The Insult (novel)

The Insult is a 1996 novel by Rupert Thomson. The novel describes the life of Martin Blom, who is shot while walking to his car and consequently goes blind.[1] While being treated in a clinic, he seemingly regains his vision, but only at night. While his doctors assure him he has Anton's syndrome, he believes adamantly in his ability to see, even going so far as to disguise it from others who think him still blind. The book is written as a first-person narrative.

This article is about the 1996 novel. For other uses, see insult (disambiguation). For the 2017 film, see The Insult (film).
The Insult
First edition
AuthorRupert Thomson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
PublisherBloomsbury
Publication date
November 1996
Media typePrint
Pages416 pp
ISBN978-0-7475-2601-8
OCLC60310496

The novel's title is a pun on the use of the word "insult" to describe traumatic brain injury and refers to the shock of losing one's sight as the ultimate insult.

Reception

In her The New York Times review of the novel, Michiko Kakutani praised Thomson as talented and capable of writing beautifully, while calling The Insult a self-indulgent and incoherent novel.[2] In 2009, The Guardian included The Insult on its "1000 novels everyone must read" list.[3] In 2018, David Bowie named The Insult one of his top 100 reads.[4]

Awards and nominations

References
  1. "THE INSULT | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. 1 June 1996. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. Kakutani, Michiko (27 August 1996). "Blind but Claiming to See in the Dark". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. "1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list". The Guardian. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. Johnson, Alex (13 March 2018). "The Book List: David Bowie's top 100 reads – from Lady Chatterley's Lover to 1984". Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2020.


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