Blindness

Henry Green's Blindness moves between the charged public world of politics, the intimate pressures of family life, and the comic cruelties of school, all filtered through voices that are sharp, restless, and unsparing. In one strand, a young narrator is swept into a fiery demonstration, discovering how fear can turn into exhilaration as he faces hostile crowds and begins to test his literary ambitions. In another, a young woman endures a summer of heat, domestic duty, and emotional strain, serving a demanding father while dreaming of escape, romance, and a fuller life. The novel's school sections are equally vivid: John Haye's witty diary captures the rivalries, hierarchies, and absurd codes of Noat, where charm, athleticism, and conformity matter as much as intelligence. Through mishaps, punishments, friendships, and the rise of Seymour and the Art Society, Green traces the painful comedy of adolescence, showing how a lively mind can feel both empowered and isolated. Across all these scenes, Blindness becomes a portrait of ambition, alienation, class, and the hard-won search for identity. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.