Mmk … I’m a day late in writing this up – sorreh, I’m a busy gal, y’know!

As usual, if you want to buy any of these books, please click through to order from Kalahari.net and support my Holiday Savings Fund

Blindness – Jose Saramago

A driver waiting at the traffic lights goes blind. An ophthalmologist tries to diagnose his distinctive white blindness, but is affected before he can read the textbooks. It becomes a contagion, spreading throughout the city. Trying to stem the epidemic, the authorities herd the afflicted into a mental asylum where the wards are terrorized by blind thugs. And when fire destroys the asylum, the inmates burst forth and the last links with a supposedly civilized society are snapped. No food, no water, no government, no obligation, no order. This is not anarchy, this is blindness.

OMW, this is a frightening book! The idea of society breaking down after a disease of white blindness is a horrific concept but it’s brilliantly captured by the author. It took me a little while to get used to his style of writing – the exclusion of any punctuation to denote dialogue was a bit unsettling at first – but after I fell into the rhythm of this sparse writing, the book was completely absorbing and thrilling to read. I watched the movie afterward and although it was “OK”, it certainly didn’t evoke the same tension and horror as the book.

A Special Relationship – Douglas Kennedy

Sally Goodchild is a thirty-nine year old American journalist who suddenly finds herself pregnant and in London, married to an English foreign correspondent, Tony. Sally’s adjustment problems are soon overshadowed by a troubled pregnancy. When she goes into premature labour, there are doubts whether her child will survive unscathed. She is then hit by an appalling post-natal depression and when she manages to extricate herself from this personal hell, she finds herself in a fresh new nightmare – as she discovers that everything can be taken down and used against you.

The single most amazing thing about this book is that it was written by a man. Seeing as the story is narrated by woman and involves the depiction of deep emotions connected to motherhood and post-natal depression, I found this fact absolutely astounding. And quite brilliant. I really thought this was going to be a real “chick book” but it took me by surprise and turned out to be an intense psychological thriller, loaded with shock factor. For me, this was a compulsive read – I absolutely *had* to know what was going to happen next. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.