mood music: Só Tinha De Ser Com Você – elis regina and tom jobim
I will accept that I am in the minority regarding this book. Based on the GoodReads score and the consensus on social media, I guess I don’t understand art. Clarice Lispector was a very talented writer, the prose itself is almost poetic in the way that it flows throughout the story, but thematically I could not get on board with this book. At first, I thought it was the translation from Brazilian Portuguese to English, but as I progressed I realized it wasn’t my cup of tea.
The story follows Lori, an elementary school teacher in a situationship with a philosophy professor, Ulisses. The title itself comes from a prolonged lesson of sorts that Ulisses spends teaching Lori throughout the story, as she pines for his affection and physical intimacy. He repeatedly tells her that she is not ready for them to sleep together because she is too eager, and he will decide when she is ready to become intimate with him.
In my opinion, Ulisses sucks and I couldn’t believe that this was written by a woman, but I had to remind myself that this was written during the 1960s when Brazil was going through some political and religious turmoil. Even still, I hated the kind of mentor-mentee relationship between Lori and Ulisses, and it was obvious that Ulisses thought he was much smarter and worldly than Lori. Also, while he is making Lori wait for him to determine when they can finally have sex, he freely admits to her that he has been sleeping around with other women and she has to be okay with that, which she is. It’s only after she ghosts him for several weeks that he returns to her claiming that they are ready to become intimate. She rebukes him, but not for too long, as they do eventually consummate the relationship and become exclusive.
I would not recommend this book. I didn’t consider it the beautiful love story that it was described as on GoodReads and TikTok, but to each their own I guess.