ENSAIO SOBRE A CEGUEIRA

A terrifying "white blindness" begins to strike the inhabitants of a city, leaving them blind one by one. Through this chilling fantasy, Saramago forces us to close our eyes—and truly see. To regain clarity, to recover compassion: these are the tasks of the writer and each reader, in response to the pressures of the times and all that has been lost.
A man sitting at a red light suddenly goes blind. He is the first case of a mysterious “white blindness” that soon spreads uncontrollably. Confined to quarantine, the blind are stripped down to the core of their humanity, embarking on a harrowing journey into darkness.
Blindness is the imaginative vision of an author who reminds us of “the responsibility of having eyes when others have lost theirs.” In this novel, José Saramago presents a haunting and moving portrait of dark times on the eve of a new millennium, placing him alongside the greatest modern visionaries—Franz Kafka, Elias Canetti. Each reader will undergo a unique imaginative experience. At the crossroads of literature and wisdom, Saramago forces us to pause, close our eyes, and see. To regain clarity, to recover compassion—these are the writer's and the reader’s shared responsibilities in times of crisis and loss: “a thing that has no name, that thing is what we are.”
"Yes, Blindness is a book to be read during this moment of coronavirus isolation and confinement. But not to reflect on how an uncontrollable disease can change our lives—rather, to reflect on how our lives may have already been completely misguided before the disease arrived."
— Renato Rovai, Revista Fórum
The calligraphy on the cover was created by musician and writer Chico Buarque.