Perto do coração selvagem
Her breakthrough debut novel and a foundational entry point into her fiction.
Author guide
Clarice Lispector Books in Order
Born Chaya Pinkhasovna Lispector in Chechelnyk, Ukraine, Clarice Lispector immigrated to Brazil with her family as a child and wrote in Portuguese. She became one of Brazil's most important twentieth-century authors with works ranging from the breakthrough novel Perto do coração selvagem to the radically experimental Água viva and the late novella A hora da estrela. Her bibliography also includes short-story collections, chronicles, essays, children's literature, journalism, and posthumously published works based on substantial manuscripts and original material. Her writing is characterized by existential inquiry, fluid interiority, attention to ordinary experience, and persistent questioning of identity, embodiment, consciousness, and language.
literary fictionnovelsnovellasshort storieschroniclesessaysnonfictionjournalismchildren's literature
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Laços de família
A landmark short-story collection that introduces her psychological, domestic, and epiphanic storytelling.
A hora da estrela
A concise late novella that foregrounds her narrative experimentation and ethical concerns.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (9)
- Perto do coração selvagem
novel · 1943
O surgimento de Perto do coração selvagem, em 1943, causou grande impacto no cenário literário brasileiro, proporcionando à autora aclamação imediata da crítica e de seus colegas escritores.Houve quem encontrasse no livro a influência de…
- O lustre
novel · 1946
- A cidade sitiada
novel · 1949
"Revised edition of Lispector's third novel is based on its second edition, the last one reformulated by the author"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.
- A maçã no escuro
novel · 1961
Neste livro, o atordoado Martim se torna um novo homem após ter supostamente assassinado a mulher. Fugindo do crime, acaba descobrindo-se por inteiro, desprezando os antigos valores estabelecidos em sua vida. Sua fuga, em vez de isolá-lo,…
- A paixão segundo G.H.
novel · 1964
- Uma aprendizagem ou o livro dos prazeres
novel · 1969
- Água viva
novel · 1973
Água viva dá continuidade ao projeto de edições especiais reproduzindo os manuscritos e datiloscritos originais de Clarice Lispector, iniciado com A hora da estrela e que será continuado com Um sopro de vida. Obedecendo ao conceito geral…
- A hora da estrela
novella · 1977
- Um sopro de vida: pulsações
novel · 1978
Este livro é sobre de um homem aflito que criou uma personagem, Angela Pralini, seu alter-ego. Mas ora ele não se reconhecia em Angela, porque ela era o seu avesso, ora odiava visceralmente o que via refletido naquela estranha…
Short fiction (7)
- Alguns contos
short-story-collection · 1952
- Laços de família
short-story-collection · 1960
- Felicidade clandestina
short-story-collection · 1971
- A imitação da rosa
short-story-collection · 1973
- A via crucis do corpo
short-story-collection · 1974
- Onde estivestes de noite
short-story-collection · 1974
- A bela e a fera
short-story-collection · 1979
Children's books (5)
- O mistério do coelho pensante
children's-book · 1967
- A mulher que matou os peixes
children's-book · 1968
- A vida íntima de Laura
children's-book · 1974
Laura é uma galinha meio marrom, meio ruiva, com um pescoço muito feio - mas é bonita por dentro, além de ser bem simpática. Não é muito inteligente, entretanto, não é de todo burra porque ao ciscar escolhe coisas que não lhe fazem mal.…
- Quase de verdade
children's-book · 1978
- Como nasceram as estrelas
children's-book · 1987
Other (3)
- A legião estrangeira
mixed-collection · 1964
Os 13 contos de 'A Legião Estrangeira' abordam o cotidiano familiar, a perversidade infantil e a solidão. Entre os contos, 'Viagem a Petrópolis', escrito quando Clarice tinha apenas 14 anos. Neste, a escritora narra a solidão de uma…
- Visão do esplendor: impressões leves
chronicle-collection · 1975
- Para não esquecer
chronicle-collection · 1978
Frequently asked questions about Clarice Lispector
Was Clarice Lispector Brazilian or Ukrainian?
She was born in 1920 in Chechelnyk, then in Soviet Ukraine, to a Jewish Ukrainian family, and immigrated to Brazil as a child. Raised in Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, she wrote in Portuguese and is widely regarded as a major Brazilian writer.
Sources: sites.usp.br (opens in a new tab)ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)
What did Clarice Lispector do before becoming a celebrated novelist?
While studying law at the University of Brazil, she worked as a reporter, journalist, and translator. She began publishing stories in 1940, and her 1943 debut novel quickly brought her national attention.
Sources: ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)newyorker.com (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Clarice Lispector’s writing?
Her prose has been linked to Jewish mysticism introduced by her father, as well as to a sustained search through language and inner experience. Critics frequently discuss her alongside writers such as Virginia Woolf, Kafka, and Katherine Mansfield.
Sources: newyorker.com (opens in a new tab)site.claricelispector.ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)
What awards did Clarice Lispector receive?
Her debut novel received the Graça Aranha Award in 1944. Her collection Laços de Família was also recognized in the 1961 Jabuti awards.
Sources: site.claricelispector.ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)premiojabuti.com.br (opens in a new tab)
Why is Clarice Lispector considered important?
She helped reshape Brazilian prose by making inner experience, linguistic experimentation, and the act of narration central to fiction. Her work is now widely translated, disseminated, and studied internationally.
Sources: site.claricelispector.ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)site.claricelispector.ims.com.br (opens in a new tab)