"A radiant beauty of a writer."—The Los Angeles Times
The Foreign Legion is a collection in two parts, gathering both stories and chronicles, and it offers wonderful evidence of Clarice Lispector's unique sensibility and range as an exponent of experimental prose. It opens with thirteen stories and the second part of the book presents her newspaper crônicas, which Lispector said she retrieved from a bottom drawer.
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Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Portugese
Original Language: Portugese
About the Author
Clarice Lispector (1925-1977), the author of such works as Near to the Wild Heart, The Hour of the Star, and The Passion According to G. H., is the internationally acclaimed novelist and short-story writer from Brazil and the subject of Benjamin Moser’s magisterial biography Why This World.
Giovanni Pontiero (1932–1996) was the ablest translator of twentieth century literature in Portuguese and one of its most ardent advocates. He was the principal translator into English of the works of José Saramago and was awarded the Teixeira-Gomes Prize for his translation of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
Giovanni Pontiero (1932–1996) was the ablest translator of twentieth century literature in Portuguese and one of its most ardent advocates. He was the principal translator into English of the works of José Saramago and was awarded the Teixeira-Gomes Prize for his translation of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant and difficult,
By Jennifer A Hamilton, author of Indigeneity in... (Amherst, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Foreign Legion (New Directions Paperbook) (Paperback)
Lispector wrote some of the most amazing and revolutionary prose in the 20th-century. I realize this statement is bold, considering the fact that she shared the 20th-century with the likes of Joyce, Stein, Borges, and Faulkner, but I firmly believe she holds her own in this company. In stories just a few pages long, the reader will find ideas that relate to poststructuralist language and gender theories, as well as the Bible, Greek philosophy, and countless other great works of literature and philosophy. These ideas do not merely serve as references, but rather are put into play with all their complexities and internal contradictions exposed for all to see.
Many find Lispector's work to be overly theoretical, but I believe this is a misreading of her work in a misunderstanding of its importance. While it is true that one could probably learn more about poststructuralism by reading a Lispector story than by reading the works of Derrida, Foucault, or Cixous, what makes Lispector so great is that with every work she demonstrates that these theories, or any philosophical theories for that matter, fail to contain or explain the creative text. In other words, Lispector does not merely serve as an example of poststructuralism. It is more accurate to say that poststructuralism serves as an example of Lispector. Although I'm a huge fan of this book, it is not for the faint of heart. It is incredibly dense an extremely difficult. If you're willing to spend the time and you're up for the challenge, the rewards are great. I have returned to this book many times over many years, and each time I learn something new and question what I know and what I think I know.
17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Plenty of food for throught in style and content.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Foreign Legion (New Directions Paperbook) (Paperback)
Lispector applies her "stream of consciousness" style in an unusual two part writing. The two parts, stories and chronicles, offer observations on life within the unstable framework of her society. The stories subjects are worked over by the raw cats tongue of power. From a simple invitation to lunch to a series of dreamlike cockroach executions we are drawn in and held captive and helpless. The chronicles are observations "rescued from my bottom drawer" and called incomplete by themselves. However, as a group, these snapshots evoke a potent response. They blend together the best of this writers style in a format that strengthens the individual parts and gives back much more than you expect. I was amazed that this book pulled such intense emotional responses from me. I needed to withdraw and carefully inspect each segment before going back. A strong book written without denouement or apology
7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
La legión extranjera,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Foreign Legion: Stories and Chronicles (Hardcover)
Qué está haciendo aquí: ¿Tratando de interesarse por el libro? Pues entonces que espera ¡cómprelo! Se lo advierto, no se va a arrepentir. Recomiendo la quinta historia (es buenísima) END
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First Sentence:
Whatever his previous occupation had been, he had abandoned it, changed his profession and drifted uneasily into teaching at a primary school: that was all we knew about him. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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The Foreign Legion, Pepe The Guide, Rio de Janeiro, Don Pepe, First Guard, The Misfortunes of Sofia, Gastáo Manoel Henrique, King of Creation, Second Guard, Maria Rosa, The German, The Message Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Whatever his previous occupation had been, he had abandoned it, changed his profession and drifted uneasily into teaching at a primary school: that was all we knew about him. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
elected being Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Foreign Legion, Pepe The Guide, Rio de Janeiro, Don Pepe, First Guard, The Misfortunes of Sofia, Gastáo Manoel Henrique, King of Creation, Second Guard, Maria Rosa, The German, The Message Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
12
books
cite this book:
See all 12 books citing this book
- The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel (Cambridge Companions to Literature) by Efraín Kristal on page 75, and page 245
- Autobiographics: A Feminist Theory of Women's Self-Representation (Reading Women Writing) by Leigh Gilmore on page 86, and Back Matter
- Ashes of Revolt: Essays on Human Rights (Human Rights Series) by Marjorie Agosin on page 37, and Back Matter
- The Jewish Diaspora in Latin America: New Studies on History and Literature (Current Issues in Criminal Justice) by David Sheinin on page 103, and page 116
- Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations by Carol J. Adams on page 242, and page 262
See all 12 books citing this book
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