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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i am BLOWN AWAY. lispector’s writing is so bold and unique and gripped me from the very first paragraph. in this novella she employs a very interesting narrative style; we follow the perspective of Rodrigo S.M, an author who is trying to write a story about an impoverished girl called Macabea. she is a girl from the northeast of Brazil living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro with zero prospects and literally nothing to her name. she is ugly, bad at her job, has no education, no family, and survives on only eating hotdogs. yet she is so blissfully unaware of her situation and how miserable she should be. “That girl didn’t know she was what she was, just as a dog doesn’t know it’s a dog. So she didn’t feel unhappy. The only thing she wanted was to live. She didn’t know for what, she didn’t ask questions.”through writing Macabea’s story, Rodrigo’s own mental state and ruminations on life itself are revealed. “Through this young person I scream my horror of life. Of this life I love so much.”
this was as much a philosophical quest as it was a gripping page turner, with literally every other sentence just punching me in the gut with either bleakness, humour, or a revealing truth about the human condition. i couldn’t recommend this read enough.
“Who hasn’t ever wondered: am I a monster or is this what it means to be human?”
this was as much a philosophical quest as it was a gripping page turner, with literally every other sentence just punching me in the gut with either bleakness, humour, or a revealing truth about the human condition. i couldn’t recommend this read enough.
“Who hasn’t ever wondered: am I a monster or is this what it means to be human?”
The introduction really was right that no one else writes like Lispector. I love the dynamic of author / subject. I'd be super interested to read more Lispector in the future.
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
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Having never read anything by the author, I didn't know what to expect. It was the "devastating final work by Brazil's greatest writer." That seemed promising. Luckily the introduction and the dedication by the author gave some indication about what to expect. Unfortunately, it was really hard for me to get beyond the sense that someone had found the author's morning pages and mind musing about what the novel was going to be and how to sort out how to deal with the character. I wanted to like it, however, it wasn't my style. Always glad to have tried something new even if it wasn't stellar for me.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just didn't click with me
Female author writing as a male author/narrator just beating down the lead female character.
My first Lispector book, perhaps il read more down the line but this didn't encourage me.
Female author writing as a male author/narrator just beating down the lead female character.
My first Lispector book, perhaps il read more down the line but this didn't encourage me.
This is a very short book that you could read in a single sitting, though it deserves a more sedate pace with time for reflection rather than a gallop. I will have to read more of her work as so far this is the only novel of hers that I have read. Maybe it was a mistake to start with the novel she published shortly before she died, but I can always re-read it after I’ve read more of her.
One thing that struck me was that it was a novel that could have been twice as long, maybe five as long, giving us a complete portrait of the central character’s life. But maybe the author says everything that needs to be said about Macabea in barely seventy pages.
There are layers here. A female author, a male narrator and a female protagonist. It will take me a while to understand why Clarise Lispector made those choices – not her gender, of course, but the genders of the narrator and the protagonist.
Through the lens of this male narrator, Macabea seems to be having a miserable adult life after a miserable childhood. She works as a typist for a pittance. She shares a room with four other young women, but none of them are friends. She meets a worthless, dishonest (and murderous) boyfriend, Olimpico, who then casts her off in favour of her workmate, Gloria. Gloria then lends Macabea money to consult a seer who predicts marriage to the man of her dreams…..What seems like an awful, empty life turns out to be as precious as that of any other human, no matter how wealthy or powerful or happy.
One thing that struck me was that it was a novel that could have been twice as long, maybe five as long, giving us a complete portrait of the central character’s life. But maybe the author says everything that needs to be said about Macabea in barely seventy pages.
There are layers here. A female author, a male narrator and a female protagonist. It will take me a while to understand why Clarise Lispector made those choices – not her gender, of course, but the genders of the narrator and the protagonist.
Through the lens of this male narrator, Macabea seems to be having a miserable adult life after a miserable childhood. She works as a typist for a pittance. She shares a room with four other young women, but none of them are friends. She meets a worthless, dishonest (and murderous) boyfriend, Olimpico, who then casts her off in favour of her workmate, Gloria. Gloria then lends Macabea money to consult a seer who predicts marriage to the man of her dreams…..What seems like an awful, empty life turns out to be as precious as that of any other human, no matter how wealthy or powerful or happy.
This is a strange book and I’ll probably need some time with it before I can properly gather my thoughts but I will always be impressed with a book that pushes the boundary of what it means to be a book.