Brazilian novelist. Born 10 Dec., 1925. Died 9 Dec., 1977 in Rio de Janiero. Her novels include The Passion According to G.H., An Apple in the Dark, and The Hour of the Star.
The latter, for which she is perhaps best known, is a short novella written right at the end of Lispector's life. Written from the perspective of a male author who is struggling to write, the book proceeds as he (and also Lispector) overcomes his difference from his character and can begin to give her life, only to institute other differences, such as that between life and death. Lispector died just as she completed the novel. This fact was of great significance from one of her most important commentators, Helene Cixous, who has written extensively on Lispector and her significance for feminism, sexual difference, and literature in exile. The Hour of the Star (written, of course, in Portugese) is an excellent introduction to the work of Lispector. Two of Cixous' most important essays on Lispector are printed in her collection of essays Coming to Writing and Other Essays.