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The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector
The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector
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The Passion According to G.H.
by Clarice Lispector, Visionary Brazilian Novelist
Published by New Directions Books
Lispector’s Most Shocking and Mystical Novel
Clarice Lispector’s The Passion According to G.H. (1964) is considered her most startling and provocative novel—a masterwork of existential literature. The story follows G.H., an affluent sculptress in Rio de Janeiro, as a seemingly ordinary day turns transcendent—and terrifying—when she enters her maid’s room, discovers a cockroach, and is swept into a profound spiritual crisis. What begins as a moment of panic becomes a metaphysical journey that strips away the illusions of self and reality.
Lispector herself wrote that of all her works, this novel “best corresponded to her demands as a writer.” It stands as one of the most genuinely shocking and transformative books in Brazilian literature, renowned for its radical language and piercing psychological depth.

Ask yourself:
- Are you fascinated by fiction that shatters the boundaries between the self and the world?
- Have you ever questioned the foundations of your own identity, even in the most ordinary moments?
- Can a single, shocking encounter reveal the raw mysteries of existence?
Confront the Unthinkable: Join G.H. as she faces the unknown, with nothing to hold onto but her own consciousness and the unblinking gaze of the universe.
Break Through Language: Experience Lispector’s unique prose as it bends, dissolves, and reconstructs the world on every page.
Transform Yourself: Let this legendary novel shake your sense of reality—and illuminate the astonishing possibilities of literature.
The Passion According to G.H. is not just a story; it’s an invitation to enter the most intimate depths of being. Prepare for a novel that will challenge, haunt, and ultimately expand your mind.
Praise:
“Lispector should be on the shelf with Kafka and Joyce.”
—Los Angeles Times
“The premier Latin American woman prose writer of this century.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Lispector’s prose is masterful, strange, and transcendently powerful.”
—Orhan Pamuk
About the Author:
Clarice Lispector: Visionary Novelist
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) was born in Ukraine and raised in Brazil, where she became one of the most acclaimed modernist writers in Latin America. Known for her daring, deeply psychological prose and philosophical insights, Lispector’s novels and stories have influenced generations of writers and thinkers around the world.
Book Details:
- Original Publish Date: 1964
- English Release Date: May 8, 2012
- Publisher: New Directions Books
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 193
- ISBN: 0811219682
- Languages: Portuguese (original), English
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- Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (ISBN: 9780811216715)
- The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso (ISBN: 9781564782579)
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