ENSAYO SOBRE LA LUCIDEZ

Despite the heavy rain, the presiding officer at Polling Station 14 find it odd that by midday on National Election day, only a handful of voters have turned out. Puzzlement swiftly escalates to shock when the final count reveals seventy per cent of the votes are blank - no spoiled, simply blank. National law decrees the election should be repeated eight days later. The result is worse; eighty-three per cent of the votes are blank. The authorities, seized with panic, decamp from the capital and declare a state of emergency.

In his new novel, Jose Saramago has deftly created the politician's ultimate nightmare: disillusionment that renders the entire democratic system useless. Seeing explores how simply this could be achieved and how devastating the results might be.