Reading in the dark - Blind psychic detectives
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Blind psychic detectives
18 Seconds, George D Shuman (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
Every reader has her secret little literary sin, but where Some people might read trashy romances (no, I mean really trashy romances), or spy thrillers (no, really trashy spy thriller, like the macho equivalent of Harlequin romances), I read these bizarre books with blind psychics in them. Or blind detectives. Or, as in the case of this er, novel, blind psychic detectives (perhaps you begin to see why I couldn't help myself?)
Here's the cover blurb:
[beginquote]
Investigative consultant Sherry Moore is blind and stunningly beautiful, with the extraordinary ability to "see" the deceased's last eighteen seconds of memory by touching the corpse.
At age five, she was found near death on the steps of a city hospital. A head injury had left her without sight and prevented her from remembering her past.
When Sherry discovers she does have sight sight that transcends death -- she learns to use her gift to help others solve mysteries that only she can tap into.
[endquote]
Oh, yeah, and she is an orphan. (What's with the orphan thing, anyway? Geez? Is this some sort of fetish I failed to exploit while I was still a sweet young blind orphan girl?)
The book did manage to answer one question I have had for a long time though: how is it people manage not to notice the white cane? Thanks to the following lines, I think I have a clue.
"Thick chestnut curls bobbed on her shoulders. Her lips were arcs of autumn red
that matched her jacket. She was tall, full-breasted, and ever so sensual." (p. 4).
That's right, cloud their minds with cleavage. Which is why the following line just blows my mind (okay, not my mind as a whole, just a teeny tiny gasket or two): "Her beauty and affliction were inconsistent, the appeal practically heart-wrenching." (p. 4).
Ah, yes, it is heart-wrenching because her blindness means, despite her stunning good looks (not to mention the fact that she is independently wealthy), she is lonely, because of course she wouldn't have any friends. ""Sherry's world was small, even though she was making friends across the continent. She had no social circle and no events to attend, other than those Detective Payne or her neighbor Mr. Brigham might drag her to..."(p. 59).
Um, personal experience suggests that this writer obviously doesn't really know any sexy blind women, or else they would have just giggled at this line. Actually, as this book clearly indicates, there is this weird blind woman fetish that many guys have. I don't pretend to understand it, except perhaps to say that some people seem to believe that blindness imparts the ability to appreciate other people's "true inner beauty" *snort*.
What really pisses me off about this book though is there is no sex for Sherry--her true love dies, just like one of those women who were fool enough to get romantically involved with the Cartwright boys. But her knight in shining armor (not really on the shining armor, but he does have a shiny badge, which Sherry ends up polishing with her tears--I'm not kidding there) dies protecting her, so she can mourn him forever. That's right, if there is anything mor appealing than a beautiful blind woman it is a sad beautiful blind woman. Who never gets any sex. Bah.
Okay, now I need to go pre-order that new Tim Powers book which features a blind psychic assassin...
Current Mood: mocking
Tags: books, disability
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That story is actually pretty good. It's not dripping with ... that trash ... that you quoted from that book. I mean, this author must not know *any* blind people, nor care to kearn much about us. Ugh! I *won't* be getting this one.
I can not write for those that have a blind fetish, as I am not one myself, but I feel I can comment on what I have seen in pop culture and the like. Blindness in the protagonist allows for them to be paired with a flawed secondary character. The blind character can see beyond the flaws that are apparently so readily obvious to the sighted world and appreciate their inner beauty. Maybe this appeals to folks that may perceive themselves as the flawed character. I have also seen blindness used as a generic handicap in use of having the playboy playmate bodied female need the assited by the conveniently placed single guy. Said single guy may very well be flawed, see above. The need for assistance is merely a clever ploy of getting the single guy to notice that the cleavage endowed female might like him to come closer. Maybe the single guy was blinded by cleavage. This use of handicap also covers the conveniently drunk person, conveniently wheelchair bound or on crutches, conveniently in a limb cast, conveniently overloaded by books and so on. On a side note there was an article in People magazine about a blind boy that apparently uses active echo location to get around. July 24, 2006 pages 80 - 84. link http://www.people.com/benunderwood/
that new Tim Powers book which features a blind psychic assassin...
I don't know about the "assassin" part; I think the interviewer used the phrase "questionably evil".
"...questionably evil">?
What a wonderfully prevaricating phrase! I like it!
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/43384531/1511936) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cvirtue |
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| Date: | August 3rd, 2006 11:28 pm (UTC) |
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Puzzling. Sounds like a virginity fetish.
As for the "arcs of autumn red" I've only seen that on women wearing lipstick. Do many blind women wear lipstick?
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/7859168/1391196) | | From: | siderea |
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| Date: | August 4th, 2006 01:12 am (UTC) |
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Actually, as this book clearly indicates, there is this weird blind woman fetish that many guys have. I don't pretend to understand it, except perhaps to say that some people seem to believe that blindness imparts the ability to appreciate other people's "true inner beauty" *snort*. 1) Seen this salon article? 2) I think there's two functions of blindness in that fantasy (I wouldn't call it a fetish -- an actual fetish for blindness would be quite different). First is that the blindness is seen to make the woman adorably helpless; so comparatively helpless that even a fairly inept man can feel all protective, useful and manly around her. Blindless is the choice handicap for such a fantasy, because it does not diminish either her form or her function as a sexual object. Other handicaps could make her adorably helpless (and thus machismo-enhancing) but they are disfiguring (therefore making her less of a status symbol) or disabling (therefore less pleasing as a fantasy sexual partner). Second is that it functions pretty much the way smarts does. It is the male mating equivalent of finding a 14 days past due date on a tag at Filene's Basement: this chick would normally be above his reach in terms of beauty, accomplishment, social class, pulse, but because she's damaged goods, he can manage to get her. It's the fantasy of getting a steal -- what drives people to appear on PBS's Antiques Road Show -- applied to mating. It's a fantasy of managing to get some goody through a self-contratulatory "open-mindedness". I got it all the time at MIT from male classmates. For some reason, they kept hitting on me from a position of "But I can see your true beauty", all of them convinced they were the only man in creation to notice how hot I am, and that that was something to their credit. I figure blindess in such narratives is the same thing: "Aren't I so wonderful and so clever to be willing to go out with a blind chick like you." |
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blind fetish