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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Se ha convertido en una de mis obras favoritas del año. El tipo de narrador posmoderno que juega y chincha al lector, los trasuntos de la autora que parecen ser el propio narrador, Macabea y Olímpico, el ritmo inesperado, lo visual de la literatura de Clarice Lispector, capaz de crear una imagen nítida, concreta y profunda con dos pinceladas sutiles... Muy recomendado, pero soy consciente de que no es para todo el mundo.
slow-paced
I can’t stand this author. This is the third chance I’ve given her over the span of my lifetime. Self-indulgent, unnecessarily complicated, and artlessly obtuse, her sentences are puzzles if I’m being charitable (or, if I’m feeling less charitable, they are a lot of pseudo-profound nonsense).
Example:
“So long as I have questions to which there are no answers, I will go on writing.”
I think these kinds of remarks are supposed to seem deep, but they come across as vague and empty, which makes her prose grating. She's aiming for a particular effect—philosophical disorientation, spiritual disquiet—and she cannot get there for me. She prioritizes style (tone, mood, voice) over substance (plot, character development, cause-effect), but fails to achieve either. I believe great artists are able to make complicated thoughts and/or emotions of great depth easily understood by many; CL is precisely the opposite of that, making even the simplest idea opaque. To me… that’s just bad writing.
Example:
“So long as I have questions to which there are no answers, I will go on writing.”
I think these kinds of remarks are supposed to seem deep, but they come across as vague and empty, which makes her prose grating. She's aiming for a particular effect—philosophical disorientation, spiritual disquiet—and she cannot get there for me. She prioritizes style (tone, mood, voice) over substance (plot, character development, cause-effect), but fails to achieve either. I believe great artists are able to make complicated thoughts and/or emotions of great depth easily understood by many; CL is precisely the opposite of that, making even the simplest idea opaque. To me… that’s just bad writing.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Would never know how to review something of this sort. It necessitates a dialogue between her other works I’ve yet to read. Certainly asks some of the most important questions there can be and through a life nobody can live and yet many do.
I personally find this novella a tedious, weird, yet unsettling read in the first run as the first one-third of the book is basically about this strange narrator who apparently is a man, lamenting about his state of being and his ineluctable love towards this girl from North-eastern Brazil. Yet, the second read is way better than the first, as I seem to have made something out of those extensive passages about his craftsmanship in shaping the female protagonist, Macabéa.
The narrator sounds to me is a one who lacks confidence and is always going back and forth about his power to manipulate words. Language, interestingly, could be overly decorative and sometimes wordiness does not necessary lead to accurate, precise descriptions. As he also acknowledges to himself that it is difficult to keep complex ideas simple, let alone an individual, the contemplation on the use of language actually entails a sense of tenderness, an unwillingness to extenuate or to over-represent this fragile figure of Macabéa. In the course of the narrative, he seems to be trying to efface his existence in order to fully devote the narrative to describing the image of the girl, yet he yearns for a voice as perhaps in the vast cosmopolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, he is as fragile and lonely as our protagonist is.
Macabéa is, in my opinion, a victim of the so-called “American Dream”, just the stage is set not in the central area of Manhattan, but the remains are very similar. She comes from a rural family whose values are extremely traditional. Growing up in such an environment she does not know what does it mean by being oneself. I think a psychological reading of her mind would be very rewarding, as she tends to deny anything good that falls on her, and she does not know where are the boundaries of her rights. Yet, she leads a very humble style of living just because she does not have the money, while deep inside she is already the prey of consumerism. But can she really achieve for what she desires?
The tragic ending is perhaps axiomatic enough. She is but a “cog in a machine”. She is but Marx’s labourer who relies on the means of subsistence and production of the capitalists, as she is barely getting by, sharing a flat with three other Marias, could not save any money. Being given a job she is in awe of her own boss, as if he is a deity who presides over every aspects of her, and dares not to ask for a sick leave enough when her health permits her to do so. When exploitation has internalised, the only way out is only those pipe dreams the commercials and what the fortune-teller tells her: the hope that a good life will come.
And where is our narrator? Perhaps he is a bit ashamed of his condescension, a bit of his own social status, or even of his banality as one of the lonely masses who seem to have lost their direction in the big, busy cities.
The narrator sounds to me is a one who lacks confidence and is always going back and forth about his power to manipulate words. Language, interestingly, could be overly decorative and sometimes wordiness does not necessary lead to accurate, precise descriptions. As he also acknowledges to himself that it is difficult to keep complex ideas simple, let alone an individual, the contemplation on the use of language actually entails a sense of tenderness, an unwillingness to extenuate or to over-represent this fragile figure of Macabéa. In the course of the narrative, he seems to be trying to efface his existence in order to fully devote the narrative to describing the image of the girl, yet he yearns for a voice as perhaps in the vast cosmopolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, he is as fragile and lonely as our protagonist is.
Macabéa is, in my opinion, a victim of the so-called “American Dream”, just the stage is set not in the central area of Manhattan, but the remains are very similar. She comes from a rural family whose values are extremely traditional. Growing up in such an environment she does not know what does it mean by being oneself. I think a psychological reading of her mind would be very rewarding, as she tends to deny anything good that falls on her, and she does not know where are the boundaries of her rights. Yet, she leads a very humble style of living just because she does not have the money, while deep inside she is already the prey of consumerism. But can she really achieve for what she desires?
The tragic ending is perhaps axiomatic enough. She is but a “cog in a machine”. She is but Marx’s labourer who relies on the means of subsistence and production of the capitalists, as she is barely getting by, sharing a flat with three other Marias, could not save any money. Being given a job she is in awe of her own boss, as if he is a deity who presides over every aspects of her, and dares not to ask for a sick leave enough when her health permits her to do so. When exploitation has internalised, the only way out is only those pipe dreams the commercials and what the fortune-teller tells her: the hope that a good life will come.
And where is our narrator? Perhaps he is a bit ashamed of his condescension, a bit of his own social status, or even of his banality as one of the lonely masses who seem to have lost their direction in the big, busy cities.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slowgoing at first because I did not like that narrator, but then it picked up and really stuck that landing. Will be thinking about this for a while I feel.
The book club discussion on this was 👌🏼
The book club discussion on this was 👌🏼