Planet of the Blind Audiobook By Stephen Kuusisto cover art

Planet of the Blind

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Planet of the Blind

By: Stephen Kuusisto
Narrated by: Brian Keeler
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.73

Buy for $16.73

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Blindness in the 1950s was a social stigma. Stephen's mother wanted a normal life for him, so he fought desperately to uphold the illusion of sight. For a child frantic to fit in, each day was an exhausting pretence. He managed to ride a bike, when even reading involved pressing his nose to the page and painfully forcing his eyes to concentrate. Head up, he strode through a carefully memorized labyrinth of streets, hoping to fool passers-by that he could actually see.

©1998 Stephen Kussisto (P)1998 W. F. Howes Ltd
Authors People with Disabilities Poetry United States
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Planet of the Blind

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly inventive and informative memoir

The author grows up in a family that refuses to acknowledge that he is blind. As for all who struggle with both disability and the inability of those around them to comprehend, this brings wonder, and heartbreak, and a very long path to self-acceptance. Kuusisto tells this brilliantly with the skills of a master poet.

Whether watching as he hurtles through streets on a bicycle, or listening to the cruelty as he tries to fully engage the world, or discovering what it's like to accept who you are when others will not, the words in Planet of the Blind will carry you away on a tide of knowledge gain.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an eye-opener! (no pun intended)

I feel like I've just taken a crash course in living blindly. There are so many things we never think of when our eyes work.
As I was walking in the woods with my dog, I got to the part about accepting the blindness, and using the walking stick. I loved the reference to the divining rod because water is a natural part of life-as is the stick.
When I heard the words, "And nothing bad happened", I started cheering out there in the woods. "See? Nothing bad happened! Now you're on your way to acceptance!! You've got this!" My dog thinks I'm nuts, I'm sure.
I am from the UP, in Michigan. I'm quite sure our people know each other as I grew up in the Finnish Lutheran church.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

full of poetry and insight

a hero's literary and achingly sad, but funny too. full of wit and truth. it will, ironically, open your eyes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!