In the title story, women political prisoners in Stalin’s Gulag create a gift of love for their daughters that, in its domestic simplicity, expresses their love and eloquently begs for their forgiveness. Rich, pampered, utterly self-centered “Wanda Winnepeg’’ finds an ingenious and anonymous way to repay her earliest benefactor. Helene, in “A Fine Rainy Day’’ cherishes her beloved dead husband by incorporating his sunny disposition into her own critical nature. By translating him into herself, she holds on to him and at the same time ironically opens herself up to someone new. “Odette Toulemonde,’’ a simple shop assistant with a talent for joy, worships a famous Parisian writer. When he is attacked by critics, she offers her support. By accepting her lessons in happiness, he redeems himself and her.
WHY THIS WORLD:
A Biography of Clarice Lispector
By Benjamin Moser
Oxford, 496 pp., $29.95
Unknown in this country, Clarice Lispector (1920-1977) was respected, revered, and almost worshipped in her own country, Brazil. From the time she was a precocious 21-year-old, she wrote passionately obscure novels (“Near to the Wild Heart,’’ “The Chandelier’’), which were admired and acclaimed for their mysticism, amorality, and philosophical daring. Like other shy, disconnected women of great beauty, she provoked rumors, inspired legends, and invited mystery.
