A vertiginous dash through the mind of a highly idiosyncratic and
inventive writer. Lispector, the Brazilian novelist (The Hour of
the Star, 1990, etc.), was from 1967 to 1973 also a columnist for
the Jornal do Brasil, the largest newspaper in Rio de Janeiro. This
collection of 156 of her columns (cronicas) makes the work of her
American counterparts, from that of Anna Quindlen to Jimmy Breslin,
seem predictable, narrowly focused, and pedestrian. If a newspaper
column can be compared with a social visit from the writer, who
drops by often enough to become a friend, then Lispector can be
said to be an enchanting, unnerving, and sometimes giddy visitor.
She casts a wide net in these pieces. There are some deeply cryptic
gleanings. ("I dreamed that a fish was taking its clothes off and
remained naked" is the entire text of one piece.) There are also
several series of full-fledged stories, including "The Princess,"
told in five parts, and "The Egg and the Chicken," told in three.
Other columns resemble conventional feature writing. "Lightning
Interview with Pablo Neruda (II)," for example, poses questions to
the poet and duly provokes answers. "Does writing make the anguish
of living more bearable?" Lispector asks. She further asks to the
poet to "say something to surprise me." Most of the time, the need
to surprise herself seems to guide the columns, and the result is a
body of work likely to give pause to North Americans, who seem to
prefer their journalism straightforward and flat-footed.
Lispector's is headily expansive, a reprieve from the usual. Of
course, the pressure to write for each Saturday edition does lead
to various ups and downs; the downs include facile moments when
even Lispector's imagination temporarily folds its tent. But the
stumbling is rare. A provocative revision of journalistic
possibilities. (Kirkus Reviews)
Translations of chronicles first published between 1967-73 in Lispector's weekly column for Jornal do Brasil and representing about two-thirds of the volume A descoberta do mundo (HLAS 48:6221). That work was translated by Pontiero under title Discovering the world (HLAS 54:5084)"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.
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