BLINDNESS
Reading Saramago: like drinking water,
[T]he boy simply said that he wanted water, that he was very thirsty, You will have to wait till tomorrow, we have no water in the house, at this very moment she remembered that there was water, some five liters or more of precious water, the whole contents of the toilet cistern, it could not be worse than what they had been drinking during the quarantine. Blind in the darkness, she went to the bathroom, feeling her way along, she raised the lid of the cistern, she really could not see if there was water, there was, her fingers told her, she searched for a glass, plunged it in with great care and filled it, civilization had returned to the primitive sources of slime. When she entered the room everyone remained seated where they were. The lamp lit up their faces which turned towards her, it was as if she had said, I am back, as you can see, take advantage, remember this light won’t last for ever. The doctor’s wife brought the glass to the boy with the squint’s lips and said, Here is your water, drink slowly, slowly, and savour it, a glass of water is a marvelous thing, she was not talking to him she was not talking to any one, simply communicating to the world what a marvelous thing a glass of water is. Where did you get it, is it rain water, asked the husband, No, it’s from the cistern. Didn’t we have a large bottle of water when we left this place, he asked again, the wife said, Of course, why didn’t I think of it, a half-full bottle and another that had not even been started, what luck, don’t drink, don’t drink anymore, she said to the boy, we are all going to drink fresh water, I’ll put our best glasses on the table and we are going to drink fresh water. This time she took the lamp and went to the kitchen, she returned with the bottle, the light shone through it, it made the treasure inside sparkle. She put it on the table, went to fetch the glasses, the best they had, of finest crystal, then, slowly, as if she were performing a rite, she filled them. At last, she said, Let’s drink. The blind hands groped and found the glasses, they raised them trembling. Let’s drink, the doctor’s wife said again. In the middle of the table, the lamp was like a sun surrounded by shining stars. When they had put the glasses back on the table, the girl with the dark glasses and the old man with the eyepatch were crying. (277-8)
After reading for 276 pages, one gulps this down; it must be the format. Research question: what are Saramago’s plays like? I’ve never read one.
