Reviews

O Lustre by Clarice Lispector

nateweida's review against another edition

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5.0

This is a beautiful book that demands a lot from its reader but rewards constantly with spurts of intense beauty. Worth sticking it out despite the sting it might leave you with.

sarajoyceann13's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

made my eyes water 

j_ata's review against another edition

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4.0

Gorgeously written (I jotted down countless quotes & phrases), but wild & bewildering—there's something deliberately elusive & even evasive about the narrative technique, which often felt like trying to grasp at quicksilver as it flows between the fingers. Can only liken it to Woolf at her most ecstatic, only for 320 pages straight. Which is, to put it bluntly, both extremely impressive & a lot (perhaps too much?).

[Read #21 of "2021: My Year of (Mostly) Midcentury Women Writers"]

paigeweb's review against another edition

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3.0

Didn’t connect to this as much as I have to Clarice’s other works, but was really touched by her exploration of  themes like childhood memories and the mixed feelings that encompass leaving and then returning to a family home.

How horrible, pure, and irrevocable it was to live!

dierdrecsalz's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

intothewildheart's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.75

rochellem's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ishasih's review against another edition

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3.0

beautifully written and incredibly difficult
the search for the nucleus of being is elusive still
.
.
but i am not fond of the ending.

thoughtmantique's review against another edition

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4.0

De Clarice siempre me han hablado con palabras llenas de sensibilidad, así que siempre he esperado un momento idóneo para poder dedicarle el 100% de mi concentración, con tal de que ninguna de sus letras escape a mi entendimiento, a mi sentir. Cuando empecé «La lámpara» y leí su primera frase: «Ella sería fluida durante toda su vida», supe que me encontraba ante aguas profundas que requerían todo de mí, porque desde ese inicio ya vibrábamos en una sintonía similar.

No es una lectura fácil, porque requiere de una comprensión que va más allá de un libro ligero que pone el peso en diálogos simples y que van al grano. Virginia rodea su vida de un hálito de actos y vida ligera a la que no podemos aferrarnos, sólo dejarnos llevar por su ímpetu y sus corrientes.

8little_paws's review against another edition

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I finally feel like I connected with her work. I guess it only took four of her novels to do so!
OK, perhaps this was a bit too long.
But the first part where the MC is a child, I really felt like I "got it". I felt like I was back in that mindset of childhood myself. Where you truly live in the moment.
I'm feeling more confident about reading her works now.