Back-of-the-envelope Lispector

My scrappy notes on The Hour of the Star

Hello all and a very special welcome to all the new subscribers joining us as other newsletters start to recommend

The Booktender

. Thanks so much for opening, reading and recommending this newsletter.

Speaking of thanks and stars: Is it creepy to know that Substack gives writers a list of their subscribers with star ratings? The formula seems to relate to how regularly you open these messages—or not.

While I appreciate a “Passion for the Void” (the title of Colm Tóibín’s introduction to The Hour of the Star, the book I’m serving up with a side of scrappy how-to today), screaming into it is another story, you know? So it made me happy when I discovered I could sort the subscriber list by star rating to identify a group of regulars. Cue the Cheers! theme song.

I recently I checked in with some ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ subscribers who have been here all year to say thanks for reading. If I didn’t do that for you yet and you have been reading consistently— it’s just because I’m still intimidated by your brilliance in some …