A review by ayla_derammelaere
Het uur van de ster by Clarice Lispector

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0



In this book, the writer pictures the story of a poor woman ; poor both in finances and in emotions and knowledge.
The writer claims he is forced to write about her, even when it makes him sick but he doesn't have a way to resolve this ; something inside of him is forcing him to tell her story.

Macabea (=the woman he writes about) has a very sad and empty life : no friends, no family, no ambitions, nothing she loves. She however, doesn't consider her life as sad, that only starts happening when, at the end of her life, she is promised a good life.
The writer however, writes about her life but in such a way that we even don't feel bad for her. He tries really hard so that we feel bad for him.

The book made me think about what we consider to be a good life, what do we really need and want. The question rises if our life is still considered to be a bad one if we don't feel bad for ourselves ? It makes me wonder why we find it so difficult to accept that everyone has their own definition of a good life and why, if someone has chosen a different path, we want to point our fingers at them and judge. Doesn't that tell more about ourselves than it says about the other ?

If you leave nothing behind, if you have no legacy, did you then really exist ?