The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839 – 1908) was a Brazilian writer. The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas came out in 1881 and seems to be in the middle of his output.

The fantastical and intense writing reminds me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, without the social awareness.

This New Yorker article asks why he isn't read more: Writes Benjamin Moser "Since no one can graduate from high school without feigning knowledge of his work, many people read him far too young, and come to view him as a child might regard an improving vegetable."

And, "This might be one reason that Machado never really caught on abroad. He was not interested in national folklore, and described a milieu not too distant from that of Henry James or Edith Wharton."

Race is treated differently in Brazil, where everyone seems to be mixed. This NY Times article discuss a new edit of a photo of him looking black.

Links

Tartuffe: Assis uses as a verb "tartufo" and other derivations.

Comments

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