Customer Reviews

Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector

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At nearly 500 pages, this biography of Brazil's greatest female author will be the definitive account of the Ukrainian Jew who emigrated to Brazil as a baby. Her family of origin's history was horrific and her own life was painful -- so it was no surprise that her novels explore the meaning of life. Mr. Moser's storytelling is well-done and he has has done exhaustive research. Once the reader starts this book, you will not be able to put it down.

A masterful biography of one of the 20th century's most fascinating writers, too long unknown outside her native Brazil. This engaging, authoritative work should change that!

As one of Clarice's most adoring admirers, having read most of her novels in my native Portuguese, I was captivated by the way Mr. Mosher uncovered the journey of this amazing artist, giving a historical perspective of the world she grew up in, her experiences, her insecurities, her love for writing, her passions, and her everyday life. Masterfully written! Hard to put it down. Clarice's world and words live on.

WHY THIS WORLD: A BIOGRAPHY OF CLARICE LISPECTOR will appeal to college-level collections who have works of the Brazilian writer on hand. It tells of her life, her traumatic family experiences, her studies of law and work in the 1940s as one of Brazil's few women journalists, and her works of radical fiction. Libraries offering Latin authors and analysis will find this biography key to understanding Lispector's works and influences.

The book was fascinating because it included so much of the history of Brazil in the first half of the 20th century as well as the history of Ukraine during the same period. Both were instrumental in forming Clarice Lispector's character and personality. Mr. Moser did a remarkable amount of research for the background of this biography. The quote which was powerful for me, since I was in a similar situation in Brazil having survived WWII in Europe, is:"Surviving means not to know what to do with oneself." So true!

Lispector's life is worth a biography but this one was too lengthy. It felt repetitive and it didn't seem necessary to go into such detail about publishing her works.