Rating: 
Summary: Gripping and masterfully written, but needs a better ending.
Review: This book grabbed me. The plot is simple, but the presentation and the development were rich.....in a spare way. It inspires meditations on humanity and society. The unique style, lacking paragraphs, quotation marks, even names, makes the reading slower, but in doing so draws the reader closer to the content. Only the ending seemed lacking.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent chance to see blindness from another angle
Review: I'm from Portugal and I'm very glad this book got so many great reviews. Saramago's first book I came into contact with was "Convent Memorial", better known abroad as Baltasar and Blimunda (the main characters). I liked the book very much and decided to buy another of his books. But before I got a chance to do it, my brother gave me for a Christmas' gift the book named "Blindness" (in portuguese, "Ensaio sobre a Cegueira" or "Essay about blindness"). The books starts with a man sitting in his car waiting for the red sign to change and that suddenly goes blind. Imagine the horror that would be. It portraits blindness as an epidemic disease that spreads throught the country, blinding eveyone in the world. Suprisingly enough, a certain woman (wife of a doctor) doesn't go blind. This blindness however is not a black darkness, but a very bright light. The book is an excellent choice, because it makes supositions on how a society would be like if everybody was blind. The ending is also very original and it captivates you right from the beggining. It doesn't take long to read (2 or 3 days) and makes you wonder about many things people that see take for granted that blind people can't. For this and many other reasons I give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Tale of Humanity
Review: I now consider this one of the best books I have ever read, if not one of the most unique. I read this for a class I am taking. We were charged to find an award winning contemporary novel. I had wanted to read it for quite sometime, and this gave me a chance to do so. From what I have heard, people are comparing this to the works of Camus and Garcia Marquez, neither of which I have read, but now am considering for strictly for my own gain. This story is indeed haunting. His imagery of this asylum where the blind internees are forced into is so vivid that one can close his eyes and picture the conditions in which those people were forced into. After reading this, it almost seems that Saramago is in someway describing hell itself. "...fetid caverns such as the gutters in hell full of condemned souls must be..." Sometimes the imagery does get a little thick, and sometimes it is longwinded in it's description, but those images will haunt you long past the end of the book. The writing style, which is more of conversational type, is very difficult to read. I found myself going back over some parts of the book. At points, it will get confusing, especially during the dialog. Along with the writing style, the way the story is lain out is my favorite part of the whole book. None of the characters have names, they only have generalizations on who they are. A location is not given, frankly I think because it is not important; it could be anywhere, and it would still have the same outcome. If you wish to read this book, be prepared. It is not an easy read. But if you stick with it, it will be totally worth your while. Saramago's insight on humanity will influence the way you look at yourself. I think the question that everyone will ask himself or herself after they finish this book would be, "Would I act the same way if this happened to me?" Enjoy this book. And I say again...It will haunt you..."To be blind is not the same as being dead, Yes, but to be dead is to be blind."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I read this book after hearing someone describe the plot synopsis to me. I was fascinated by the subject, and Saramago delivered. His style is very unique, and one of the most refreshing I've read in a while. I really enjoyed the message on society, and a couple of times I was near tears from anger and despair. This is an excellent story, and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Spell binding is the right way to describe this book
Review: I could not put this book down. It really gets into the human nature. It is suspenseful, but also has depth. Be ready!
Rating:
Summary: a book about true perception
Review: saramago has reversed the notion of blindness, from the beggining, the people driving were actually the blind, while the 'first blind man' is a sort of visionary who begins to see the nature of human existense through blindness.... absolutely amazing... a giant..
Rating:
Summary: A Grand Horror Novel... and also much more.
Review: This is perhaps one of Saramago's best books. In fact it IS a horror novel, but also much more. Behind the facade of apocalyptic turmoil, there is hope and feelings. The valiant doctor's wife is one of literature's most memorable heroines, and it is through her eyes that we see this nightmare unfold and come to a close, feeling like she does, even hunger and dread... no easy feat. A Must Read.
Rating:
Summary: A very difficult read.
Review: After reading a glowing review it the New York Times, I could not wait to start Blindness. It was very difficult to read. At times, I had to reread passages because of the unusual puntuation. Overall, I thought it was excellent. The writer has quite an imagination. I was left with the feeling that good does triumph over evil. The doctor's wife is truly an angel of mercy, someone who I hope I would be like in an unimaginable situation.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting read, but save the comparisons to Camus
Review: The best aspect of this book is its lyrical style, which flows like water. The author's method of writing is often well suited for this novel on blindness, particularly when it focuses on dialogue. I've never really read anything with quite this style. However, you shouldn't be expecting anything too deep from this novel. It has no significant messages. It does try to hammer home an existential view of life--that without eyes, people become less than human. However, this message has been delivered much more powerfully by many other works, and isn't really a good reason to read this book. I'm guessing that it was his attempt to deliver this message that led to him to create heavy-handed, contrived situations. There are a few situations in this book so against human nature and fretted over so lengthily as to bore you, like a bad european art film. For an interesting comparison, those who have read this book might check out "Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sacks, which provides real insight into the mechanics of the real Deaf societies in this world. "Seeing Voices" shows quite convincingly and eloquently the ability of handicapped people to adapt and create unique societies of their own.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, disturbing, but thought provoking and different
Review: The book was somewhat dark and disturbing but also somewhat hopeful, as the characters retain their humanity in the face of unspeakable horrors. Very well written (and translated?).
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