This Blinding Absence of Light

After all of the tales of violence and inhmanity that we are exposed to, I sometimes feel desensitized. Despite this, This Blinding Absence of Light still horrifies and shocks. The novel is never gratutitously violent but very simply describes the lives of several prisoners in a Moroccan prison. The prisoners were simply soldiers following orders in participating in a failed coup d'etat. They end up imprisoned with little food, no medical treatment and more importantly, no light. The fact that this is based on real life events is truly horrifying. The core of the story is not just the suffering but how the prisoners try to survive, try to laugh, try to be human. It is a situation that almost all of us would have difficulty comprehending. This is an important story to tell and I definitely recommend it. From a pure literary point of view, it's difficult to comment on. This is a very specific story and is told very matter of factly by Jelloun. It's literary merit is a little questionable but is overshadowed by the importance of the events.

You don't know nuthin'! At least you're not rotting away in an dank, absolutely dark underground dungeon for more than a decade, half-starving and going mad, where your only pleasure is to not feel anything in particular, and the occasional bird song that one hears.

It's hard to describe the impact of this book. Told in a very straightforward manner, it generally lets the events speak for themselves, veering closer to and further from non-fiction again and again as the narrative unfolds. There are times when it is so grim and relentless that it is hard to keep reading, but a great reward awaits the reader who persists, as this is not a story about the depths of human suffering and cruelty but about the depths of human resilience and compassion, which are deeper still. I read this years ago and have never been able to shake its impact, nor have I wanted to. It's a treasure to cherish.

I picked this book up from the libary and entered a world where untold cruelty and human suffering were a daily part of life. I finished this book about a week ago, and it is still affecting me. No longer do I complain or feel sorry for myself. It is a story that needed to be told. Put this on every American's "to read list" as after you read it, you will never be the same.