Name: Água Viva
Rating: 4.255952380952381 (84 reviews)
ISBN: 9780811219907

Clarice Lispector

Benjamin Moser

Stefan Tobler

Lispector at her most philosophically radical.

Água Viva

i could close my eyes and point to any line on any page and it would be one of the most beautiful sentences ever put together 

Lauren Leskowsky

cece

clarice lispector somehow managed to perform surgery on my brain and wrote an entire book about it

ame 

Through at first nonsensical—though nonetheless beautifully written—passages, Lispector meanders into a perfect depiction of the human experience.

Dália 

𓆩 𓆪

Isn't strange how a book with little to no plot could comfort me in a sense that I feel like someone crawls out the book just to pat my head and tell me that it is okay to slow down?

this is like meditation. this is how I awakened my third eye

SARA

all of lispector's works can be considered avant-garde by modern and contemporary standards: with água viva and the passions according to gh especially so. lispector challenges readers with her unmakeout-able, trance-like, stream of conscious on paper. though, for more coherency, see the apprenticeship or the book of pleasures. 

i especially appreciate her prose as dictation of what my heart desires to share yet cannot find my own words to do so.

soochie

all of lispector's works can be considered avant-garde by modern and contemporary standards: with água viva and the passions according to gh especially so. lispector challenges readers with her unmakeout-able, trance-like, stream of conscious on paper. though, for more coherency, see the apprenticeship or the book of pleasures. 

i especially appreciate her prose as dictation of what my heart desires to share yet cannot find my own words to do so.

“when i think of what i already lived through it seems to me i was shedding my bodies along the paths.”

- a series of short and meditative "instants" (as the author describes them) about living, writing, creating, loving, thinking, and, most of all, time. esp. living in the present and immortalizing it

- i like to describe àgua viva as the clarice lispector sample platter: sort of a mixing bowl of all of her most unique traits as a writer in a very short (88 pages) package. because of this, àgua viva is my personal recommended starting point for clarice’s body of work, as you can read this book in a short amount of time and draw a solid conclusion on if the rest of her writing is worth your time or not

- another reason this is such a great introduction to clarice as a writer is because of.... well, the introduction (at least in the new directions edition, which is what i have). since this was my first full read from clarice, the introduction taught me so much about her reputation with bending the rules of language and sentence structure

- not to contradict myself, but i have to admit this is my least favorite book i’ve read from clarice so far. this isn’t saying much though: àgua viva is still an incredible read, just not quite at the same level as the other three i’ve read

- the narrator’s discussion of time is, to me, a little boring? and i just prefer the themes from her other books

- àgua viva is also her most abstract and fragmented book, which makes it hard for me to really be invested in the character and her narration the same way i am with her other novels

- i really enjoy the narrator in àgua viva, and i really wish i got to learn more about her. similar to some of clarice lispector’s other protagonist’s (namely g.h.), you can tell she is recovering from some big Event with a capital E. she’s often addressing a person (usually in second person) that she loved and lost in some significant way. there are some really beautiful paragraphs in àgua viva that kinda graze over this, but i wanted this conflict to take more of the spotlight

smile??

- “when i think of what i already lived through it seems to me i was shedding my bodies along the paths.” (p.66)

- a series of short and meditative "instants" (as the author describes them) about living, writing, creating, loving, thinking, and, most of all, time. esp. living in the present and immortalizing it

- i like to describe àgua viva as the clarice lispector sample platter: sort of a mixing bowl of all of her most unique traits as a writer in a very short (88 pages) package. because of this, àgua viva is my personal recommended starting point for clarice’s body of work, as you can read this book in a short amount of time and draw a solid conclusion on if the rest of her writing is worth your time or not

- another reason this is such a great introduction to clarice as a writer is because of.... well, the introduction (at least in the new directions edition, which is what i have). since this was my first full read from clarice, the introduction taught me so much about her reputation with bending the rules of language and sentence structure

- not to contradict myself, but i have to admit this is my least favorite book i’ve read from clarice so far. this isn’t saying much though: àgua viva is still an incredible read, just not quite at the same level as the other three i’ve read

- the narrator’s discussion of time is, to me, a little boring? and i just prefer the themes from her other books

- àgua viva is also her most abstract and fragmented book, which makes it hard for me to really be invested in the character and her narration the same way i am with her other novels

- i really enjoy the narrator in àgua viva, and i really wish i got to learn more about her. similar to some of clarice lispector’s other protagonist’s (namely g.h.), you can tell she is recovering from some big Event with a capital E. she’s often addressing a person (usually in second person) that she loved and lost in some significant way. there are some really beautiful paragraphs in àgua viva that kinda graze over this, but i wanted this conflict to take more of the spotlight

Paradoxalmente, me encontro sem palavras, para descrever um livro que sinto que me deu minhas palavras de volta. Finalizei esse livro sabendo nunca mais serei a mesma. 

Larissa Campos

Paradoxalmente, me encontro sem palavras, para descrever um livro que sinto que me deu minhas palavras de volta. Finalizei esse livro sabendo nunca mais serei a mesma. 



FIRST READ: didn’t like it as much as i thought…i think because her work is so internal it may come off as cringe sometimes. i guess im in that stage of life where i dont respond to her work that well. let me read this again when i have a crush on someone lol

SECOND READ: rereading it now that i have a crush on someone and FUCKKK. i get it now

Patricia K

FIRST READ: didn’t like it as much as i thought…i think because her work is so internal it may come off as cringe sometimes. i guess im in that stage of life where i dont respond to her work that well. let me read this again when i have a crush on someone lol

SECOND READ: rereading it now that i have a crush on someone and FUCKKK. i get it now

personal copy

Clarice lê-se para se sentir. A sinceridade da sua prosa e a liberdade com que usa e abusa das palavras para explicar sentimentos, pensamentos, gestos, ..., são o que tornam este livro tão especial. Se há alguém no mundo que me compreende, que descreve, palavra por palavra, o que sinto, é ela. 

Cada livro dela é único, diferente, uma experiência por si só. Água Viva é dolorosamente curto, mas reconforto-me em saber que ele existe para lá do tempo; que, apesar de já estar escrito e terminado com ponto final, a fluidez do pensamento e do que ele transmite transcende o passado, presente e futuro juntos. Belíssimo.  

Um adendo: Durante todo o livro, Clarice fala do “instante-já”, do “momento único”,… Enfim, algo que seja permanente no presente, nem antes, nem depois. E todo o livro possui essa mesma sensação de permanência, eu diria; ele existe por si só no tempo em que criou, num universo onde não existe nem passado, nem presente, nem futuro; afinal se o tempo foi construído pelo Homem também por ele pode ser desconstruído. Já no final do livro Clarice refere este mesmo desejo de querer que o livro continue, para lá do ponto final. E ele continua, pelo menos, eu imagino-o assim; é um livro que existe, que respira, que é tão fluído quanto o pensamento: é Água Viva.

dyonisos.

Clarice lê-se para se sentir. A sinceridade da sua prosa e a liberdade com que usa e abusa das palavras para explicar sentimentos, pensamentos, gestos, ..., são o que tornam este livro tão especial. Se há alguém no mundo que me compreende, que descreve, palavra por palavra, o que sinto, é ela. 

Cada livro dela é único, diferente, uma experiência por si só. Água Viva é dolorosamente curto, mas reconforto-me em saber que ele existe para lá do tempo; que, apesar de já estar escrito e terminado com ponto final, a fluidez do pensamento e do que ele transmite transcende o passado, presente e futuro juntos. Belíssimo.  

Um adendo: Durante todo o livro, Clarice fala do “instante-já”, do “momento único”,… Enfim, algo que seja permanente no presente, nem antes, nem depois. E todo o livro possui essa mesma sensação de permanência, eu diria; ele existe por si só no tempo em que criou, num universo onde não existe nem passado, nem presente, nem futuro; afinal se o tempo foi construído pelo Homem também por ele pode ser desconstruído. Já no final do livro Clarice refere este mesmo desejo de querer que o livro continue, para lá do ponto final. E ele continua, pelo menos, eu imagino-o assim; é um livro que existe, que respira, que é tão fluído quanto o pensamento: é Água Viva.

“Only the act of love—the limpid star-like abstraction of feeling—captures the unknown moment, the instant hard as crystal and vibrating in the air and life is this untellable instant, larger than the event itself: during love the impersonal jewel of the moment shines in the air, the strange glory of the body, matter made feeling in the trembling of the instants—and the feeling is both immaterial and so objective that it seems to happen outside your body, sparkling on high, joy, joy is time’s material and the essence of the instant.”

In Água Viva, there is no order—only the transcendental nakedness of thought. A meditation without anchor, a narrative that dares to name the unnameable. This is a dialogue with the self, unfolding in fragments, pauses, and sudden illuminations, as if consciousness itself were speaking aloud with no need to justify its leaps. Every line feels on the edge of revelation, trembling with an intensity that refuses closure.

Reading this feels like slipping underneath language into the silence it tries to hold. This book is definitely a hallmark of Lispector's fearless dismantling of form. Água Viva is a living text that is not meant to be understood in the traditional sense.

Rien

“Only the act of love—the limpid star-like abstraction of feeling—captures the unknown moment, the instant hard as crystal and vibrating in the air and life is this untellable instant, larger than the event itself: during love the impersonal jewel of the moment shines in the air, the strange glory of the body, matter made feeling in the trembling of the instants—and the feeling is both immaterial and so objective that it seems to happen outside your body, sparkling on high, joy, joy is time’s material and the essence of the instant.”

In Água Viva, there is no order—only the transcendental nakedness of thought. A meditation without anchor, a narrative that dares to name the unnameable. This is a dialogue with the self, unfolding in fragments, pauses, and sudden illuminations, as if consciousness itself were speaking aloud with no need to justify its leaps. Every line feels on the edge of revelation, trembling with an intensity that refuses closure.

Reading this feels like slipping underneath language into the silence it tries to hold. This book is definitely a hallmark of Lispector's fearless dismantling of form. Água Viva is a living text that is not meant to be understood in the traditional sense.

the immediacy of the prose is disconcerting to me. im as latin for "not" and media as latin for "middle". i wanted to like this a lot as a whole but i found it grating to read, despite how earnestly it is written. there are some great lines in there and honestly this is a great exercise in style, but this just isnt for me. i do have to say that it is excellently written. not verbose and despite its stream-of-consciousness style, lispector takes great care to pause and breathe and ramble and pause and do it over and over again

i do appreciate the central message of the book: NEVER KILL YOURSELF! lispector's treatise is a deeply buddhist text, without the asceticism. take a sip from the water of life (agua viva) go for a stroll. experience life as it is. 

where i went wrong is probably in my strategy to read the book. i had wanted to use this as a breather almost, a companion to the dry and academic deluge by tooze that i tried to read concurrently. i suspect that if the reader commits 1-2 hours to this and really sit down with it, the experience will be far more positive. instead, i was pulled in and out of this work abruptly as i read this on my commutes

also this is ~80 pages too, so not a large commitment

Ghee

the immediacy of the prose is disconcerting to me. im as latin for "not" and media as latin for "middle". i wanted to like this a lot as a whole but i found it grating to read, despite how earnestly it is written. there are some great lines in there and honestly this is a great exercise in style, but this just isnt for me. i do have to say that it is excellently written. not verbose and despite its stream-of-consciousness style, lispector takes great care to pause and breathe and ramble and pause and do it over and over again

i do appreciate the central message of the book: NEVER KILL YOURSELF! lispector's treatise is a deeply buddhist text, without the asceticism. take a sip from the water of life (agua viva) go for a stroll. experience life as it is. 

where i went wrong is probably in my strategy to read the book. i had wanted to use this as a breather almost, a companion to the dry and academic deluge by tooze that i tried to read concurrently. i suspect that if the reader commits 1-2 hours to this and really sit down with it, the experience will be far more positive. instead, i was pulled in and out of this work abruptly as i read this on my commutes

also this is ~80 pages too, so not a large commitment

Saffy

"My candour was crushed underfoot by you. You didn’t love me, only I know that. I was alone. Yours alone. I write to no one and a riff is being made that doesn’t exist. I unglued myself from me." 

mari

i ❤️ vulnerable female writers (they just like me fr) 

unserious review cuz i need to go to sleep byeeeeee

Alma

i ❤️ vulnerable female writers (they just like me fr) 

unserious review cuz i need to go to sleep byeeeeee

Água Viva

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