This book impacts on so many levels it's difficult to know quite where to begin. It's garnered much attention from the blind community, as has the sequel, but I wanted to read it without all the hype and so held off until things had quite died down.

As a rule, I try not to let portrayals of the blind influence my thinking one way or another. There were certain things that made me pause - the assertion that raising a blind child is overly difficult, for instance. I don't remember my folks going out of their way for me. Of course there were a few 'jawsisms' too, but in all, the depiction seems more flattering than degrading.

As to the story itself, there's so many threads to it that it's got something for everyone. I loved it all, from the growing AI to the artistic chimp. I think what I liked most of all was the way in which the AI compared its learning to that of Caitlins newly-found vision, because the blindness thing wasn't a crutch - it was an actual [part of the plot and story. really, this is a science fiction novel, with a philosophical bent as is Sawyer's wont. it just happens to be considerably more Human than the average.