The Hour of the Star: 100th Anniversary Edition

I needed a gift for my partner and I am not into literature at all so I did my research and I found this book,after reading the reviews and the life of the writer, I got so interested that I decided to read it.In less than 3 days I was done, as I said I am not into literature but I found this book so interesting, specially since the main story is not the most important thing, but reflections,opinions, thoughts that the writer makes while trying to write the story. To read this you need to take your time to think and reflect after each page because you can find sentences that are really deep. This book was a trip to the raw stage of our inner humanity.

I paid extra for this edition but damaged upon delivery. It was jammed into the cardboard sleeve and both the spine and the corners are damaged. Very disappointed.

Clarice Lispector's last novel, published just two months before her early death from cancer in 1977. This centennial edition was published in 2020 by New Directions Books to mark the 100th anniversary of the author's birth. It is a beautifully crafted book and contains a dedication from the author herself, and insightful contributions by the translator Benjamin Moser, Irish writer Colm Tóibín and Clarice's son, Paulo Guregel Valente.

“Who has not asked himself at some time or other: am I a monster or is this what it means to be a person?” - The Hour of the Star.Narrated by the cosmopolitan Rodrigo S.M., this brief, strange, and haunting tale is the story of Macabéa, one of life's unfortunates. Living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and eking out a poor living as a typist, Macabéa loves movies, Coca-Cola, and her rat of a boyfriend; she would like to be like Marylin Monroe, but she is ugly, underfed, sickly, and unloved. Rodrigo recoils from her wretchedness, and yet he cannot avoid realization that for all her outward misery, Macabéa is inwardly free. She doesn't seem to know how unhappy she should be.I chose this book as my classic read for October because I have read some of Clarice Lispector’s short stories in the past and have enjoyed them. However, this one wasn’t a hit for me. Although I liked the themes she wrote about: poverty, class, identity, and love, I didn’t enjoy the narrator of the story. It is told through a third character so I felt like I wasn’t able to really connect to the story. Lispector’s writing is also a bit different than most, and it is usually a hit or miss for me depending on the story. I do want to go back and re-read this someday and see if it resonates with me more. And of course this cover is just a beauty I mean, wow.

It's a beautiful commemorative edition and Clarice Lispector was an amazing writer that's why her work still is very popular and acclaimed in Brazil.Unfortunately, the book wasn't well packaged and it presents some damages on the corners and close to the book spine.