Friday, February 01, 2008

Clarice Lispector

Like The Complete Review, I have been meaning to get to the works of Clarice Lispector too. There is a nice article on Nextbook full of fanboyish enthusiasm. There is not much about her books but surely these two lines are enough:

"eerie, existential vignettes, savant-like parables and prophesies of modern angst seared by the Brazilian sun. Her work called to mind a tropical, female Kafka with sensory overload."

Don't miss the first comment at the end of the article. It seems one can't even praise a writer's good looks without being called a sexist!

Meanwhile Kubla writes about another writer who has been on my to-read list for long : Marguerite Duras. I haven't been able to read much lately. Been a little busy. Actually more than time, you need peace of mind which is in short supply too.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clarice Lispector is one of my all-time faves, especially 'The Hour of the Star', which was made into a really great film by Susana Amaral - one I'm pretty sure you would enjoy.

- said...

Eeek Alok, I don't know what to do. The new TA took over the Vienna blogs, deleted all the links to my former students, all my posts, everything! http://js1900.blogspot.com has become completely inflitrated. They took over not only the blog address, but actually everything. That's how grad school works: if you can't top them, obliterate them. Oh my god. J.

Kubla Khan said...

She is on my list too, though haven't got hold of the books yet.

Alok said...

Tom: Thanks for the pointer. Next time I visit the library or a bookstore I will keep it in mind. I had never heard of that film either. Thanks for bringing that to my attention too.

Hi J, Haha, so sorry to hear that... but is understandable actually. Couldn't they have copied from last year's assignments if they were still there.. :) the course and assigned books seem to be the same. thanks for the link to the blog. lot of new content there.

kubla: I will also try to get to the books soon.

Anonymous said...

The Apple in the Dark is worth a look. How it addresses beginnings is disorienting. It will demand more patience than The Hour of the Star though.

Anonymous said...

yes apple in the dark was a recommendation from nico. it's maybe a good start into her stuff.

Alok said...

decoys, antonia: thanks, I have noted it down. Will definitely get to it when I get a little time ( a few weeks probably)

Anonymous said...

'Stream of life' is also a good start, of her works translated into English and has an interesting intro by Helene Cixous