The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

The Hour of the Star

by Clarice Lispector

Translated by Benjamin Moser & Introduction by Colm Tóibín

Lispector’s Final Masterpiece—Now in a Stunning New Edition

The Hour of the Star is Clarice Lispector’s unforgettable last novel, now introduced by acclaimed author Colm Tóibín and translated by Benjamin Moser. This brief, strange, and haunting story is narrated by the urbane Rodrigo S.M., who chronicles the life of Macabéa—one of the forgotten, the invisible, the unloved.

Living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Macabéa ekes out a meager existence as a typist. She dreams of a better life, idolizes Marilyn Monroe, and finds small joys in movies and Coca-Cola—even as she faces a world that denies her comfort and dignity at every turn. Her only companion is her indifferent, rat-like boyfriend.

Yet beneath Macabéa’s outward misery lies an astonishing resilience—she seems untouched by the despair that should consume her. As Rodrigo tells her story, Lispector deftly contrasts his cosmopolitan voice with Macabéa’s poverty, ultimately exposing the limitations of language, the mystery of existence, and the reader’s own assumptions.

Ask yourself:

• Are you moved by stories that illuminate lives lived on the margins?
• Can literature reveal the beauty and pain of being unseen by the world?
• What does it mean to be happy—or free—against all odds?

Discover the Invisible: Walk alongside Macabéa through the streets of Rio, and glimpse the world through her innocent, undaunted gaze.

Challenge Your Assumptions: Experience Lispector’s radical narrative voice as she cuts through cliches about poverty, identity, and love.

Embrace the Mystery: Journey to the “hour of the star”—that moment when fate and meaning collide.

The Hour of the Star is not just Lispector’s parting gift to the world—it is a piercing meditation on art, empathy, and the hidden lives among us.

Praise:

“Her last book is a shattered miracle, piercingly beautiful, as strange as anything she wrote.”
—Colm Tóibín

“Lispector’s writing is an outpouring of feeling, a journey into the unknown.”
—The Guardian

“A genius on the level of Nabokov.”
—The Boston Globe

About the Author:

Clarice Lispector: Modernist Icon

Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) is one of the most influential writers in modern literature. Born in Ukraine and raised in Brazil, Lispector’s work is celebrated for its psychological depth, experimental style, and profound explorations of existence, language, and identity. Her novels and stories continue to inspire readers and writers worldwide.

Book Details:

• Original Publish Date: 1977
• English Release Date: 2011 (New Directions Edition)
• Publisher: New Directions Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 96
• ISBN: 9780811219495
• Languages: Portuguese (original), English

Other Titles Liked by Readers of The Hour of the Star:

From Clarice Lispector:

• Agua Viva (ISBN: 9780142437346)
• The Passion According to G.H. (ISBN: 9780811219686)

Other Popular Titles:

• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (ISBN: 9780393352567)
• The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (ISBN: 9780553213690)
• Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (ISBN: 9780811216715)
• So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (ISBN: 9781577668060)

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