population itself, spontaneously and in a more or less organized manner, had taken over their work as vigilantes. P. 102
"Bring me results and I won't ask by what means you obtained them."
...That there are cases when the sentence has been handed down before the crime has even been committed... P. 229
...If there's no guilty party, we can't invent one... <-- Police superintendent.
...But it's not only when we have no eyes that we don't know where we're going...
...As I've learned in this job, not only are the people in government never put off by what we judge to be absurd, they make use of absurdities to dull consciences and to destroy reason... P. 268
...how often fears come to sour our life and prove, in the end, to have no foundation, no reason to exist. P. 300
...no doubt, of a professional criminal of the worst kind
...I can understand that necessity knows no law, that the ends justify the means.
Ending is too much.
itsmoti's review
3.0
خیلی یاد ایران و کثافت بودن سیاست و ژورنالیست های نظام افتادم، خفه کردن صدای مردم و صدای هرکسی که متفاوته . سبک نوشتن سارامانگو برام عجیب و خیلی جالبه بود.
scastr07's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amé está lectura y creo que José Saramago será mi escritor favorito por mucho tiempo. Me fascina la forma en la que escribe y los temas de los cuales escribe, me interesan mucho y me hacen reflexionar mucho. Este libro es una verdadera obra de arte y te hace pensar mucho en que como son las cosas en realidad en este sistema democrático.
Al final, como afirma Saramago "«Puede suceder que un día tengamos que preguntarnos Quién ha firmado esto por mí». Ese día puede ser hoy."
Al final, como afirma Saramago "«Puede suceder que un día tengamos que preguntarnos Quién ha firmado esto por mí». Ese día puede ser hoy."
rayssarsm's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sas_lk's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I saw a review that said: "I loved Blindness, however, this is just so unlikely that I can't get into it. To imagine government abandoning society because of the freedom to cast blank ballots seems ridiculous."
Wow, to be that naive. I envy people who have so much trust in governments. This was such a real story about how governments do not actually make our lives better at all. And Saramago poses the question of what if people just decided enough was enough? Since the government is actually oppressive (no matter how free you think you are in your country), why not just govern ourselves?
The novel itself was just a bit slow, but other than that, Saramago did a really good job and making you feel like you were in his world. I can see how this concept can be too scary for people who have been conditioned to trust those in a higher power and that's why I love it.
Wow, to be that naive. I envy people who have so much trust in governments. This was such a real story about how governments do not actually make our lives better at all. And Saramago poses the question of what if people just decided enough was enough? Since the government is actually oppressive (no matter how free you think you are in your country), why not just govern ourselves?
The novel itself was just a bit slow, but other than that, Saramago did a really good job and making you feel like you were in his world. I can see how this concept can be too scary for people who have been conditioned to trust those in a higher power and that's why I love it.
catbewks's review against another edition
5.0
Que não ouça o diabo, senhor ministro, O diabo tem tão bom ouvido que não precisa que lhe digam as coisas em voz alta, Valha-nos então deus, Não vale a pena, esse é surdo de nascença.
[...] a mais segura diferença que poderíamos estabelecer entre as pessoas não seria dividi-las entre espertas e estúpidas, mas em espertas e demasiado espertas, com as estúpidas fazemos o que quisermos, com as espertas a solução é pô-las ao nosso serviço, ao passo que as demasiado espertas, mesmo quando estão do nosso lado, são intrinsecamente perigosas, não o conseguem evitar, o mais curioso é que com os seus atos estão constantemente a dizer-nos que tenhamos cuidado com elas, em geral não damos atenção aos avisos e depois aguentamos as consequências [...]
Há pessoas que continuam de pé mesmo quando são derrubadas [...]
[...] a mais segura diferença que poderíamos estabelecer entre as pessoas não seria dividi-las entre espertas e estúpidas, mas em espertas e demasiado espertas, com as estúpidas fazemos o que quisermos, com as espertas a solução é pô-las ao nosso serviço, ao passo que as demasiado espertas, mesmo quando estão do nosso lado, são intrinsecamente perigosas, não o conseguem evitar, o mais curioso é que com os seus atos estão constantemente a dizer-nos que tenhamos cuidado com elas, em geral não damos atenção aos avisos e depois aguentamos as consequências [...]
Há pessoas que continuam de pé mesmo quando são derrubadas [...]
derurgia's review against another edition
4.0
El libro me encanto aunque el final me dejo un fuerte regusto a desazón, lo recomiendo encarecidamente.