Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical book

Genre: Literary fiction, Classics

I have heard such incredible things about Clarice Lispector and her writing. I’m not quite sure what I expected when I picked this book up, but I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the ways she played with language and found the prose hypnotizing. Not many authors could successfully make me feel such dread and despair while simultaneously making me appreciate life and art and being able to experience both. 

Though I really enjoyed this overall, I rated 4 stars instead of five based on my subjective enjoyment of the “plot”, which I honestly DIDN’T enjoy in many places. I recognize that the narrative/story was not necessarily the point and the goal was not for it to be enjoyable. Still doesn’t change the fact that I thought the middle 20-30% dragged quite a bit, which is unfortunate to say about such a short book. I think a re-read will make me appreciate those slower sections more, since I know where things ended up going. 

Absolutely worth reading, but this will be unlike anything you have read before.