I forgot to mention that the record that is about to begin -- for I can no longer bear the onslaught of facts -- the record that is about to begin is written under the sponsorship of the most popular soft drink in the world even though it does not earn me anything; a soft drink that is distributed throughout throughout the world. It is the same soft drink that sponsored the recent earthquake in Guatemala. Despite the fact that it tastes of nail polish, toilet soap and chewed plastic. None of this prevents poeple from loving it with servility and subservience. Also because -- and I am now going to say something strange that only I can understand -- this drink which contains coca is today. It allows people to be modern and to move with the times. (查看原文)
She examined herself mechanically in the mirror above the filthy hand basin that was badly cracked and full of hairs: the image of her own existence. The dark, tarnished mirror scarcely reflected any image. Perhaps her physical existence had vanished? This illusion soon passed and she saw her entire face distorted by the tarnished mirror; her nose had grown as huge as those false nosed made of papier mâché donned by circus clowns. She studied herself and mused: so young and so tarnished. (查看原文)
(The girl worries me so much that I feel drained. She has drained me empty. And the less she demands, the more she worries me. I feel frustrated and annoyed. A ragging desire to smash dishes and break windows. How can I avenge myself? Or rather, how can I get satisfaction? I've found the answer: by loving my dog that consumes more food than she does. Why does she not fight back? Has she no pluck? No, she is sweet and docile)
Her eyes were enormous, round, bulging and inquisitive -- she had the expression of someone with a broken wing -- some deficiency of the thyroid gland -- questioning eyes. Whom was she questioning? God? She did not think about God, nor did God think about her. God belongs to those who succeed in pinning Him down. God appears in a moment of distraction. She asked no que... (查看原文)
The girl did not know that she existed, just as a dog doesn't know that it's a dog. Therefore she wasn't aware of her own unhappiness. The only thing she desired was to live. She could not explain, for she didn't probe her situation. Perhaps she felt there was some glory in living. She thought that a person was obliged to be happy. So she was happy. Before being born was she an idea? Before being born was she dead? And after being born was she about to die? What a thin slice of water melon. (查看原文)
One day, however, she saw something that, for one brief moment, she dearly wanted: it was a book that Senhor Raimundo, who was fond of literature, had left on the table. The book was entitled The Shamed and Oppressed. The girl remained pensive. Perhaps for the very first time she had established her social class. She thought and thought and thought! She decided that no one had ever really oppressed her and that everything that happened to her was inevitable. It was futile trying to struggle. Why struggle? I ask myself: will she one day experience love and its farewell? Will she one day experience love and its deceptions? Will she experience love's rapture in her own modest way? Who can tell? How can one disguise the simple fact that the entire world is somewhat sad and lonely? The girl fro... (查看原文)
作者: Clarice Lispector isbn: 0811219496 书名: The Hour of the Star 页数: 128 译者:Benjamin Moser 定价: USD 12.95 出版社: New Directions 出版年: 2011-11-9 装帧: Paperback
