Seeing by José Saramago (2006)
Seeing is the follow-up to Saramago’s critically acclaimed novel, Blindness. While Blindness was metaphorical and surreal, it was also literal – the characters in the novel literally went blind. Seeing feels much more, almost completely, metaphorical though the events that comprise the story are very real. In Seeing, the government begins plotting against it’s own citizens when the results of a national election reveal that a majority of the population has cast blank ballots. Neither the controlling right party, the opposing left party, nor the central party, gain a majority. The government is both enraged at this act of subversion, and scared. An emergency election the following week produces similar results and the government’s efforts to root out the traitors and subversive elements produce no leads. Though no evidence of organized subversion is found, and though no unrest can be seen in the streets, the government decides to act quickly and authoritatively to root out what it sees as a dangerous cancer growing in the population. Through ill-advised measure after ill-advised measure, the government escalates its war against the unseen traitors, going so far as to abandon and quarantine the city. Weeks into the crisis, an anonymous letter is received by the government which links a key actor from the Blindness crisis, to the current one. A team of undercover officers is dispatched to find, interrogate, and neutralize the suspect. The government turns increasingly desperate, increasingly willing to break the law, manipulating events and the press in order to, if nothing else, turn those citizens loyal to the government against those who are behind the conspiracy. Ultimately the government’s cynicism towards its citizens is overshadowed by it’s miscalculations about them.
Overall, an interesting read but truthfully not the best example of what Saramago offers. That's the view from a fan.
Seeing is the follow-up to Saramago’s critically acclaimed novel, Blindness. While Blindness was metaphorical and surreal, it was also literal – the characters in the novel literally went blind. Seeing feels much more, almost completely, metaphorical though the events that comprise the story are very real. In Seeing, the government begins plotting against it’s own citizens when the results of a national election reveal that a majority of the population has cast blank ballots. Neither the controlling right party, the opposing left party, nor the central party, gain a majority. The government is both enraged at this act of subversion, and scared. An emergency election the following week produces similar results and the government’s efforts to root out the traitors and subversive elements produce no leads. Though no evidence of organized subversion is found, and though no unrest can be seen in the streets, the government decides to act quickly and authoritatively to root out what it sees as a dangerous cancer growing in the population. Through ill-advised measure after ill-advised measure, the government escalates its war against the unseen traitors, going so far as to abandon and quarantine the city. Weeks into the crisis, an anonymous letter is received by the government which links a key actor from the Blindness crisis, to the current one. A team of undercover officers is dispatched to find, interrogate, and neutralize the suspect. The government turns increasingly desperate, increasingly willing to break the law, manipulating events and the press in order to, if nothing else, turn those citizens loyal to the government against those who are behind the conspiracy. Ultimately the government’s cynicism towards its citizens is overshadowed by it’s miscalculations about them.
Overall, an interesting read but truthfully not the best example of what Saramago offers. That's the view from a fan.
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