After reading Blindness I was fully prepared for Saramago’s style of writing which is dense, large parts are written as a stream of consciousness and there are few paragraphs breaks and no quotation marks. The result is conversational and witty although I did find that because The Double is not nearly as plot driven as Blindness it did drag in some parts.
The appeal of Saramago for me are his ideas and the concepts he attempts to convey. The double is a great concept and the mystery and the more philosophical aspects of the novel as well as the writing kept me engaged until the end. This may not be the easiest read but there are twists right up to the end and it played on my mind for weeks afterwards.
4/5
Posted by Jess
I'm totally intrigued, haven't heard of this one. I have Blindness and look forward to reading it. I'm going into knowing it will be hard to appreciate the style but overall I think I will enjoy it at the end.
ReplyDeleteBlindness is wonderfull but violent in places so be warned. This one was less plot driven but I hope you enjoy Blindness, I loved it
DeleteI've read Cain and was totally unprepared for his writing style. I love the idea behind this one....
ReplyDeleteI love the ideas he has for all his novels which is why I end up picking them up
DeleteI've read Cain & have seeing waiting to go, love the style & the play of ideas.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction to this book. I ended it thinking it was good, but not in the same league as Blindness, but after a while this one has gone up in my estimation. The more you think about it (and the issues it raises) the better it gets.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious now! I have this book but haven't read it yet. It sounds worth a (careful) read. I loved Blindness but haven't tried Seeing.
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