Emulating Saramago's use of structure in 'Blindness'

You can utilise elements from a traditional story arc to help you create an interesting narrative opening. A mundane setting offers an opportunity for an interesting shift in tone. Shifting from a wider setting to a close focus on a specific thing or person demonstrates control of focus. Saramago crafts a shift in tone with the conjunction 'but', a list and the manipulation of sentence length. You can build suspense in a narrative by making the reader wait longer for a climax.