Category: book Nook
I've noticed an interesting thread on the tv and cinema board about films and sitcoms with blind characters in them. I thought I would open the same type of discussion here. Can anyone think of any books that realistically depict the lives of blind people? equally are there any books where you think the author is really off the mark with their portrayal of a blind character? currently there is only one book that springs to mind that features a blind protagonist-it is a book for young people called Spellhorn by Burlie doherty. I remember that it was a good book but can't remember much of the plot so I won't attempt to summarize! apologies if this topic has been done before, I havn't been on the zone long enough to know if it has or not!
"A Patch of Blue" is a book I enjoyed with a blind character. She's very stereotypical, but this may be because her family neglected her, and failed to teach her anything that blind people are able to do, with the exception of cleaning. So, it's hard to say whether or not this is the author's fault. she does come in contact with a man who pushes her to her full potential, so there's hope there.
Follow My Leader by James Garfield is a children's book about an eleven-year-old named Jimmy Carter who becomes blinded after an accident in which a firecracker burns his eyes. It was written back in 1957 but I was impressed by how well it was written. The author did a great job writing about Jimmy's struggle and eventual acceptance and triumph over his sight loss.
There is a book by Danielle Steel called Sisters that put me off this author for good. I was already getting sick of her, and this book did it for me. I don't think the author did a bit of research into what it is possible for blind people to do. The school where the young woman went after losing her site in an accident was also very unrealistic.
I have read a couple books where blind people were portrayed accurately in my opinion. Can't think of the titles right now, though. I guess the bad ones tend to stick in my mind longer.
R.L. Stine has several books with blind characters. My mind keeps telling me Stephen King has done this, too, but I'm not sure. lol, And I don't feel like checking!
There are 2 I can think of that I've read. One is a children's book called Seeing Summer where one of the young girls is blind, and the other is a book called Gift of Gold where one of the college students (who is studying to be a speech therapist) is blind. Both stories are pretty realistic and I like them. Another one, that actually has a deaf-blind person in it is called Of Such Small Differences, and that one was alright too.
O yeah. I forgot about a couple others. Light A Single Candle, by Beverly Butler has a blind character named Cathy. Her struggles seem realistic. I can't speak for the school experience, since I've never been to a school for the blind before, but then again, it was also written back in, I think it was 1962. There's also a book called "The Cay", (I can't remember the author off hand), about an eleven-year-old boy who goes bline after a shipwreck during WWII. The struggles also seem very realistic. I would definitely recommend checking it out.
lol about Danielle Steel, havn't red that particular book but I do remember that her characters always seemed very wooden-I'm guessing this character was no exception, maybe an especially passive female who is saved from her life of misery by a lukewarm prince charming! if the creative urge within me is ever strong enough I would very much like to create a worthy and vallid blind character! but then I guess part of the reason we might object to the way blind characters in the media or in literature are portrayed comes from an anxiety about how we are perceived by sighted people. blind people are still a minority and people are so influenced by the media it kind of stands to reason that we might resent reading something that could potentially reflect badly on to us. So far the only other book I've been able to come up with is a book called Innocent blood by P D James. The blind character does not occupy a very dominant role in the plot, the main thing I remember about her is that she is the girlfriend of an attempted murderer seeking revenge on his daughter's manslaughter. he asks a friend if he should tell the blind woman and the friend tells him not to because due to her blindness she would be more likely to be anxious that he will murder her. Not a very good plot summary but the books already listed do sound really interesting!
"Blind Man's Bluff" by Faye Kellerman really annoyed me. The blind character is a totally blind guy who wears sunglasses, and doesn't use a cane but some electronic device that indicates what kinds of obstacles are in the room. Passes himself off as sighted... really bugged me.
Kate
I've got to agree about Danielle Steel! I got tired of her books before Sisters came out, so I didn't get to read that one but from the description I read of the book, going blind was portrayed as the most tragic event that could possibly have occurred, and that irritated me to no end, but I guess for someone who is sighted, going blind would be very difficult. I was born blind and so can't in fairness fully grasp the magnitude of sight loss.
Another book that comes to mind (though I haven't yet read it) is Blindness by José Saramago. I heard it was quite controversial. I don't have enough information to do the plot summary any justice, sorry.
If you're interested in a nonfiction book with a blind character, I just got through reading a book by Edward Webster about the year in the late 1990's when he and his blind wife both took a leave of absence from their jobs and traveled through Europe. It was fascinating and entertaining. The full title is A Year of Sundays: Taking the Plunge (and Our Cat) to Explore Europe.
Another great nonfiction book about a blind character (or a visually impaired one, at least), is No Finish Line by the athlete Marla Runyan. She was a very determined and courageous woman with a lot of spunk. I admire her immensely and her book was very well-written. She even attempts to drive much to the reader's amusement!
It's definitely worth looking into for those interested in works of nonfiction about people who are visually impaired/blind.
The WWW series by Robert J. Sawyer is about a blind girl that gets her sight back with a high tech gizmo. While transferring data to and from the device over the internet, she also discovers that the web has a consciousness. The series is more about the web story but the blindness stuff is interesting. She uses JAWS and a cane and the blindness stuff seems well researched. It kind of bugged me that so much of the story is about trying to fix the kid. I realise the web story doesn't come out without the kid getting her sight back, but there's too much crap in there about how this family has spent the kid's entire childhood desperately searching for a cure as if being blind is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone. I also find it a bit unrealistic how quickly she adapts to having sight for the first time, but whatever. It's still fairly entertaining. I've only read the first book, "Wake" but I've downloaded the second one, "Watch" so I'll get to it eventually. I don't think the 3rd one is out yet but it shouldn't be long.
Well there is this book called 18 seconds by George D. Shuman. There's a blind woman in it who has a special ability to read dead people's last thoughts before they died, thus helping to solve a lot of mysteries as to how they died and geting insight into their lives in general. She travels wherever she is needed and holds the corpses hands for 18 seconds to get a glimps into their thoughts. I know this is a bit of fiction, but in general she is portrayed as a very independent and self-sufficient blind woman and people can't really tell she's blind on first sight. It is a very good mystery book and it has some sad and messed up parts. I believe there is a second book that goes with it but haven't really heard much about it.
West 47th, by Gerald A. Browne.
From Amazon (which has more detailed descriptions.):
Mitch Laughton is the man you need to know after a jewelry heist. And there's been a heist, a rather large one--$6 million in gems from an Iranian businessman who lives in New Jersey. Laughton, a former jeweler who now works full-time recovering stolen stones, begins to track the job and is led to mob boss Joe Riccio while trying to stay out of the sights of an assassin, Furio Visconti. Laughton also contends with, though in an entirely different way, his beautiful yet eccentric and blind wife, who's given to playing guitar in the nude. Laughton combs through the heart of the New York diamond district and its penthouse residents, hunting for jewels and clues as he unravels this complex and beguiling crime.
the only two I've read was something on helen keller you know the usual jun about her, which leaves out some very information that few knows and talks about.
and, I was going to research louis braille so I have read a little of that book but the volume bored me.
Since this thread has been brought to the top, I'll post.
The first book I ever read with a blind character was the Seeing summer. While I understand what the author was trying to do now, I didn't at the time. Her points are good, though her characters are very exaggerated. Carey, the sighted girl and her family, are the stereotypical overprotective sighted people. Jenny, the blind girl, is ultra independent, to the point of being a bitch about it. My experience in real life is that the author went to extremes in both directions, but I get what she was trying to portray. She was probably doing her best to portray a positive blind character in the midst of all the negative ones you see in books and other media.
Ocean, I completely forgot about the book, "The Cay." I've not read that in years and years, but I remember I liked it. I'll have to go check it out again. I'm glad I found this thread, if only for that reminder.
I think Steven King did have a blind character in a book called the Langaleers. OK, I'm totally screwing up that spelling. Anyway, I've not read it, but I've been told the blind woman is fairly stereotypical, extrasensory powers, all that shit.
Can't think of any more off the top of my head.
I recently finished four romance books in a series by Carly Phillips. All the books have the word Zone in the title. One of the main characters in all four books was an older man who was losing his vision due to macular degeneration. I imagine the portrayal of this man was fairly accurate as he tended to be rather stubborn and grouchy much of the time so handled his problem in much the way I would have expected him to. However, the over protectiveness of his family members really got on my nerves to the point where I even emailed the author. It was obvious she did research into the eye condition of macular degeneration but did no research into the types of assistance such a person could receive either in a rehab center or by having a rehab teacher work with him and his family in his home.
I have read those books. Not bad.
Oh, thought of two more. They're both by the same author, Lois lowry. The first is called Gathering Blue, the second is called Messenger. They're actually related. The blind character is a man named Christopher. his role in Gathering Blue is fairly small and at the end, but he's a main character in Messenger. He unfortunately, is the stereotypical blind character. Still likeable, but stereotypical all the same. In the third book, he is called, "Seer," by the people in his village, for of course having an inner sight that the others do not. He has extra powerful hearing, to the point of being able to tell exactly how many voices are singing in a large crowd of people. In Gathering Blue, he recognizes the main heroine of the book by touching her face, of course.
But as I say, they are good books, and in spite of the annoyingly stereotypical portrayal, Christopher/Seer is a good character.
For any interested, though it's slightly off topic, these two books are loosely tied to the book The Giver, also by lois Lowry.
the first book i ever read about a blind character was when i was very small maybe in first or seccond grade. it was called stevie's other eyes. i loved that book. it is probably out of print.
light a single candle gave an unfair portrayal of schools for the blind. maybe my experience was atypical but i thought it was pretty negative.
guide dog is a book about a blind guy in britain who loses his vision and gets a dog. it's very interesting and well written though kind of dated.
one none of you have mentioned and I can't believe it is home before dark by kristin hannah. i loved most of her books, but this one was way off the mark. in it there was a guide dog school in texas that had a rehab center associated with it. you ever heard of that place? other then that it was a pretty realistic book i thing and the girl got the guy at the end which is always positive.
Hmm, never heard of any of these books you've mentioned. If you're saying the one book portrayed Braille schools in a negative light, I'd say that's pretty spot on. I think you're the first blind person I've heard say they had a positive experience in a Braille school. Sorry that's a bit off topic. I'm a little curious about this Home Before Dark one. Never heard of it, or the author, but may have to look it up.
Sorry to bump a fairly old topic back up, but there are a couple of books I'd like to mention.
One is Black House, by Stephen King and Peter Straub. One of the supporting characters is totally blind, wears sunglasses and is...well, he's a bit odd. I wouldn't say he's typical for the media and all, but he's not a true blind person either because he doesn't use a cane and still manages to do things like find a door-handle on a parked truck without fumbling at all. It's never fully explained, but this story is part horror, part fantasy, so you can guess.
I have also read The Cay and The Seeing Summer...both in my youth, and I can say that they didn't really impress me even then. I can see what the author was doing in both cases, but I didn't really cotton to it.
There's also a blind character in a Dean Koontz book, a disc jockey in Odd Thomas. You don't see him much, but what you do see is fairly typical...he is really only there because the titular character in the novel needs him to read braille on a meditation card or some such. I'm sure Koontz has used a blind person somewhere else, but if so I'm not recalling exactly where.
Another one of at least some passing note is a woman named Brianna, I believe, in Thomas Harris's Red Dragon. She ends up dating the antagonist for awhile, and there's a particularly gory scene involving her which I can really sympathize with. Harris puts a touch too much emphasis on her great hearing, and she's a rather simple character on the whole, but Harris is one of those writers you either love or hate. My only gripe about her is how damned -easy she was. Heh.
Those are all the ones I can think of off the top of my head, though I'm sure I'll think of more.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder books have a character named Mary who goes blind because of feaver. She's not the main character but it talks about her going to a blind college in the late 1800's and learning Braille and how to play the organ and other classes.
Aww, Shepherd, you beat me to the Black House. The blind character in that is actually pretty awesome. He's a little unbeleivable for some of the reasons Shepherd mentioned, but he's got a pretty awesome personality. He works as three distinct DJs with three distinct personalities. The audio book makes him even better because Frank Muller does a great job bringing him to life.
Dean Koontz had nother blind character in the book Dragon Tears. She was an older woman who was perpetually hospitalized after giving birth to a boy with some pretty disturbing and outlandish psyonic abilities. She doesn't really have a whole lot of "blindness" about her.
Wow, where do I start? lol
Light a Single Candle was the first book I ever read featuring a blind character. My mom read it to me shortly before I left to attend the School for the Blind in Texas during 5th grade to learn braille. I think the negative portraioal of the school probably has more to do with the time period rather than the school for the blind itself. I mean really, yall, let's face it. The early 20th century was not the greatest in relation to rehab centers or Schools for the Blind.
I did enjoy the WWW series and thought it was very well researched. I thought the main character was very likable.
This sounds silly but I'm such a big Stephen King fan that I always thought it would be cool to be featured as a character in his books but then I realize that I would have to endure all the wierd stereotypical and superhuman powers he would have to give me to make my life more interesting than it is. lol
As for the Danielle Steel book, Sisters, I couldn't agree more with those who've already posted about it. Blech!
I read the book, Blindness, simply to see what all the contraversy was about. Of course blindness was not accurately represented and surely people would realize that. I think the book was more about human depravity than the blindness itself, but I could be overestimating my fellow humans. Perhaps if the world were struck blind they would sink to that level. Who knows.
Catherine anderson wrote the kendrick coulter series and in one of the books a lady was blind. she had surgery. to celebrate she went to a bar and got pregnant by a guy. then later she went blind again. it was ok but the way the guy like fenced everything in the ranch in and she did not use a cane bothered me.
*facepalm* I can't believe this. I forgot one rather well-known book that was made into a movie. Any of you ever heard of Day of the Tryphids?
It's a great deal like Blindness, from what I wager. A meteor shower or something makes people all over the world go blind, and at different points all over the world, mobile, predatory plants which can sting, called Tryphids, which have been studied but mostly kept under lock and key, start getting out and causing mayhem. The story is much more about the struggle with the Tryphids than it is about blindness, but many characters (the grand majority of the world's population) went blind, and while I won't say that blindness itself was well-represented, I think people were. There is mass lawlessness in cities, hysteria, all sorts of things. It's written by John Wyndham, who also wrote The Chrysallids, if that matters to any of you. Maybe take it for a spin. It won't be the best book you ever read, but it's...honestly not bad.
well sorry to bring this topic back up but i have a few books with characters whom are blind. The book series "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clments is a pretty good representation, the blind character uses a cane and adaptive technology to the best of my memory another not so realistic book is "Truesight" by David Stahler Jr. not very realistic seeing that the book is about a planet where everyone is blind but still a good read, and the most nonrealistic is the "Maximum Ride" series by James Patterson the blind character in this book does not use a cane, can feel colors yeah right wish i could though lol and has wings I am pretty sure the author did not do research into blindness but i really do not know
This is a cool topic, I think I'll look into getting some of these books. I had completely forgotten that the character in The Cay was blind. I had to read that book for school in fourth grade I think, and I liked it. I wonder if anyone remembers the name of a book with a blind character, I think she was about 12 years old and it detailed her experience in a public school. She used a cane, and the kids were sometimes mean to her and tripped her and stuff. I think the character's name was Laura. I think the main plot of the story was the family's dog needing expensive medical procedures, and she was trying to raise money so that they didn't have to put it to sleep, but I can't swear to that. I read it years ago, and would love to try and get my hands on it again.
I, too, had forgotten that the main character in The Cay was blind. I think I read it in third grade and, if I remember correctly, it didn't make much of an impression on me. I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, so I'm sure I'll end up reading Black House at some point despite the misrepresentation of the blind character mentioned here. I'm also a big fan of James Patterson, and it saddens me that he didn't do research before writing the book someone mentioned above. He has written a lot of other books I haven't read yet, so I'll just be sure to stay away from that one.
Tom Sullivan is a blind singer and actor who has ritten of his experiences growing up. I don't know if he has written any fiction, though.
Ah yes, Dragon Tears. Granted the blind caracter doesn't serve mchh more than to advance te story.
This is a good topic. i'm looking for blind characters in books/movies too.
Did anyone ever see Wild Hearts can't be broken? That was a movie about a girl that lost her sight in a horse accident? she was doing a trick and um yeah somehow she landed wrong ror something and she lost her sight?
books that i have found with blind characters is one called Candle in the Window that book had a blind woman (in medieval times) and she goes to this other castle cause the lord was blinded in a battle or something. im not sure how accurate the story was cause i don't know how people with blindness would live back then.
Another book is called The Lady and the Unicorn. i really liked how the writer portrayed the blind woman in that one.
The last one i cant remember the title. i just remember it was about a FBI agent or a cop or something that goes blind and a girl he used to go to school with ends up being his mobility instructor and they fall in love? I just remember the mobility instructors name was Martha.
ok that is all i have found so far.
great topic
As for the Wild Hearts movie, she forgot to close her eyes when se dove into the water and that's what caused her retinas to detach.
Becky, thanks for bringing up Tom Sullivan.
I met him about twenty years ago, and we spent about an hour exchanging blind stories. Very funny guy.
Another blind character is a blind lady in an Agatha Christie novel called "The Clocks". The blind lady is a super blink who hears things noone else can hear, and has mobility skills that would drive a mobility instructor crazy.
Bob
one of the fay kellerman books has a blind guy in it. he's some kind of linguist. it was a great book but i don't remember anything else about it.
From the library:
TheFaultTree
Ure, Louise. Read by Mare Trevathan. Reading time 8 hours 27 minutes.
Mystery and Detective
By the vehicle's unique sound, blind Tucson auto mechanic Cadence Moran can identify the getaway car used after a neighbor's murder. When the killers come for her too, Cadence tries to convince the police she's a reliable witness. Violence and strong language. 2007.
Light a single Candle, Mentioned above, also has a sequal, and the author has written more books about blind people as well. Katherine Anderson also has a book with a blind character.
Susan Vreeland, What Love Sees. (Why do they *have* to title books in this fashion? GRR!) Fairly decent story set in the 30s, I believe, about a blind couple.
has anybody mentioned Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straughb? I think that's how you spell his last name.
Anyway, there's a blind character who is a DJ, and helps to solve a mystery of a murderer of children in a small town. This novel is the followup to the Talisman by the same authors.
the character is a cat not a human, but in the warriors books by erin hunter, in the 3rd set as well as the 4th, one of the main characters Jayfeather is blind. though he can see in dreams.
Allison Sinclair has a series in which two books are currently out that has a whole race of blind characters. They are the "dark born," (also the title of the first book), and this being a fantasy series, they use bat/dolphin-like sonar to get around, look at things, etc. They're actually pretty good.
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to say that it seems that we have some really good readers over here, and very knowledgeable ones too.
As concerns sisters, I really liked that book, as I tried to view it from the standpoint of a person who is sighted, and I think that it's pretty realistic from that view, but then I'm very much a Danielle Steel fan, so that may be the reason for my biases.
Also, I also read a patch of blue, and really enjoyed that book immense.y. I'd really like to see the movie to see how well it was done.
Bill K.
I believe Shadow Season by Tom Piccerilli (forgive the spelling) has a blind character in it.
How about the Charles Todd series featuring Ian Rutledge? I think he's a WWI veteran who went blind.
I read the Louise Ure book and thought it was OK, but the mobility aids she used/didn't use were kinda dumb. Will ahve t re-read it.
Jacqueline Wilson has written children's books about blindness. Take A Good Look is about an overprotected blind 10 year old, who isn't allowed to leave her bed independently! So one day, she plucks up the courage to walk down the road and go to the sweetshop by herself. And then she gets kidnapped... It's a really awful book, and one I wouldn't recommend.
Non-fiction wise, there's the Emma series, about a woman who gets a guide dog and then gets her sight back. Also To Catch An Angel is about a blind man in the States who becomes a teacher. I'm afraid I've forgotten the author of most of these books. Can I Give Him My Eyes is about a little boy who was blinded in the shootings in Ireland. And lastly, two books by my heroin, Nicole Dryburgh. She had a rare form of cancer which left her blind and in a wheelchair at the age of 13. The Way I See It and the sequel Talk To The Hand (in which she becomes deafblind) are wonderful books about her inspirational fundraising. I was sad to hear of her death in 2010; she was just 23.
I forgot Raymond Carver's short story The Cathedral, which examines a sighted person's apprehensions at meeting a blind man for the first time.
How was the book Take a Look Around awful? Was it poorly written, or are you saying the story was awful? If the latter, I'd say that's a matter of opinion, and I would probably check it out.
Take A Good Look? Feel free to check it out; I personally can't abide it.
lol! take a good look takes me back a few years! that really is pulled from the vault of my memory .. I must have read this book when I was about 10 years old so I was target audience at least. Actually I thought it was all rite! I mean at 10 years old your own fantasies don't tend to be that developed anyway! I think I liked it because she was at least yearning for her own independence which is something we all must do at whatever age we are. As far as I remember it she gets kidknapped by a gang, when they realize she is blind they relax and go easier on her. Anyway the girl has some residual vission and takes as much as she can in and when she is freed she tells the police and gets him caught. Also another children's book with a blind character is the witch's daughter by Nina Bawden. I think she was a fairly minor character but I do remember her being a fairly normal girl who would rock climb and go on long walks ..its a really nice book actually! a lot of emotional depth for a children's book!
At the last post, thank you for the explanation. Now I have something concrete to go on.
From Charlie's Point Of View, is book where the main character is portrayed very realistically, though he doesn't seem to use his cane, and preffers sighted guide, which I find a little irritating, since it makes him look less independent than he is.
There's also a blind character in Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. But like Jenifer Drackman from Dragon Tears he's just there to advance the plot. As I recall he's a D who helps Odd decipher some braille on a card that Odd found on I believe a dead body.
There's a paranormal romance book where there's a blind man. He's the king, but he hasn't always been blind. Once he goes blind you can see him start to use his seeing eye dog named george, and he has a braille watch and everything. It's really intresting. It's the BDB series by J. R Ward.
I just read a book called The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle. There was a blind girl named Emily in it. I believe she was a teenager, though it did not give her exact age. True to stereotype, she was an outstandingly good piano player. I also noticed she did not at all use a cane or guide dog, or any mobility aid for that matter. All she used was sighted guide. I have to cut L'Engle some slack, as the book was written in the 1960's, when blindness was viewed even less well than it is today, though that doesn't say much. For its time, Emily was portrayed as more independent than a lot of blind characters may have been. At least she had some personality.
I've gotte the you must be good at music comment. And while in my case people are in fact right, the implication of course is that all blind folks must be musically talented. I've known just as many blind folks as sighted who couldn't carry a tune to save their life.
Yay, someone finally mentioned The Young Unicorns! I'm a huge LEngle fan and this is one of my favorite books by her, for the setting and mystery as well as Emily. I believe she was a pretty good musician before she lost her site, though that aspect of her life is very exaggerated. I agree that for its time the portrayal isn't bad, only wish more was written about her in the other books set in that segment of the L'Engle-verse.
A previous poster mentioned a book about a blind girl in middle school trying to raise money to help her dog. That would be A Girl's Best Friend and it's pretty awesome. Another book along similar lines is Belonging by Deborah Kent. The author's blind, so the protagonist is portrayed very positively and realistically. Makes me glad I didn't have to go to school in the 70's. I love the Darkborn books by Alison Sinclair, all three are on BARD now and the world-building is fascenating. And while we're on the subject of fantasy, Tanya Huff has a blind bard in Sing the Four Quarters and the other books in that series. Not a perfect portrayal, but he's so damn charming I'm willing to cut her some slack. Finally, on the nonfiction side, don't forget Touch the Top of the World by Erik Weihenmayer. He lost his sight as a teenager and has gone on to do some pretty amazing stuff, including scaling Mount Everest in 2001. Funny and inspirational read.
Thank you for reminding me of the title of A Girl's Best Friend. That was bothering me for the longest time. As for the Young Unicorns, maybe one reason why that aspect of the blind girl being a good musician was so exaggerated was because of the time period it was written in. I mean, think about it, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder were in their prime, so it kind of makes sense, even if it is inaccurate. And I've known plenty of blind people with no musical talent too, lol.
Exactly. At least L'Engle gave her some sort of skill, and mention was made several times of her struggles to learn Braille and adapt to her recent sight loss. And you're quite welcome. Haven't read A Girl's Best Friend in forever, should really pick it up again. Don't think I finished it last time.
I know Web Braille has it. I think I'm going to redownload and read it again.
Someone has already listedThe Fault Tree by Louise Ure, but I just recently finished it and wanted to mention it again. I'm not sure why, but in books and movies, blind people are either portrayed as super blind people who don't even seem to notice they're blind or as complete bumbling idiots who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag or comb their own hair. I'd like to see a book portray just an average blind person who is good at some things and fairly well adapted but not perfect. The Fault Tree, while a good mystery with lots of suspense, is one of those portraying a woman who lost her sight in an accident as one of those super blind people.
Krisme and ShatteredSanity, I do cut L'Engle some slack for the portrayal of Emily because of the time in which the book was written. I know that's why you never saw Emily using a cane or even dog. I had to give the author credit for making Emily a well-rounded character with intelligence, and stubbornness as well as her other traits. I did find it interesting that she was doing all her work on a slate and stylus, when I know that Perkins Braillers were in use already. That was kind of curious. Probably just a lack of research on l'Engle's part. But as blind characters go, I've seen way worse.
I remember a book with this family living in a place called Maggie Valley, and they have a blind little sister...I don't remember any of the plot or the title though...I just remember her being a sweet little kid, and her sister trying to tell her about colors.
There's a book called Wish You Were Here by Christie Ridgway. I downloaded it from BARD. It's about an astronaut who was temporarily blinded in a motorcycle accident, and his friend takes him to an island resort to recover away from the media because he is so famous and doesn't want the public to know about his blindness. Both he and his friend fall in love with women who live on the island, so it is a romance. It had some humorous spots and was an okay book, but I wasn't crazy about it. And I didn't like the way the astronaut did some things. Supposedly he had some rehab, but he didn't use a cane, and every time he walked with another person, they would walk arm in arm rather than the normal sighted guide technique. Walking arm and arm with someone can be quite awkward, especially going through doorways or walking along narrow passages or stairways, and I thought the author could have done a little more research into ways sighted people could help the blind.
Girl, Stolen
Henry, April. Read by Kate Kiley. Reading time 4 hours 45 minutes.
Young Adult
Griffin steals a Cadillac Escalade SUV only to discover sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder huddled in the backseat. While Griffin tries to figure out what do to with her, Cheyenne attempts to escape, using her blindness to her advantage. Some strong language. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2010.
Sounds interesting. You took that from Braille Book Review, I assume? I'll see if I can find it on Web Braille.
An audio drama which I've been listening to contains the Bumbling type of blind character who only uses Sided Guide. I have to cut her some slack, since she had cortical blindness and was only blind for about three months, but I honestly think she could have adapted better and not have whined so much. The drama is called We're Alive, and is fantastic. It's available on Itunes and is highly recomended.
Here's one that was added to BARD today, October 19:
If You Hear Her
Walker, Shiloh. Read by Mary C. Smith. Reading time 11 hours 16 minutes.
Romance
Lena Riddle may be blind, but she knows she hears women screaming for help in the woods behind her home. The only person who believes her is ex-cop Ezra King. Then the bodies start appearing. Violence, explicit descriptions of sex, and some strong language. 2011.
I haven't read it so can't review it, but I did download it.
I saw that one this morning and thought about downloading it. I'll be anxious to hear if it's any good.
Brief Description:
Jackson, Joshilyn.
Between, Georgia [sound recording] / Joshilyn Jackson.
Washington, D.C. : National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 2007. (American Foundation for the Blind, recording studio).
9 hours, 11 minutes
Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson.
Annotation:
Sign-language interpreter Nonny was born to a teenaged Crabtree girl but raised by a deaf/blind Frett woman in a small Georgia town. A family feud brings Nonny home, where she makes peace with her family and changes her lifestyle. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2006.
I enjoyed this book (the author is good). She does a nice job of describing the deaf/blind mother's world.
I don't know if this one was mentioned here, but I'm thinking about reading it. It sounds interesting.
The Heart of Applebutter Hill
by Donna W. Hill
School's out for legally blind, 14-year-old songwriter Abigail and her best friend, photographer-mechanic Baggy. Join these refugees and Abby's guide dog Curly Connor, as they fly in the Cloud Scooper, sneak around Bar Gundoom Castle and row across an underground lake. After overhearing plots to steal the powerful Heartstone of Arden-Goth from their new school, they work to unmask the spy and stop the bullying of their troubled friend Christopher. An armed stranger and several classmates have other plans.
It's available on Bookshare, not sure about Bard, as I don't care for audio books much.
GT, FYI, BARD has Braille books, not just audio books.
I've read a few books not mentioned here with blind characters.
I'm not sure if you remember/will have heard of The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend from the 80s, but in the more recent books, Adrian Mole's best friend Nigel goes blind. He's portrayed as one of those very difficult blind people who is very insulted if he's offered help but complains if he isn't. There's also quite an entertaining part in one of the books where he's complaining about his guide dog not coming when called but it transpires the dog had expired.
There's also a blind girl in Joanne Harris's Blued Boy, and one in Ian Rankin's Resurrection Men (part of a police series set in Scotland). The latter is imbued with Thomas Hardy-style optimism, the blind woman is raped and later commits suicide because she knows she can't identify the perpetrator but can't stand the thought of him being out there.
Oh, totally forgot about the character in Adrian Mole! As less than flattering as the portrayal of Nigel was, I also got a lot of enjoyment out of it. It must feel very much like that to people who can see-damned if you do and damned if you don't!
I don't remember the blind character in the Ian Rankin novel.
Yours until dawn DB 59080
Medeiros, Teresa. Reading time: 8 hours, 43 minutes.
Read by Corrie James.
Historical Fiction
Disability
Romance
1806. Gabriel Fairchild, earl of Sheffield, blinded at Trafalgar and abandoned by his fianceìe, now lives bitterly in seclusion. Nurse Samantha Wickersham, although hiding her shadowy past, helps him regain his confidence, independence, and ability to love. Some explicit descriptions of sex. 2004.
Download Yours until dawn
Cheesy
Homer & Langley: a novel DB 69642
Doctorow, E. L. Reading time: 7 hours, 10 minutes.
Read by Guy Williams.
Historical Fiction
Bestsellers
Homer Collyer, the blind brother, and his older brother Langley, a WWI mustard-gas victim, become recluses in their Fifth Avenue brownstone, hoarding newspapers and collecting odd things--a model T Ford, typewriters, and surplus Army supplies--until they become imprisoned by their vast accumulations. Bestseller. 2009.
Not bookmarked and I never got very far as I kept falling asleep and got tired of trying to find my place...
NLS Digital Talking Books
Book Number:
DB 59915 (May be available only for download)
Brief Description:
Solomon, Annie.
Blind curve [sound recording] / Annie Solomon.
Washington, D.C. : National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 2005. (Potomac Talking Book Services, recording studio).
9 hours, 29 minutes
Narrated by: Michele Schaeffer.
Annotation:
Detective Danny Sinofsky loses his sight in an undercover operation. Martha Crowe, who worshipped Danny in high school, becomes his mobility instructor. When Danny and Martha are sent to a safe house for protection, they fall in love. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2005.
Notes:
Digital talking book. 1 level and 24 navigation points.
There's also the Stephen King character who pretended to be a blinded Vietnam vet in order to beg on the streets of New York. This was in one of the short stories/chapters of Hearts in Atlantis, I think called "Blind Willie".
Jean Little's From Anna features a heroine who is visually impaired.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Anna
Vh, and all, I could not get through Homer and Langley, either, partly because there is another book based on these brothers, much more skilfully written and memorable; it's one of my favorite books! Marcia Davenports' My Brother's Keeper. It's on Bookshare. I'm not sure if the NLS has converted their audio book for BARD yet.
One of the brothers in the story, who is my favorite character, is blind. The story's setting is late 1800s, early 1900s, so don't expect the guy to be independent, much. He loses his sight as an adult, and I imagine the portrayal is fairly realistic, for the time period. The book itself is from the 1950s. Aside from this aspect of the story, it's just an excellent book.
I just finished a mystery with a blind character. It's a cozy mystery, meaning suspense with very little actual violence being described. The book is called To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark. The main character, Piper Donovan, is an out of work actresss who moves back in with her parents for financial reasons. She starts to notice that something is wrong with her mother. She gradually realizes that her mother is losing her vision and trying to hide it from her. I liked the way the author handled this secondary storyline and felt she made the character of Piper's mother very realistic.
I recently discovered that one of my favorite movies is actually a screen adaptation of a book I haven't read yet entitled A Matter of Conviction by Evan Hunter.
The name of the movie is the Young Savages, which sadly isn't available on Blind Mice Mart. Luckily I watched it when I was sighted, though.
It's a story about juvenile crime, more psychological than anything else...the movie is an entertaining courtroom drama that details the brutal murder of a blind kid by a local gang. I believe it's partly based on a true story.
I will read the book as soon as I get a copy.
A new book came out about a month ago called "Where I found You" by Amanda Brooke. I bought it off ITunes because it's not available in Canada on Audible. I plan on it being my next read. Here's the synopsis.
Maggie Carter knows Victoria Park like the back of her hand. She knows which routes around the park are easiest to navigate; she knows what time of year
the most beautiful flowers bloom; and she knows which bench by the pond allows you to hear the joyful chatter of children throwing bread to the ducks without
risking getting splashed by over-enthusiastic flapping. But she's never seen any of these things. Maggie is blind: Her senses of touch, smell and hearing
have built an image of the place she loves most in the world, and she's never felt held back by her unseeing eyes. And yet, newly married and expecting
her first baby, Maggie has suddenly started to doubt her ability to cope.
Elsie is also expecting her first child, but unmarried, alone and without the support of her family, she's terrified her baby will be taken away. When
Maggie meets Elsie one day in the park she tries to comfort this distressed young woman - but all is not as it seems. Because Elsie lost her baby sixty
years earlier, and now, suffering from the first stages of Alzheimer's, she can't stop re-living the most traumatic event in her life.
Determined to bring Elsie back to the present, Maggie sets out to find out what happened all those years ago and bring peace to Elsie memories…before it's
too late.
That book sounds so good! I'm interested in reading it too. Thanks for sharing.
One that I really enjoyed was "Eagle in the Sky," but for the life of me I can't remember who it was written by. It is rather long, and I read it awhile ago, so I don't remember all the details, but I know the main character is a pilot who gets in a terrible accident which really disfigures him. Prior to this, his girlfriend was in an accident that blinded her, and caused her to break things off with him because she was afraid he wouldn't love her anymore. But after his accident, he found her, and they got back together and got married. And it's all about their lives together. There's some more plot twists, but without giving too much away, that's the idea.
Also Robert Bloch's The Will to Kill. It's part of his earlier stuff and not as great as Psycho but I still found it entertaining those many years ago when I first read it.
It's a bit of a mystery and detective story involving a retired cop who suffers fugues, as well as a serial killer, but saying more than that would give too much away.
I am about 1/3 through "Where I found you" by Amanda Brooke. I really like the Maggie character. She is vulnerable without being whiny, but not a "super blind person." She lets people have more interaction with her guide dog than I would, but this author seemed to do her stuff.
Kate
Sounds like a really interesting book, Kate. Thanks for sharing! I'll try to find it and read it.
I just remembered another.
Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman has a minor character who is blind. The novel, if I'm not mistaken, is about a serial killer who targets disabled people.
I just finished reading "Where I found You" by Amanda Brooke, and I enjoyed it. Total chick book, but it treated Maggie with dignity and respect. Sure, she does have some blind stereotypes (she's a massage/aroma-therapist), and as I said she lets people have more interaction with her guide dog than I would like. I even found the male characters in the book to be three-dimmensional - a rarety for chick lit.
It's an emotional rollercoaster ride and well worth the read.
Kate
She is not invisible DB79575
Sedgwick, Marcus. Reading time: 4 hours, 55 minutes.
Read by Abigail Maupin.
Disability
Mystery and Detective Stories
Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old Londoner Laureth Peak's father goes missing while researching his next book. Even though she happens to be blind, she drags her younger brother Benjamin to New York to find their dad and follows the clues. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2013.
I have to say that the vast, vast majority of stories/books I've read where there have been blind characters in them, I've been immensely annoyed with. Either they're superblinks or blindness plays such a central role in their lives that it's the only thing about them. One day if my creativity ever leads me in that direction, I'd love to do something kinda radical (at least, I suspect, where sighted people are concerned). Have a blind character who is just average, has average problems, or at least as average as the sighted, so that the only thing that differentiates him/her from his family and friends is that he/she is blind. The character is not dealing with blindness all the damned time, although there have to be times when they have to deal with other people's stuff about blindness. But otherwise they're not trying to save the world, prove to others how superior they are, constantly fighting battles about blindness. They're just themselves. And (gasp!) they're actually allowed to have the same flaws as everyone else. They deal with debt, illness, family problems, possibly drug/alcohol use, hair loss, divorce, all the same hosts of problems everyone else, blind or sighted, has to deal with. I'm a tough sell. Can anyone point me to a book or story like that?
Thank you, john!
I ahve read a couple of books recently that highlight both what you are looking for and what annoys you about blind characters in books.
Even though this is a chick book, I enjoyed the portrayal of Camille in "Windfallen" by Jojo Moyes. Camille is a blind character who wrestles with her own demons, as well as even her mother's perception of her capabilities as a woman and a parent... her blindness just happened to be an added dimmension.
I also recently read "Blind" by Rachel Dewoskin, and whil I could empathize with Emma going blind at such an age, I expected a more well-rounded character 0 hell, she takes her pet dog to school with her! She theoretically has received training from a rehabilitation centre, but cannot master basic tasks in her home and school. I only got about 2hrs through it before I gave up; I was disappointed because the author, in theory, worked at a center for the blind for several years...
Perhaps it was the author's work at a blindness center that contributed to the annoying traits of the character. I find that sometimes it's supposed professionals in the blindness field who actually have the most screwed up views about it.