Review of Planet of the Blind

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Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto is an amazing journey into the thoughts, struggles and life of the author. Mostly blind from the birth, the author talks of growing up in a world in which he was continually forced to pretend to be fully sighted. Even though he could barely see, he rode a bike well into his twenties, plowing ahead with confidence, in a way a metaphor for his life. He was forced to cope with and made to feel ashamed of his blindness but he continued on through life, often alone. He loves to listen and describes the scenes of his life divorced of vision, appreciating the normally overlooked senses to provide uniquely beautiful and real descriptions.

While blindness plays a central role in the novel, the story is much more compelling as a coming-of-age novel dealing with how the author's blindness is just one more thing about himself that he must deal with through adolesence and come to terms with as an adult. In that way it demonstrates how the lives of many, blind or not, parallel the authors life. Everyone has felt uncomfortable or has had to learn to deal with how others view them at some point in their lives, and this book shows us that blindness is just one more thing to add on to the heap of teenage angst. Far from a book about a blind kid, this is a book about a boy becoming a man. From struggling to fit in, to forming political views, to venturing away from his home, to alcohol and sex, this book covers it all. Oh, and the main character is blind so just imagine trying to do all of this while simultaneously grappling with the extra difficulties that blindness can bring.

This is a good read written by a well-educated, well-read man that has had an interesting life and an interesting time becoming who he is today. It's definitely worth the time to read it. I highly recommend it.