Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Fiction with blind narrator that's NOT about blindness? (self.Blind)
submitted by saizai
Is there any good fiction that's
1. from the exclusive point of view of a blind narrator with contemporary sensory skills, and
2. about any normal fiction subject, not blindness?
Murder mystery, vampires, sci-fi, period drama, rom-com, whatever.
So long as it's not fixating on the blindness, while writing through a blind primary character's sensory perspective.
ETA: The author need not be blind, but the point of view must be.
Watson and Sherlock are a doctor and high-functioning autistic respectively. The books significantly feature but do not revolve around those facts — they're primarily detective mysteries. Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician, but not a detective or autistic.
I want that, but for blindness, and as the narrative point of view, because it completely changes the sensory manner. (The narrator could also be the main character, but that isn't obligatory. Lots of stories have a non-character narrator.)
1. from the exclusive point of view of a blind narrator with contemporary sensory skills, and
2. about any normal fiction subject, not blindness?
Murder mystery, vampires, sci-fi, period drama, rom-com, whatever.
So long as it's not fixating on the blindness, while writing through a blind primary character's sensory perspective.
ETA: The author need not be blind, but the point of view must be.
Watson and Sherlock are a doctor and high-functioning autistic respectively. The books significantly feature but do not revolve around those facts — they're primarily detective mysteries. Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician, but not a detective or autistic.
I want that, but for blindness, and as the narrative point of view, because it completely changes the sensory manner. (The narrator could also be the main character, but that isn't obligatory. Lots of stories have a non-character narrator.)
One_Antelope8004 7 points 2y ago
blind..but not blind focused...
only one comes to mind is daredevil... with the focus on being a superhero but with that key component of no sight...
​
1st edit or do you mean a blind author!!?
2nd edit ohh.... got it. a book that comes with proper Alt text damn that is a hard one for me.
I'll pay attention in the sci-fi and fantasy areas for something like that.
let me know if you find one.. im down to check it out. smells tasty.
only one comes to mind is daredevil... with the focus on being a superhero but with that key component of no sight...
​
1st edit or do you mean a blind author!!?
2nd edit ohh.... got it. a book that comes with proper Alt text damn that is a hard one for me.
I'll pay attention in the sci-fi and fantasy areas for something like that.
let me know if you find one.. im down to check it out. smells tasty.
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
The author need not be blind, but the point of view must be.
Watson and Sherlock are a doctor and high-functioning autistic respectively. The books significantly feature but do not revolve around those facts — they're primarily detective mysteries. Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician, but not a detective or autistic.
I want that, but for blindness, and as the narrative point of view, because it completely changes the sensory manner. (The narrator could also be the main character, but that isn't obligatory. Lots of stories have a non-character narrator.)
Watson and Sherlock are a doctor and high-functioning autistic respectively. The books significantly feature but do not revolve around those facts — they're primarily detective mysteries. Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician, but not a detective or autistic.
I want that, but for blindness, and as the narrative point of view, because it completely changes the sensory manner. (The narrator could also be the main character, but that isn't obligatory. Lots of stories have a non-character narrator.)
JennyReason 3 points 2y ago
I enjoyed the YA novel She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick. I am sighted so I’m not exactly an authority on its portrayal of blindness, but some basic Google searching suggests that he did his research and the book was fairly well-received. https://www.bustle.com/articles/22649-printz-award-winning-marcus-sedgwick-talks-coincidences-easter-eggs-and-writing-about-writing
saizai [OP] 3 points 2y ago
~~To what extent is it about being blind per se, vs about … inferring from the reviews, I guess a mystery or family drama of some sort?~~
ETA: Two chapters in (yay BARD — DB 79575), I can confirm that
1. the narrator & primary character is a blind teen girl who's competent (e.g. fluent with VoiceOver, realistic abilities and limitations)
2. the plot is not about blindness; it's so far to do with finding the narrator's missing father, and
3. in IMO a positive sign, the first tell of the narrator's blindness was a natural inline mention of VoiceOver speed.
So, u/JennyReason, your recommendation is exactly within what I requested. Thank you!
ETA 2: I've now finished the book.
The primary character, despite having only light perception, has zero cane usage, relies on her kid brother to navigate, and tries to pass as sighted. Boo.
Also, her description of NYC at 4:19:00 (to another character) — 100% sound based — is an extremely sightie reductive stereotype. Especially in NYC! Sound is a major thing, yes, but it's not even the majority IMO. Smell, wind, air pressure, vibration, pavement texture, heat patterns, humidity, etc etc… stuff sighties never think about but make up a huge amount of the sensory experience.
That said, I think that the book is reasonably accurate of the type of experience it portrays (though omfg, get this girl a cane!); it's solidly in the unapologetic "yeah I'm blind so what" camp (good); the vast majority of it is not about blindness, but rather about the philosophy of synchronicity / coincidence and a trek to find her novelist father, with some light elements of magical realism.
For the most part, the author seems to not use as much sensory language as would be typical of a novel of this type. What they do use is reasonable enough, and they include good snapshot details like how one handles paper, but it seems… missing a huge amount of detail that the narrator surely would have noticed, and whose visual analogues would have been written out, but the author doesn't know about them so they're just omitted. It feels oddly disembodied as a result.
So I'd say that overall it feels like a pretty good job by a sighted person who's done their homework on specific details on a case by case basis but has not, fundamentally, been able to put themselves in the sensory place of a blind person overall — and has crippled the main character by depriving her of a cane, without explanation.
ETA: Two chapters in (yay BARD — DB 79575), I can confirm that
1. the narrator & primary character is a blind teen girl who's competent (e.g. fluent with VoiceOver, realistic abilities and limitations)
2. the plot is not about blindness; it's so far to do with finding the narrator's missing father, and
3. in IMO a positive sign, the first tell of the narrator's blindness was a natural inline mention of VoiceOver speed.
So, u/JennyReason, your recommendation is exactly within what I requested. Thank you!
ETA 2: I've now finished the book.
The primary character, despite having only light perception, has zero cane usage, relies on her kid brother to navigate, and tries to pass as sighted. Boo.
Also, her description of NYC at 4:19:00 (to another character) — 100% sound based — is an extremely sightie reductive stereotype. Especially in NYC! Sound is a major thing, yes, but it's not even the majority IMO. Smell, wind, air pressure, vibration, pavement texture, heat patterns, humidity, etc etc… stuff sighties never think about but make up a huge amount of the sensory experience.
That said, I think that the book is reasonably accurate of the type of experience it portrays (though omfg, get this girl a cane!); it's solidly in the unapologetic "yeah I'm blind so what" camp (good); the vast majority of it is not about blindness, but rather about the philosophy of synchronicity / coincidence and a trek to find her novelist father, with some light elements of magical realism.
For the most part, the author seems to not use as much sensory language as would be typical of a novel of this type. What they do use is reasonable enough, and they include good snapshot details like how one handles paper, but it seems… missing a huge amount of detail that the narrator surely would have noticed, and whose visual analogues would have been written out, but the author doesn't know about them so they're just omitted. It feels oddly disembodied as a result.
So I'd say that overall it feels like a pretty good job by a sighted person who's done their homework on specific details on a case by case basis but has not, fundamentally, been able to put themselves in the sensory place of a blind person overall — and has crippled the main character by depriving her of a cane, without explanation.
JennyReason 1 points 2y ago
Thanks for bothering to write this. It was really gratifying to get your take on the book. When I was thinking about suggesting it I looked for reviews from people who are actually blind, and didn’t have much success. Nothing better for checking your own perceptions than getting someone who actually experiences something to look at the same thing and give you their thoughts on it.
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
You're welcome.
I'm now listening to All The Light We Cannot See, as recommended in this comment: https://reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/m7cj4o/fiction_with_blind_narrator_thats_not_about/grc3hbb
I'll respond there with a review when I'm done. I'm about 5 hours in out of 16.
So far, however, I can say that it's set before World War 2. The two primary characters are a blind French girl and an orphan German boy. The girl uses a cane.
Her scenes are narrated very credibly and far, far more vividly than in She Is Not Alone. The sensory detail here is exactly the thing that I pointed out as starkly missing in She Is Not Alone — the texture of pavement and trees, taste of breeze, smell of perfumes, feeling of weather, counting of manhole covers, etc. Spot on. As is the kind of visual description relayed by her father, and the kind of *denial* of analogy of a scale model that she describes.
I've no idea what research the author did, but to me at least it's very immersive, with nothing amiss yet. And the story itself is excellent.
Mind that this is of course pre-technological. But frankly I think that is rather better for portraying the embodied sensory life. An iPhone can help you navigate, but it isn't how you feel where or what things are.
I'm now listening to All The Light We Cannot See, as recommended in this comment: https://reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/m7cj4o/fiction_with_blind_narrator_thats_not_about/grc3hbb
I'll respond there with a review when I'm done. I'm about 5 hours in out of 16.
So far, however, I can say that it's set before World War 2. The two primary characters are a blind French girl and an orphan German boy. The girl uses a cane.
Her scenes are narrated very credibly and far, far more vividly than in She Is Not Alone. The sensory detail here is exactly the thing that I pointed out as starkly missing in She Is Not Alone — the texture of pavement and trees, taste of breeze, smell of perfumes, feeling of weather, counting of manhole covers, etc. Spot on. As is the kind of visual description relayed by her father, and the kind of *denial* of analogy of a scale model that she describes.
I've no idea what research the author did, but to me at least it's very immersive, with nothing amiss yet. And the story itself is excellent.
Mind that this is of course pre-technological. But frankly I think that is rather better for portraying the embodied sensory life. An iPhone can help you navigate, but it isn't how you feel where or what things are.
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
[deleted]
XSerenity 3 points 2y ago
I can't really say anything without major spoilers, but blindness playes a role in the movie >!The Book of Eli!<.
CompE-or-no-E 1 points 2y ago
Is he blind in the movie? I just thought he could read braille
XSerenity 1 points 2y ago
>!Yes.!< There are hints earlier in the movie, like $1 clip.
CompE-or-no-E 1 points 2y ago
Wow! I should rewatch it. Also how do I do the spoilers, I can edit my previous comment
XSerenity 1 points 2y ago
It's one of my favorites. Reddit markdown $1, including spoilers tags (>!).
Skriet 2 points 2y ago
All the Light We Cannot See by
Anthony Doerr.
Anthony Doerr.
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
For US blindies, this is on BARD. DB 79182.
ETA: So far, quite good.
ETA: So far, quite good.
Remy_C 1 points 2y ago
Don't have any recommendations, but I'm working on an audio drama from the point of a view of a blind character who is transported to an alternate dimenttion whose geomatry and characteristics is constantly shifting. He's not completely blind, but blind enough that it makes it interesting to write about. He does use several accessibility features of a smart phone, such as magnification and OCR. It's more of a sci-fi horror. I'm struggling with a few of the logistics, but once it's done I'll post it.
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
That seems… incredibly disorienting. Yikes!
I suggest you try reading Greg Egan's Dichronauts. It's hard sci-fi. The world it's set in is hyperboloid, and its inhabitants are symbionts — one species capable of moving and seeing east/west, the other species capable of echolocation north/south, with the two conjoined neurologically.
Quite excellent.
BARD DB90231.
I suggest you try reading Greg Egan's Dichronauts. It's hard sci-fi. The world it's set in is hyperboloid, and its inhabitants are symbionts — one species capable of moving and seeing east/west, the other species capable of echolocation north/south, with the two conjoined neurologically.
Quite excellent.
BARD DB90231.
biglybiglytremendous 1 points 2y ago
Thank you for this recommendation. Egan’s text sounds right up my alley.
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
I really enjoyed it, and the BARD narrator of it is reasonably good (7 of 10 as BARD narrators go).
It helps if you have a background in mathematics; my partner is a professional mathematican. But that's not necessary, unless you want to understand why it's e.g. isomorphic to having two time dimensions; it's well explained in the book itself.
LMK what you think of it.
It helps if you have a background in mathematics; my partner is a professional mathematican. But that's not necessary, unless you want to understand why it's e.g. isomorphic to having two time dimensions; it's well explained in the book itself.
LMK what you think of it.
Remy_C 1 points 2y ago
It is disorienting. doesn't help too that the building constantly shifts, or rather the protagonists keeps being transported to various different parts, and things like elevators keep disappearing. Your recommendation likewise sounds extremely complex.
saizai [OP] 2 points 2y ago
It sounds like your character is not blind enough that it's relevant to navigation, if he's using magnification & OCR but not e.g. a cane, navigation apps, etc. Am I mistaken?
How could a smart phone work without power, wifi, GPS, etc?
Is there a pattern to the shifting? Is your character a native to it?
No matter how weird it may seem to us, if it's at all predictable, the people who grow up with it should be expected to find it normal, not disorienting — both biologically and culturally. Hell, they should be expected to find *unpredictability* perfectly normal, if that's how their world works. Always remember that people think their own world is normal.
How could a smart phone work without power, wifi, GPS, etc?
Is there a pattern to the shifting? Is your character a native to it?
No matter how weird it may seem to us, if it's at all predictable, the people who grow up with it should be expected to find it normal, not disorienting — both biologically and culturally. Hell, they should be expected to find *unpredictability* perfectly normal, if that's how their world works. Always remember that people think their own world is normal.
Remy_C 1 points 2y ago
There's no Wifi, and no pattern to the shifting. It just happens at unpredictable "times . It does have power, though no way to charge it" I'm actually still trying to iron out the logistics. It was actually when I started working on it that questions like this started to arise. I think the idea and the story behind it has marret, but I'm not sure how well itwill work with a visually impaired character. I originally wanted to do it this way because there's very little horror featuring visually impaired characters, and I thought it would make for an interesting and a good way to encorporate various other senses. Plus the audio drama format would be interesting for this because it would be like he is recording everything. I have known several visually impaired people who record various aspects of there lives, and while I myself don't do that, I can see why people would.
Bevier 1 points 2y ago
Perhaps, Zatoichi? He's a swordsman set in Edo period, Japan. Film and TV.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Any particularly good media about him to recommend?
Bevier 1 points 2y ago
So I saw $1 (1962). It's an old movie, but the classic that started a series of 26 films. It is a Japanese film with subtitles. I don't know if it's available in a dub. For these films you might be able to find the subtitles file in text, which opens some possibilities.
There is also a 2003 remake, which won awards at several film festivals.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zat%C5%8Dichi_(2003_film)
There is also a 2003 remake, which won awards at several film festivals.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zat%C5%8Dichi_(2003_film)
saizai [OP] 1 points 2y ago
I'm perfectly fine with Japanese with subtitles. Which film do you think is better, original or remake?
Bevier 1 points 2y ago
I haven't watched the 2003 version, but I think I just found it. So, if you'd like me to let you know, just give me a bit here. It stars the famous Japanese actor and comedian $1. He's the same guy that starred in *Tekeshi's Castle* (known as *MXC* in America). He was also the saving grace of *Ghost in the Shell* (2017), as Chief Aramaki.
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