The Insult
Encyclopedia
The Insult is a novel
by Rupert Thomson
. The novel describes the life of Martin Blom, who is shot while walking to his car and consequently goes blind
. 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
.
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.
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Rupert Thomson
Rupert Thomson
-Biography:Following the sudden death of his mother, Rupert Thomson was educated as a boarder at Christ's Hospital School. At seventeen, he was awarded a scholarship to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he studied Medieval History and Political Thought. He worked for four years as a...
. The novel describes the life of Martin Blom, who is shot while walking to his car and consequently goes blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
. While being treated in a clinic, he seemingly regains his vision
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or 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
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
.
The novel's title is a pun on the use of the word "insult" to describe traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
and refers to the shock of losing one's sight as the ultimate insult.
Awards and nominations
The Insult was shortlisted for the 1996 Guardian Fiction PrizeGuardian First Book Award
Guardian First Book Award, issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award, is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction.-History:...
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