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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I just don’t get it. I guess I just don’t jive with books that don’t have a character pull me in… Interesting, not a waste of time, but meh.
4.5
A very strange, poetic look into the life of an impoverished but almost saintly young girl. It almost reads like a hidden chapter of the Bible itself, although it has a lot to say about religion and God that doesn’t feel exactly in keeping with tradition. It’s a hard book to get into because of the deeply unique prose but it’s worth the read.
A very strange, poetic look into the life of an impoverished but almost saintly young girl. It almost reads like a hidden chapter of the Bible itself, although it has a lot to say about religion and God that doesn’t feel exactly in keeping with tradition. It’s a hard book to get into because of the deeply unique prose but it’s worth the read.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Narrative structure was great, however...
Thought that the argument that being poor leads to a poverty of inner life was very patronising.
Thought that the argument that being poor leads to a poverty of inner life was very patronising.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
"All I know how to do is be impossible. What can I do to become possible?"
That's Macabéa, the main character of Clarice Lispector's "The Hour of the Star." She is poor. She has no skills. She lives with four roommates, each one named Maria (haha). she makes herself sick because she thinks that's the right think to do, that it is noble to be sad and to feel bad, which is a feeling indoctrinated in poor people around the world it seems. She works as a typist. She isn't good at it. She listens to something called Clock Radio, which tells the time and temperature, and gives interesting world facts. Who needs college when you have Clock Radio. She has a boyfriend, Olímpico, who is an arrogant prick. She.
Except Macabéa isn't "real." Yes, I know this is fiction, but within a fictional world, the main characters are "real." Harry Potter is real, for example. So is Winnie Pooh. But in this book, the "real" character is the male writer, Rodrigo S.M. His creation, Macabéa, is a fictional character. We are simply following his thoughts as he creates this character for us.
Yet, we spend the most time with Macabéa, and it his her life, her experiences, that the novel's emotional pulse beats to. S.M. Rodrigo tells us little about himself. He does litte more than simply create this character, then leave us. And we're supposed to feel something, anything, about this?
Perhaps this odd narrative structure is to explore our relationship with fiction. If so, then that brings me to another objection: that the characters exist not to be characters with fully fleshed out lives, but to prove some sort of point. Yes, all authors have an agenda, but in this case, the story takes a backseat to the philosophy.
Lispector, however, writes brilliantly in a masculine voice. She is a woman, writing a male character, who is creating a female character, who is in a relationship with a male. Many times, I forgot I was reading a female author, and thought I was reading an arrogant dickhead, like the boyfriend in the book. It would be just like a male author to try and justify this relationship. We get a brief background of Olimpico, which thankfully stops short of making us feel sorry for him too. The best quote to illustrate his know-it-all-ness: "I don't need the correct time because I've got a watch."
However, as I said, the story has nothing in it that will stick with you. This text was ahead of its time in 1977, and may have influenced me more had I read it at a younger age. But today, well, I'm glad it was only 77 pages. Lispector knows what she is doing, and she knows not to outstay her welcome. This is a fine book, it just wasn't for me at this time.
A couple of good quotes:
"I have the right to be sadly cold, and you don't."
"I too, form one failure to the next have reduced myself to myself but at least I want to encounter the world and its God."
That's Macabéa, the main character of Clarice Lispector's "The Hour of the Star." She is poor. She has no skills. She lives with four roommates, each one named Maria (haha). she makes herself sick because she thinks that's the right think to do, that it is noble to be sad and to feel bad, which is a feeling indoctrinated in poor people around the world it seems. She works as a typist. She isn't good at it. She listens to something called Clock Radio, which tells the time and temperature, and gives interesting world facts. Who needs college when you have Clock Radio. She has a boyfriend, Olímpico, who is an arrogant prick. She
Spoiler
gets hit by a car and diesExcept Macabéa isn't "real." Yes, I know this is fiction, but within a fictional world, the main characters are "real." Harry Potter is real, for example. So is Winnie Pooh. But in this book, the "real" character is the male writer, Rodrigo S.M. His creation, Macabéa, is a fictional character. We are simply following his thoughts as he creates this character for us.
Yet, we spend the most time with Macabéa, and it his her life, her experiences, that the novel's emotional pulse beats to. S.M. Rodrigo tells us little about himself. He does litte more than simply create this character,
Spoiler
destroy herPerhaps this odd narrative structure is to explore our relationship with fiction. If so, then that brings me to another objection: that the characters exist not to be characters with fully fleshed out lives, but to prove some sort of point. Yes, all authors have an agenda, but in this case, the story takes a backseat to the philosophy.
Lispector, however, writes brilliantly in a masculine voice. She is a woman, writing a male character, who is creating a female character, who is in a relationship with a male. Many times, I forgot I was reading a female author, and thought I was reading an arrogant dickhead, like the boyfriend in the book. It would be just like a male author to try and justify this relationship. We get a brief background of Olimpico, which thankfully stops short of making us feel sorry for him too. The best quote to illustrate his know-it-all-ness: "I don't need the correct time because I've got a watch."
However, as I said, the story has nothing in it that will stick with you. This text was ahead of its time in 1977, and may have influenced me more had I read it at a younger age. But today, well, I'm glad it was only 77 pages. Lispector knows what she is doing, and she knows not to outstay her welcome. This is a fine book, it just wasn't for me at this time.
A couple of good quotes:
"I have the right to be sadly cold, and you don't."
"I too, form one failure to the next have reduced myself to myself but at least I want to encounter the world and its God."
emotional
sad
fast-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
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the prose was captivating — i couldn’t look away