The Chandelier, Clarice Lispector, New Directions, 2018, 373 pp (originally published 1946; translated from the Portuguese by Benjamin Moser and Magdelena Edwards)
Brazilian author Clarice Lispector is acclaimed internationally by literary authors and lovers of literary fiction. I read her first novel, Near To the Wild Heart, a couple years ago and was nearly defeated.
I decided to try one more book, her second novel. I "studied" it by reading a few pages a day and taking notes. Her style at this point was deep stream of consciousness, not my favorite, but I wanted to see how she got that interior consciousness of a female's every thought and sensation. My purpose after reading the book was to practice or fool around with writing like that and see if I could get more of my inner life and emotion into the autobiography I am writing.
The almost non-existent plot is a girl's growing up from early childhood to young womanhood. Taking notes kept me aware of that sequence. At times Virginia seems almost mentally ill as far as how she reacts to life, the settings and the people around her. In any case, she is far from what would be considered a "normal" female. But is she?
When I finished the novel, I realized that, at least at times in my most secret thoughts while being a female who has always questioned what she was being taught about life as a female, I have been to some degree divorced from "normal."
Since reading the book, I find myself when I am with my female friends and family members, listening for those inner realities. It was a worthy study for me.
Next is to do the writing practice and see if I can capture that a bit in my own storytelling about my life. Writing is hard enough as far as just getting down the words, but I recently watched a talk by Lydia Yuknavitch where she explains what she calls "corporeal writing." (You can find videos of her talks about this by googling "corporeal writing.") I am ready to see if I can get to that level of deeper stuff.
(The Chandelier is available in hardcover by order from Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)
Hmmm...Sounds complicated. I'm not a fan of "deep stream of consciousness" writing. I can digest experimental writing if it's engaging enough, but nothing too exotic.
ReplyDeleteIt was a challenging read for sure!
DeleteI like the fact that you took the time to actually study the book and make notes so that you could understand it better. I've been thinking of doing something similar with my serious reading. I sometimes feel that I'm missing quite a lot and that if I took a more structured approach, it would serve me better.
ReplyDeleteIn this case it did work well. I would rather just get lost in a book most of the time but study and notes still work when there is something I want to learn.
DeleteI'm impressed with this project, Judy - well, really with you for taking it on and seeing it through. In this particular period of my life, I don't really want to work too hard on my reading, but I can imagine the feeling of satisfaction you might have after reading The Chandelier.
ReplyDeleteThank you Debbie!
Deleteso do you think that could be a good book to start with, to discover her?
ReplyDeleteI have only read the two so far. I think if you like that style, any one could be a way to discover her. I would be interested to know what you think of her if you do read one.
DeleteI am glad this novel made a great study for you in terms of furthering your writing skills! But I will pass on it as stream of consciousness is not my favorite type of novel to read.
ReplyDeleteNot a novel one would read for fun or excitement, that is for sure.
DeleteOkay I had to look up the "corporeal writing." Saw a video and I'm still not certain .... but if it helps one get things on paper then that is something. I can see where writing stream of conscious writing could be quite helpful. Just throw out your thoughts like Kerouac did on a roll of paper and then formulate what you want about it later. hmm. man, i think he could type fast !
ReplyDeleteYes, you get it! I am still so influenced by my "schooling" when it comes to writing. I need to break the mold a bit.
Delete