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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
medium-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
Almost feels like a prequel to Paradise Logic, might be an inpiration?
Still have only vaguely formed thoughts about this? Beautiful beautiful prose and an exploration of poverty and suffering that seems both profound and fetishistic (which is not necessarily bad, in my opinion). Knowing that this was one of Lispector's last works made me interested in the way that this work is very meta-fictional and is about the concept of writing a character who exists just to suffer and the way that Macabéa's character and life and death both feel predetermined, like something the narrator is simply learning/uncovering over the course of the novel, and like something the narrator is creating. Feels like Lispector's Tempest, a meditation on storytelling and art.
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Clarice, my brain! The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness interjections from the narrator took some getting used to and overall, the pacing and narrative is very unconventional. This isn’t your typical story, and more like an experience that demands reflection. Is ignorance bliss? What’s the meaning of life… and death?
I want to read it again, now knowing what I know, and annotate more closely. It’s one of those books that probably reveals much more the second (or third) time around.
Read this if you’re up for a challenge!
“Anyways what could she do? Since she was chronic. And even sadness was also something for rich people, for people who could afford it, for people who didn’t have anything better to do. Sadness was a luxury.”
I want to read it again, now knowing what I know, and annotate more closely. It’s one of those books that probably reveals much more the second (or third) time around.
Read this if you’re up for a challenge!
“Anyways what could she do? Since she was chronic. And even sadness was also something for rich people, for people who could afford it, for people who didn’t have anything better to do. Sadness was a luxury.”
Certainly out of all the books I've read this year, this was by far the most difficult (and I don't think I could accurately rate it without several re-reads). Not sure this is a favorite, but glad I read it.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes