The Blinding Absence Of Light Summary And Review Book Reviews Examples

The novel The Blinding Absence of Light tells the story of a group of men that are in a Moroccan prison. It depicts he torture and means of compensating, or coping, experienced by the men in the prison. More specifically, the story is narrated by Salim, a man who was imprisoned for his involvement in a political coup. He is placed in an isolated prison, or an underground prison, where it was always dark. The prisoners are in small chambers, and are fed only enough to survive. They are tortured both mentally and physically, by beatings and by things that make their conditions worse, like throwing live scorpions into their cells. They are also not given any medical treatment, as a result, they sometimes die from the results of their abuse. For example, one prisoner breaks his arm, and dies from gangrene, and from cockroaches eating him. However, despite these harsh conditions the prisoners are allowed to communicate with each other, which allows them to cope with their hard circumstances. This allows them to build relationships with one another; they recite stories they remember, and try to hold on to their identities. They also have a dove that comes into the sells, and which they share as a pet. Eventually, someone bribes a guard, so that they can be freed.
I thought it was shocking that such a place could exist and go undetected in the 1990s. Morocco is more associated with tourist travel than terror and abuse. It was just a really surprising location, and level of unhuman circumstances that shocked me. However, I also found it surprising how human and normal these guys managed to be given their circumstances. It really shows the fortitude of the human mind and spirit.