alectastic's review against another edition
4.0
"In truth she had always lived as if on the verge of things."
Once I'd reached the end, finished crying, and put the book back on the shelf, I didn't quite know what to do with the thing. Do I reread it? Do I write about it? I wasn't sure. I think that the story will touch some people deeply and glide past others like it were sound the wind makes.
Might you dedicate the time to reading this, and then, upon breaching the verbosity of Lispector's prose, find in it the truth of what she meant, and might that make you realize that all this time, words were never a game to Lispector—she was writing exactly what she'd meant, and she'd revealed the reality of the unseen.
I think Lispector, in certain moments, was able to pull back the curtain of life.
If you give this book a try, perhaps it will not move you, and perhaps you will drop it after the first fifty or maybe one hundred pages. But I'll tell you: I didn't quit, and yes, it changed me deeply, truly. Out of all of Lispector's novels, The Chandelier has moved me in ways I cannot define. It seems I'm going to think about this book for a long time.
Once I'd reached the end, finished crying, and put the book back on the shelf, I didn't quite know what to do with the thing. Do I reread it? Do I write about it? I wasn't sure. I think that the story will touch some people deeply and glide past others like it were sound the wind makes.
Might you dedicate the time to reading this, and then, upon breaching the verbosity of Lispector's prose, find in it the truth of what she meant, and might that make you realize that all this time, words were never a game to Lispector—she was writing exactly what she'd meant, and she'd revealed the reality of the unseen.
I think Lispector, in certain moments, was able to pull back the curtain of life.
If you give this book a try, perhaps it will not move you, and perhaps you will drop it after the first fifty or maybe one hundred pages. But I'll tell you: I didn't quit, and yes, it changed me deeply, truly. Out of all of Lispector's novels, The Chandelier has moved me in ways I cannot define. It seems I'm going to think about this book for a long time.
oldmansimms's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this, I had a hard time figuring out if I thought Clarice Lispector was an incredible writer, or a terrible one. On the one hand, from sentence to sentence her writing is extraordinary, unique, almost revelatory at times, a voice like no other (e.g. He would hover for an instant, drifting, his thinking intersecting with hers like the bow over the violin string, light sparks of insight and surprise unmaking themselves in the air). On the other, I almost never had any idea what was going on. Her writing is dazzling, but it makes the plot and characters virtually impenetrable, and she seems to have never met an adjective or adverb (or adverbial "with [noun form of adjective]") she didn't like.
She also has some weird tics -- an unusual tendency to use an adjective where an adverb would normally go (as in "standing silent" instead of "standing silently"), which honestly I liked, stylistically; and very strong attachments to certain words, such as "almost", "brutality", and "rage". Just for fun I found the total count of these words, and compared them to the frequency in other e-books I currently have to hand (Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay and How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue):
"Almost"
- The Chandelier - 272, or one every 1.18 pages
- Gardens of the Moon - 101, one every 7.6 pages
- The Little Sleep - 22, one every 13.1 pages
- How Beautiful We Were - 10, one every 38.4 pages
"Brutal" (or brutality, brutally)
- TC - 19, or one every 16.8 pages
- GOTM - 9, one every 85.8 pages
- TLS - 0
- HBWW - 0
"Rage" (or outrage, enrage)
- TC - 34, or one every 9.4 pages
- GOTM - 30, one every 25.7 pages
- TLS - 0
- HBWW - 3, one every 128 pages
It'd be one thing if this book was really about rage and brutality in ways that those others aren't, but it isn't really (and the absurd frequency of "almost" is subject-matter-agnostic). Just bizarre.
I have to remember that Lispector was extremely young when she wrote this book (26 when it was published). Her talent is unquestionable, so I'm interested to see whether the plots of her books became less impenetrable as she matured.
She also has some weird tics -- an unusual tendency to use an adjective where an adverb would normally go (as in "standing silent" instead of "standing silently"), which honestly I liked, stylistically; and very strong attachments to certain words, such as "almost", "brutality", and "rage". Just for fun I found the total count of these words, and compared them to the frequency in other e-books I currently have to hand (Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay and How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue):
"Almost"
- The Chandelier - 272, or one every 1.18 pages
- Gardens of the Moon - 101, one every 7.6 pages
- The Little Sleep - 22, one every 13.1 pages
- How Beautiful We Were - 10, one every 38.4 pages
"Brutal" (or brutality, brutally)
- TC - 19, or one every 16.8 pages
- GOTM - 9, one every 85.8 pages
- TLS - 0
- HBWW - 0
"Rage" (or outrage, enrage)
- TC - 34, or one every 9.4 pages
- GOTM - 30, one every 25.7 pages
- TLS - 0
- HBWW - 3, one every 128 pages
It'd be one thing if this book was really about rage and brutality in ways that those others aren't, but it isn't really (and the absurd frequency of "almost" is subject-matter-agnostic). Just bizarre.
I have to remember that Lispector was extremely young when she wrote this book (26 when it was published). Her talent is unquestionable, so I'm interested to see whether the plots of her books became less impenetrable as she matured.
chervbim's review against another edition
4.0
Is no one else going to talk about how this book has the EXACT same ending as “Hour of the Star”?
alexandrahorner's review against another edition
5.0
The sheer interiority of Lispector's The Chandelier is dizzying. The novel is violently sincere in its dialogue, which acutely examines thematic concerns regarding the construction of thought and existence, the intricate nature of relationships and the complexities (and at times the overwhelming reality) of our subjective mediations on childhood. The prose of Lispector's idiosyncratic novel reminded me of Virginia Woolf's most experimental work The Waves at its most eccentric and expansive. I think I will need time to fully and earnestly digest this book, but for now, I will summarise it as such: The Chandelier is a hauntingly stirring work that is both deeply gratifying yet profoundly existential.
However, in a book with practically no paragraphs or formal structure this novel is uniquely dense - which makes it difficult to follow at times. I sympathise with those who have left previous reviews that they struggled to make it past page 100, yet mourn the rich experience of Lispector's prose they are forgoing.
However, in a book with practically no paragraphs or formal structure this novel is uniquely dense - which makes it difficult to follow at times. I sympathise with those who have left previous reviews that they struggled to make it past page 100, yet mourn the rich experience of Lispector's prose they are forgoing.
eulrch's review against another edition
This book is beautifully written, but too dense and challenging for me to read as enjoyment between classes and work. To be finished in the summer.
topfife's review against another edition
4.0
Clarice overwhelmed me a bit with the layering and tangents of pure stream of consciousness, but also streams of emotionality. To capture the essence of existing and experiencing a moment, a life, whilst always being outside of it, viewing through a separate lens that sublimates youth and maturity, landmarks of rebirth and death; and love somewhere in the threads. I will re-read this again when my own brain is not quite so noisy, where I can give Virginia’s mind attention.
lear2696's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
grantsharpies's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.5