"Blindness" by Jose Saramago

Here's what amazon has to say about it:




Product Description:


A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one.
Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the
criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping
women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers
among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears
through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the
surroundings are harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation
and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness has
swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites
and weaknesses-and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit. The stunningly
powerful novel of man's will to survive against all odds, by the winner of the
1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.





I've also just purchased Umberto Eco's new novel
called: "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana".

It seems that it won't be published in English
until june 2005. So we dutchies have a premier
over all y'all other Eco fans






here's a review:


Yambo, a sixtyish rare-book dealer who lives in Milan,
has suffered a loss of memory-he can remember the plot
of every book he has ever read, every line of poetry,
but he no longer knows his own name, doesn't recognize
his wife or his daughters, and remembers nothing about
his parents or his childhood.

In an effort to retrieve his past, he withdraws to the
family home somewhere in the hills between Milan and
Turin.There, in the sprawling attic, he searches through
boxes of old newspapers, comics, records, photo albums,
and adolescent diaries. And so Yambo relives the story of
his generation: Mussolini, Catholic education and guilt,
Josephine Baker, Flash Gordon, Fred Astaire.

His memories run wild, and the life racing before his eyes
takes the form of a graphic novel. Yambo struggles through
the frames to capture one simple, innocent image: that of
his first love.

A fascinating, abundant new novel-wide-ranging, nostalgic,
funny, full of heart-from the incomparable Eco.


I can't wait to start reading this since I am an absolute
Umberto Eco fetishist







So how about you? what are you reading???

PS:

2the9s asked me to tell you all:






ishouldbereadinginsteadofeditingdamnbookpicturesontheorgrightnowedit
[Edited 2/10/05 11:55am]

Anxiety said:

now I've got that horrid "Girlfriend in a coma" song in my head

IstenSzek said:

GRRRREAT book, btw!

HamsterHuey said:

I want to read it too, but we have shared custody
over our single copy

MY FLIGHT INFO

HamsterHuey said:

i love how that pic makes it look like it's the size of a damn phone book in giantland or something.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

I'm finally reading Gone With the Wind for the first time, and I absolutely love it!

RipHer2Shreds said:

I love William Faulkner


Although I haven't read
that one yet

theVelvetRoper said:

I read this book a few years ago and I loved it too. I really enjoyed the entire story and I loved the relationship between Rhett and Scarlet. Great book.

IstenSzek said:[quote]

"Blindness" by Jose Saramago


Blindness is amazing. I read this book a few years ago and it blew me away. I've never read any others by Saramago, but I've been tempted many times. His books are not for everyone, but Blindness gave me the creeps.

I'm reading Chronicles - Bob Dylan

Very interesting read. His writing is fantasic. He doesn't go into much detail about his private life (wife, kids etc) but you do get a sense of who he is outside of his songwriting. Seems like a very down to earth man.

kisscamille said:

i read a book review of this by nick hornby (who wrote the book version of "high fidelity" and "about a boy"), and he couldn't stop raving about this book. he said even non-fans who are interested in music and the creating of art would love it. i think i might try to pick up a copy at the library or sumpin'.

Anxiety said:

Yes, I would agree. I'm a huge Dylan fan, but I think anyone who loves music or is a musician would like the book. It's certainly not a "tell all", it's more about his love for music and the journey he had becoming who he is today. He writes about how music makes him feel and the difficulties of turning simple lyrics into unforgettable songs. It won't keep you on the edge of your seat, but it's very interesting nonetheless.

I've started reading Richard Powers Gold Bug Variations the other day. I don't know if I am going to be able to continue it...

Though I am enjoying it.

And thanks to Lleena I just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray!

I'd never read it before. Great stuff!

2the9s said:

she sood you the damn audio version, didn't she

you cheat!

I'm reading the Da Vinci code atm, just finished angels and demons

kisscamille said:

I'm excited cuz Todd Haynes' next film is a Dylan biopic!

RipHer2Shreds said:

Cool! Thanks for the info.

IstenSzek said:

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It is simply marvelous.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

I just bought that book! I can't wait to read it!

JDINTERACTIVE said:

I love that book. I read it through in 5 days, put it down, and read it again about a month later.

Of course, I recently went to a book store to pick-up the "org book club" book. So I bought that, Middlesex and one other...

Then I went home and instead of starting ANY of these, I decided to start reading a book that's sat on my shelf unread for almost 2 years:



I'm lovin the book and it's inspiring all my music choices this week as well

Currently reading the following three books...

Lullaby by Chuck Pahlanick (sp?) - This story is totally fucked up. I love it.

Swan's Way by Marcel Proust - A very pleasurable read. I'm on pg. 400. Not as hard as some friends made it out to be. Sure, he's fond of page long sentences but I'm digging it.

Reflections on the Art of Living - a collection of Joseph Campbell writings and lectures.

TheResistor said:

Is this that new translation?

It's a beautiful book.

endorphin74 said:

Read it and tell me if Tim was pissed on The White Room back in '95!