It’s fantastic to see you tackle your favourite author so honestly. It can sometimes be easy to switch of the critical side of our brains while dealing with our favourites - this is clearly not an issue you face!
Giving the rating felt… oddly cathartic. I think what I’m actively learning is that the critical side of my brain is still inherently creative, and that they work in tandem.
I was also reminded of this quote I found when giving the rating:
“When I speak the name of Clarice for the first time, Otto takes a deep breath, as if something were dragging him far away from there, and he’s got to focus hard not to lose himself. Then he says to me, ‘You’d better be careful with Clarice. It’s not literature. It’s witchcraft.’ And urges that whenever I read her books, I proceed with the utmost caution.”
Even reading Daydreams and Drunkenness of a Young Lady, I resonated with the above quote. Since one of my goals is to read all of Lispector’s work (not only for enjoyment, but curiosity, criticism and creativity), that sense of caution and ‘witchcraft’ is still apparent, because at times, even though I love her (and it may just be the translation?) I don’t know what the heck I’m reading. That’s a quality I admire, even if the writing in this instance didn’t hit the mark for me.
It’s fantastic to see you tackle your favourite author so honestly. It can sometimes be easy to switch of the critical side of our brains while dealing with our favourites - this is clearly not an issue you face!
Giving the rating felt… oddly cathartic. I think what I’m actively learning is that the critical side of my brain is still inherently creative, and that they work in tandem.
I was also reminded of this quote I found when giving the rating:
“When I speak the name of Clarice for the first time, Otto takes a deep breath, as if something were dragging him far away from there, and he’s got to focus hard not to lose himself. Then he says to me, ‘You’d better be careful with Clarice. It’s not literature. It’s witchcraft.’ And urges that whenever I read her books, I proceed with the utmost caution.”
Even reading Daydreams and Drunkenness of a Young Lady, I resonated with the above quote. Since one of my goals is to read all of Lispector’s work (not only for enjoyment, but curiosity, criticism and creativity), that sense of caution and ‘witchcraft’ is still apparent, because at times, even though I love her (and it may just be the translation?) I don’t know what the heck I’m reading. That’s a quality I admire, even if the writing in this instance didn’t hit the mark for me.