Product Description

This crisp new translation by John Gledson is the only complete, unabridged, and annotated edition available of one of the most distinctive novels of the turn of the century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51238 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
Machado's masterpiece. The New York Times Book Review

Review
Machado's masterpiece. (The New York Times Book Review )

Synopsis
This crisp new translation by John Gledson is the only complete, unabridged, and annotated edition available of one of the most distinctive novels of the turn of the century.

Customer Reviews

Machado de Assis
Firstly, the novel is not principally intended to be an exposition of nineteenth-century Brazilian society, despite what several critics have said. That would make it pretty boring. It has more to do with the failure of memory, the inescapability of origins and the nature of the novel itself. Machado lampoons (for want of a better word) the idea of the novel as a reflection of reality; after all, Bento is very nearly a madman - on this point I'm sure Graciliano Ramos is directly indebted to Machado. This mocking approach to Realism, incidentally, gives the novel a very modern feel. Bento suffers under the illusion that he can dig up the past in a scientific, observational manner (confer his son, Ezequiel, who becomes an archaeologist). A further level of irony is that while the novel is written in the first person, we can see more of the picture than the narrator because he lets things slip. So the novel is, with a twist that Machado would have appreciated, more real than anything he could have written in the 'objective' third person because the reader is included in the creative process. There are ambiguities as well as ironies, much as in life.

The novel is also interesting as a tragedy. I suspect that Bento tries very hard to give his own story the same weight as Othello's. As I believe, he fails to compare himself satisfactorily with great tragic figures from the past or in literature (look at the statues in his home). This is because Machado knows that he is writing something better, something which doesn't need to call on past precedent because it is new. The tragedy part is very modern, because he doesn't actually kill Capitu. In fact, the only thing that really ends up murdered is his own soul.

I would argue that the basic content of Dom Casmurro could have been set anywhere. The major points of the story and characterisation could have occurred in Europe or North America.If Machado is condemning society, then that society is still - even now - omnipresent. And he was very much a part of it in his own lifetime.

Finally, please bear in mind that the book is also very funny. Look at José Dias for reference on that point, not to mention the flights of fancy.

Oh, and about whether Capitu really was unfaithful - who cares?

espresso or macchiato?
One of the chapters is simply called "The Cup of Coffee"-- a dark, delicious page of a chapter that will probably lead you into the kitchen, wondering what sort of coffee Machado de Assis would have drunk. It would have been fast, you tell yourself as you fill your stovetop machine, standing up at one of those long counters in the back of a well-known cafe. One quick sip. A small white cup. That much is obvious. But as the black liquid begins to bubble up, you start to think about the dollop of foam that separates the sweet tang of espresso from the subtleties of a morning macchiato, and you ask yourself, as your reach for the milk, would Machado...?

A universal literature masterpiece
Machado de Assis is perhaps the greatest Portuguese language romancist, and certainly the most important Brazilian author. This book is his best work. In a very short manner, it could be desribed as a "Brazilian Ottello", but it mustn't be be considered as a version of the Shakespeare classic, but a unique story, very reach in itself. Machado has an amazing ability to make the reader feel like his characters, and involves us in a tram where the complete uncertainty and blind jealousy is thrilling, and rises our deepest passionate feelings, for or against the main character. This book is a definitely a must read for everyone who enjoys good literature.