Blindsight

by Michael Stewart

Patrick Ross, a research scientist at Cambridge University, is working on a process he hopes will help the blind to see and the paralyzed to walk. Guy Sullivan, a 29-year-old teacher, and his nine-year-old son, Jamie, are recovering from the painful death of their wife and mother, Sandy. Then, Guy discovers he is going blind. He breaks with his girlfriend, Lisa, partly out of fear and self-pity, and retires to the countryside. The boy is convinced his father's blindness is God's punishment for a terrible wrong and when Guy, with Lisa's connivance, agrees to undertake a dangerous experiment with Patrick, Jamie believes they are trying to cheat God. Patrick is sure he has made new connections in the brain, causing "blindsight," and in Guy's case, the possibility of precognition. Jamie, meanwhile, makes his father more and more dependent on him. All the characters, in their own ways, exhibit forms of blindness. When Guy is left alone with a son who is devoutly intent on seeing God's will done, whatever the consequences, Stewart turns up the tension and produces a satisfying surprise in the novel's closing pages.

Stewart (Monkey-Shines, Far Cry) has written a solid page-turner with strongly drawn characters and elegant prose.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Born in June, 1945.

Reviews

[Jack]

There are many topics worth discussing from this book. Murder vs assisted-suicide. Prisoners of our own conscious mind. Capability of a 12 year old blinded by religious beliefs. Human test subjects for science.

I've picked my poison and chosen option number two. Are we prisoners trapped within our conscious minds? Is it possible that due to the sensory overload of everyday life, we lack the ability to realise our full potential. Is there more for us to understand? We spend our time on this planet in 'the now', the everyday shite which we believe to be the height of all reasoning.

When was the last time you truly sat down, turned off the TV, put your phone out of arms reach and had a deep think about nothing, anything, everything. It's a part of us which we have lost touch with.

If we practice sensory deprivation like our protagonist Guy, what thoughts/ideas will we encounter? We may encounter our shadow and embrace the darkness and see our ego for what it is.

Not a bad story all in all but the thought-provoking ideas to follow are what made it a good read.

[Conrad]

Figured it out before the characters did which is not unusual. Suspense was what would finally tip them off as to what was going on. Still enjoyable.

[Lisa Reitmeyer]

I did not care for this book. Too technical & seemed to drag on. After I was half way through the book, it got interesting. Not a book I would recommend.

[Alexandra]

I was very disappoint by this book because it is so boring. I had read some of Cooks other books and liked those too. The ending is so unsurprising. I hope Michael Palmer's books are better than this. But I'm not saying I won't read any of Cook's book ever it's just not now because I like variety.

[chris zabel]

I'm torn on how I feel about this book. Part of the story was interesting, part was too much info, and another part was a tad unbelievable.

[Debbie Mcnally]

Not very believable