Travel Muse Magazine

The first thing you see when you pick up Clarice Lispector’s Complete Stories are her all-knowing eyes; those made-up lashes and the piercing gaze that questions everything. It’s because of those eyes — how she envisioned Rio and the people that inhabit it —  that Lispector was able to see into the depths of her own mind, and pen the eighty-nine philosophical stories that make up this collection. It’s also Lispector’s power to captivate readers of the world that led to the compiling of these stories and their translation into English.

Lispector was a Ukrainian-Brazilian author and journalist who wrote continuously until her death in 1977. Her work played inventively with the Portuguese language, and is known for its shocking originality, as well as its similarities to the genres of magical-realism and surrealism. Lispector is beloved in Brazil and referred to simply as “Clarice” by readers and scholars. 

The New York Times book critic Terrence Rafferty described her this way: “Sentence by sentence, page by page, Lispector is exhilaratingly, arrestingly strange, but her perceptions come so fast, veer so wildly between the mundane and metaphysical, that after a while you don’t know where you are, either in the book or the world.” Similarly to Lispector’s famous metaphysical novel Agua Viva, which translates to “the stream of life,” Complete Stories is only concerned with location insofar as it intersects with the psychology of her characters. This happens frequently in the most poetic ways. 

For example, within the collection, “The Waters of the World” compares an unnamed woman with the sea as she takes an isolated swim in the early hours of the morning. “There it is, the sea, the most unintelligible of non-human existences,” the story begins.  “And here is the woman, standing on the beach, the most unintelligible of living beings. As a human being she once posed a question about herself” (p. 405). 

Although her stories are set in many different regions of Brazil, the majority center in Rio de Janeiro, where Lispector spent her youth after moving from Recife at fifteen. According to Instituto Moreira Salles, “In 1959, recently divorced and with two children, Clarice returned to Rio de Janeiro, where she would live, until the end of her life, in the Leme neighborhood. In total, she spent 28 years living in the city.”

The second largest city in Brazil after São Paulo functions as an evocative backdrop for Lispector’s musings on love, purpose, marriage, motherhood, sexuality, death, and everything in between. If you’re looking to abandon your own area and visit Rio de Janeiro to witness the culture and mysterious sea which fascinated the author, the below locations guarantee a Lispectorian voyage. 

Cemitério de São João Batista

This cemetery is the setting of the story “The Message,” in which a boy and girl walk past and have completely separate feelings within the moment. Lispector writes, “being a man was even nourished by that wind that was now dragging dust down the lanes of the São João Batista cemetery. The same dusty wind that made that other being, the female, curl up wounded, as if no covering would ever protect her nakedness” (p. 275). This is also the perfect place to connect with Brazil’s history, as, according to The Guardian, “The St. John the Baptist Cemetery, in the Rio neighbourhood of Botafogo, is the resting place of many noteworthy Brazilians, including the composer Antônio Carlos Jobim and singer/actor Carmen Miranda.”

Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro

To feel the momentary tranquility that Ana reaches in “Love,” pay a solitary visit to this vast botanical garden. Lispector writes, “She trudged down the central promenade, between the coconut palms. There was no one in the Garden… The vastness seemed to calm her, the silence regulated her breathing. She was falling asleep inside herself” (p. 126). 

Clarice Lispector Statue

Make sure to visit this bronze statue of Lispector and her famous dog Ulisses while in Leme. According to Statues for Equality, “The statue was unveiled in 2016 and is the first of a female artist in Rio to be memorialized in sculpture.” It’s the perfect spot to pose for a photo with the author, maybe even with a copy of the “Complete Stories” in your hand! 

Morro da Viuva

Located on a hill in the Flamengo neighborhood are these traces of a fort from 1863, that according to Rio que passou, was created to protect Flamengo Beach and Botafogo Bay. In “The Escape,” a woman ponders her life and marriage while gazing at the ocean, aimlessly walking the streets, and passing the historical Morro da Viuva (p. 64). 

Feira Livre da Glória, Farmer’s Market

Local markets are a staple of Lispector’s literature. A symbol of the beauty of the mundane, this specific market is also a great way to save money on tropical fruits like papayas and mangoes, and to engage with residents of Rio. In “The Imitation of the Rose,” a famous story about a woman named Laura who becomes taken with the beauty of a bunch of roses, the local market plays a role; “she’d gone to the farmer’s market that morning and lingered there so long, with that pleasure she took in making the most of things” (p. 141). 

Christ the Redeemer

Although not directly mentioned in the book, no trip to Rio would be complete without visiting this famous statue of Jesus. Ponder God just as Lispector’s characters do while standing beneath this feat of creation. “The foundation stone of the base was ceremonially laid on April 4, 1922– to commemorate the centennial on that day of Brazil’s independence from Portugal– although the monument’s final design had not yet been chosen.” 

Copacabana Palace Hotel

If you’re looking for a place to stay, the Copacabana Palace is a fantastic choice near the water. It’s known for its cinematic style and events, with actress Fernanda Montenegro visiting in April of 2026. The hotel is also the backdrop of “He Drank Me Up,” where Aurelia and Serjoca wait impatiently for a taxi (p. 539). 

Avenida Copacabana

This street is close to the hotel and the perfect spot to pretend to be one of Lispector’s wandering protagonists. In “Forgiving God,” the narrator goes through a spiritual epiphany while almost stepping on a large dead rat. “I was walking along down Avenida Copacabana and looking distractedly at buildings, patches of sea, people, not thinking about anything… I was being something quite rare: free. I saw everything, and at random” (p. 383). 

Boteco Belmonte Bar

In “Daydream and Drunkenness of a Young Lady,” a married woman lets loose at a work dinner, and what better way to end the night than with a few drinks at this bar in Copacabana! Channel this wildness as you sip a cocktail: “Saturday night, drunk in the  Praça Tiradentes, drunk but with her husband by her side to vouchsafe her, and she ceremonious around the other man, so much classier and wealthier, attempting to engage him in conversation, since she wasn’t just any old village gossip” (p. 114). 

Rua Gustavo Sampaio

It is worth walking past Lispector’s apartment in the Leme neighborhood on Rua Gustavo Sampaio, where she lived and wrote until her death in 1977. This area is known for incredible coastal views and high-quality food. 

You should read this book!

I view this book as a celebration of everything Lispector has to offer literature and art. It is spectacularly unique and womanly, and as many of her writings do, plays with form and language in groundbreaking ways. Due to the evolutionary nature of the writing that’s included, my favorite part of the collection is its focus on the female psyche across time. Lispector skillfully pens the diverse and complicated nature of many different women’s experiences while they navigate the stages of life. For so long her work has enchanted Portuguese-speaking audiences, but I believe we’re living through an important resurrection of her words through modern translations like this one.

I encourage everyone to pick up this 5 star collection as soon as possible, and to begin devouring the wisdom that Clarice penned many decades ago, but which remains eternal as long as her work is still loved and respected. The only difficult aspect of this book is its length and perhaps the repetition of a similar style of description throughout. I’d recommend reading it in small doses to get started, perhaps over coffee and in everyday moments. If you enjoy that, transition to Lispector’s Agua Viva or The Passion According to G.H.. Whether or not Complete Stories moves you to visit Rio de Janeiro and walk in the footsteps of Clarice and her characters, I guarantee it will alter the way you think, feel, speak, and move through the world.

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