A NOVEL BLINDNESS

I have been reading a book by Peter Grainger called Eden Street and one of the characters in it is blind. I did not know this when I started to read the book. It is a detective story. Miriam is a blind woman in her thirties who runs a business as a florist. As a blind person she is very independent and able. She went blind as a result of meniningitis when she was eight. She has her own house which she lives in with her guide dog. As a child she was taught braille and in time she got a doctorate.

I found the book fascinating, with many references to darkness. Of course not all blind people see only darkness but I myself fall into that category and that final darkness only came upon me a few short weeks ago. The book treats blindness in a very sensitive way and is well researched. However it may lead people to think that it is the same for all who are blind. Personally I do not have a guide dog and nor do I know braille. I have not had the advantage of being taught anything by anyone. Yet so often I have found myself being compared unfavourably with those who have had these advantages. Whilst not wanting to take away from anybody the success that they have had, I would want to ask a question about how we measure success.

I did find this part of the book very moving but it roused all kinds of emotions within me. It raised many questions for me. Particularly with regards to the choices society makes, in that more support is provided to the young and progressively less so as people become older. In my own case it amounted to no support whatsoever. Having said that, I did enjoy this portrayal of blindness.