The Persistence of Vision (novella)

This story is a quick read, only 46 pages, although you will be left pondering the concepts in the book well after you've finished. The story brings you to question so many social norms. It stimulates the readers brain by bringing up all kinds of moral, social dilemmas but setting them in such a peculiar and foreign society that it has you questioning what is and isn't right and wrong. The author does an excellent job of keeping the lexile just low enough that the mind-stretching concepts are easy to understand for all readers. The book does deal with sex and sexual acts, therefore it is for mature audience. Although it does this in a way that makes you question the taboo of sex altogether, especially in a community where touch is communication. It is a great read if you are looking to step outside of the box and expand your thinking in a way that you never have before.

Our narrator finds himself unemployed a few years after the great depression, in the midst of another nationwide economic slump. And with nothing to lose sets out toward California backpacking and hitchhiking the entire way. Things get interesting when he finds himself in Taos New Mexico, which back in the 60's was the center of cultural experiments in experimental living. There he came across many different alternative living communities from Nudists to philosophers to messiah's. But the community that peaks his interest the most and the commune this story centers around was a commune of the blind and deaf. The narrator goes into detail of the history and whereabouts of this community's start. Right away, the narrator becomes fascinated with this community and sets out to understand everything he can about it. As one would expect when founding a community for the deaf and blind, this group threw away every social norm that didn't fit their needs, which ended up being almost all of them. With no shoes, communication through touch, an absolute democracy this society looks very different from our own. Possibly the most mind-boggling of all is the nightly together which is the main social activity based around talking through universal tactile sign language and eating with their hands. This nightly ritual paired with a new language and complete social remodeling intrigue the narrator so much that he decides to stay, at least until he realizes that there are too many layers to this community for him to handle.

Through this story, our narrator takes a liking to a girl named Pink and she becomes a teacher and eventually a lover. Pink helps the narrator to understand the communes rituals and way of life and the member's emphasis on mutual understanding which allows them to overcome their physical limitations. Their rich use of unspoken/unseen tactile language is used to establish intense clarity about others, a depth of clarity unobtainable using the senses of hearing and vision conventionally.

The narrator remains unnamed throughout the entirety of the story, but is a 47 year old on a trek to California, hoping to stow away to Japan. The story centers around his journey and the community and group of people that inspired his development.

Pink is a thirteen year old girl, the first born child of the deaf and blind adults. She is hearing and becomes the Narrators guide and romantic interest. It is important to note that she is considered an adult within her community, and that sex and romance in this deaf and blind commune is much different than the sex and romance that we think of in any modern cultures today

Scar is a member of the community that comes into play in a particularly important scene, where the narrator learns what his place is within the community

• The Persistence of vision, a book by American writer John Varley.
• Page at International Speculative Fiction Database