Cristina Alvarez Arnold

Fine story, but NOT amazing. I really wanted to like it, but Blindness read more like a dumbed down work by Borges or Calvino, emulating structure, tone and themes that were innovative a while ago. The symbolism is effortful and overstated. I read the English translation, so my hope is the original reads better bc I don’t understand the Nobel. MOST OF ALL, I don’t believe the author offers any genuine insight to the human condition. Despite having a female lead protagonist, for example, women seem more symbolic than full characters with complete interior lives. There are a couple cringe-y scenes so indulgent in the male gaze, I lost confidence in the narrator and felt alienated from the whole story. I’m not looking for a “woke” or PC author — just writing that reads more true.