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

Character list of Inherent Vice the novel

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6 month old podcast

Al Franken has a podcast , and he has my favorite Heather Cox Richardson , and they have an interesting discussion. He talks about the knife edge. She really explains the Republican strategy. Flood the zone with shit. Alternate facts, and fake news opens up the idea that there is no reality. It's basically reality versus false reality. The goal is to both get people to back away from politics, and to tell them how to specifically think. Developed in Russia, a system of overturning democracy. Running fake candidates, who switch parties, and running candidates with the same name. Blackmail is a technique. Create a fake reality that people come to believe. They're willing to vote for a narrative is not true, and they're willing to vote away their rights. You can flip it and use the same tools.You can weaponize social media by ignoring the shit, and fight back against all these techniques. People defend democracy. They're talking about community and caring for people and ...

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