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Epitaph of a Small Winner (Trilogia Realista #1)

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 3,854 ratings · 174 reviews

One of the greatest novels of Brazilian Literature, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas is narrated by a dead man who recounts the amorous misadventures of his unheroic life and explains his half-hearted political ambitions. While it is considered the first novel of Brazilian realism, its quirks seem refreshingly modern and make it unforgettably unlike anything written before...more

Paperback, 209 pages

Published 1997 by Bloomsbury (first published 1880)

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Dec 14, 2009 brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to brian by: karen

a sick chicken and the voluptuousness of misery

we read an author and wonder 'how is it possible that this genius is not known?'... yes, only a species as cretinous as ours could ignore machado. along with carpentier and mutis, he takes the top 'what the fuck' spot.

here are three reasons machado must be read, must not be forgotten:

1) as karen pointed out below: "18fucking80". yup. madman machado wrote a modernist masterpiece way back when. joyce and woolf? they don't have shit on machado. nothin...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Aubrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: translated, portuguese, on-hand, first-in-a-series, 5-star, books-are-the-best-invention, reviewed

The reader, like his fellows, doubtless prefers action to reflection, and doubtless he is wholly in the right. So we shall get to it. However, I must advise that this book is written leisurely, with the leisureliness of a man no longer troubled by the flight of time; that is a work supinely philosophical, but of a philosophy wanting in uniformity, now austere, now playful, a thing that neither edifies nor destroys, neither inflames nor chills, and that is at once more of a pastime and less than
...more
The reader, like his fellows, doubtless prefers action to reflection, and doubtless he is wholly in the right. So we shall get to it. However, I must advise that this book is written leisurely, with the leisureliness of a man no longer troubled by the flight of time; that is a work supinely philosophical, but of a philosophy wanting in uniformity, now austere, now playful, a thing that neither edifies nor destroys, neither inflames nor chills, and that is at once more of a pastime and less than a preachment.
The more I read, the more I come to understand that the trait I admire most in authors is not so much a matter of elegant prose, complex plots, characters that leap off the pages and make their home in your heads when the last page has been turned and the story has ended. Those are all very entertaining in their own right, but clever is as clever does, and rarely provokes long-lasting admiration in my mind. What I prefer is a simple matter of trust, belief, faith even if that is the direction your theological tendencies swing. Faith of the author in themselves, but more importantly, enough faith in their audience to lead them without expounding, carry them along in the pages without tending to their every need and pandering to their every expectation.

Some would disagree with me on that point. In fact, many would, all those folks who dislike books for "trying too hard" and "being too smart". Those who feel that the author did not adhere to the formula enough to guarantee formulaic enjoyment of the audience, and decry them for leading them out of their literary comfort zones and making them confront a strange beast of ink and paper. Oftentimes they look at this weird creature and see something of themselves inside it. Sometimes this bothers them. More frequently than you'd expect, this scares them.

So what does this have to do with this book here, you ask? Good question. I haven't quite figured it out myself, actually. At least, not at this exact point in time, as I type down these words in the middle of a coffee shop, the book itself on my right and a list of its quotes on the left. That's why you're here. You're joining me on this journey, the goal of which is to find the purpose of conducting in the first place. Circular, no? But true.

What this book achieves is an astounding thing in this current age, but even moreso when one takes into account the year of publication. 1880, two years after The Brothers Karamazov and four years before The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you asked me which is more closely related to this particular specimen, I'd have to say TBK. But only in terms of the wealth of philosophical content, the exacting and measured analysis of the human condition, the grappling with questions of success, reputation, and mortality. TBK tells you a story in a sonorous tone, preaches from the pulpit of its well-deserved yet greatly intimidating authorial presence. This book hops up on the stand, poses with hand on hip, says a few words in a serious tone, then quickly hops down and invites you to the back table to ruminate and reminisce over a few choice bottles of the finest vintages. There is a man behind the curtain, and he doesn't bother to pretend that he doesn't know that you know that he knows it's there. Instead, he welcomes you into his humble abode, and asks if you wish to hear a story. And trust me, reader, you really should say yes.

Why? Why do we want to hear this story from this author, one who breaks off from all conventions in serving us what cannot at all be deemed a novel? One hundred and sixty bits and pieces of one, perhaps, but how could that possibly flow as strongly and as soothingly as a single entity, one that admittedly breaks off into chapters but ensures that each chapter is a well-rounded stepping stone to the next? Instead, we have this book, whose sections sometimes contain no more than a paragraph, a single sentence, even at some point a series of dots (or ellipses? Impossible to tell). How can a story possibly be told in such an erratic and incomprehensible fashion?

Through conscientious and deliberate interaction of the author with his audience, who predicts their interests and invites them to go beyond them. Through knowledgeable understatement, conveying through simple events powerful ideas on life, love, and the death that the author supposedly composes in, without once feeling the need to paint an obvious map for the reader to jerk themselves around on. Through a measured and insightful eye on the actions of the main character, creating a man that dwells on deep thoughts without realization and dismisses them for frivolities and pleasure, yet is incontrovertibly shaped by the powerful undertow. A man who is both infuriatingly obtuse and startlingly sensitive, capable of both great cruelty and great understanding. A man who lived without effort, and died before making an effort. A man, now dead, writing of a life that he felt was lived without achieving any measure of great suffering, or amount of great joy.

Perhaps he never did acquire those things he longed for so long in life. He did, however, find one thing: a small amount of truth in his life, one that reconciled his mortality with his visions of success, and contented him with living in constant and clear-sighted observation of himself and of others. The character may have never realized the beauty of his thoughts, the wonderful philosophies he drew from a privileged, yet empty living. I believe, however, that the author trusted us enough to discover those for ourselves. However much he played with us during the course of the pages, flattering our sensibilities while baffling our literary conventions, he trusted us to go through his pages and discover something on our own, for our own. That something, however small, is worth everything.(less)

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Aug 28, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books; 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)

Shelves: 1001-core, latin-american

Strangely fascinating. I am no expert in literature and only started reading "serious" fiction works a couple of years back in my quest to read all those works included in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Dr. Boxall.

Therefore, at first, I did not know how to react to this kind of literary work. Some say it is a novel but the author, the Brazilian Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) says that is is a memoir. However, a memoir is supposed to be fiction. But how could this be ficti...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Hamedjaalaali rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

باور کنید سال 1860 هم پست مدرنیسم بوده است باور ندارید این کتاب را بخوانید

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Mar 22, 2011 Nate D rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all of us small winners

Recommended to Nate D by: pre-modern postmodernism

Shelves: brazil, post-modernism, fin-de-siecle

This is the autobiography of a fictional dead writer -- not a writer who is dead, our narrator observes but a dead man who is writing, recounting his story from beyond the grave. That his story is so ordinary in its arc of 19th-century gentry romance and petty political aspiration just allows him to fill its margins with incisive observation, philosophizing both expansive and bitterly cynical, and darkly playful post-modern games -- chapters designed to explain other chapters or themselves, a ch...more This is the autobiography of a fictional dead writer -- not a writer who is dead, our narrator observes but a dead man who is writing, recounting his story from beyond the grave. That his story is so ordinary in its arc of 19th-century gentry romance and petty political aspiration just allows him to fill its margins with incisive observation, philosophizing both expansive and bitterly cynical, and darkly playful post-modern games -- chapters designed to explain other chapters or themselves, a chapter entirely blotted out, chapters that we are told have been removed from the book even within their own text, all designed to convey the story's vicissitudes all the more sharply.

Wait, post-modernism? In 1880? In Brazil?! Yes. Machado de Assis was the son of a house painter and a washerwomen, born in 1839, and essentially a self-taught man of letters beyond the five years of public school (or its mid-19th century Brazilian equivalent). After some years of more time-typical romantic novels and stories, a period of illness gave him the urgency to break with any prior tradition to create Epitaph of a Small Winner, seemingly an attempt to capture the basic sadness of ordinary existence with grace and dry humor. And a level of formal innovation pretty much unsurpassed in its time, totally in service of his story. (Disclaimer: I've not read Tristam Shandy or Don Quixote, both of which I'm told have some of the same elements of pre-modern post-modernism).

Admittedly, the actual story of this book is not so exciting. As I said before: pretty ordinary threads of romance and politics. And our posthumous narrator, who Assis seems to have made a full generation older than himself and a somewhat complacent inheritor of privilege and wealth, is far less interesting than Assis himself. But his voice -- Assis' voice coming through him -- is completely amazing, and gives the book all of its thrill and charm and perceptive power.

(2.5 star story with a 4 star execution and 5 stars of literary ground-breakingness, perhaps)(less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Asma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The alternate translation is "Epitaph of a Small Winner", but mine was "The Posthumous Memoirs...", an inaugural publication of OUP's Library of Latin America series. The autobiographical memoir is narrated by the protagonist Brás Cubas, a nineteenth-century, leisured Brazilian of Rio de Janeiro and a resident in timeless eternity. The day of his death opens the narrative. By chapters IX and X, the reader knows his ancestry and birth; whereupon, he continues with his life experiences, which enco...more

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Jul 10, 2010 Julia Boechat Machado rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, brazilian-literature, constantly-re-reading, tingle-of-the-spine, punch-in-the-stomach, favorites, 1880s

Tive a grande sorte de ler esse livro aos 13 anos. Ou seja, antes de ter uma professora que ensinava que a obra Machado de Assis se divide em duas fases, a romântica e a realista e que escritor-defunto e defunto-escritor são a mesma coisa, além de ler um trechinho no péssimo livro de literatura para o ensino médio do William Cereja e da Thereza Cochar, que acha que vai estimular a leitura com perguntas cretinas e sinopses que se limitam a classificar o livro como pertencente a alguma escola e a...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Ben Loory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Ben by: patty

it's like a shorter, faster-moving, brazilian tristram shandy, filled with some really amazing metaphors (like the trapeze the man carries inside his head) and a really fun sense of hopeless melancholy. i kinda wish a little more *happened* in it, but i imagine braz cubas feels the same way.

the translation is incredible. while it's not quite impossible to believe that this book was written in 1880 (tristram shandy of course was even crazier a hundred years earlier), it is impossible that this tr...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Craig Von rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We start off this piece in a perfectly right foot: Machado's deceased narrator is, like its author, a master at intellectual humor, and at a delicately morbid tone that is unlike what many could ever hope of coming up with. It's a shame it goes downroad just after it starts because of unlikeable characters, a seemingly fruitless fascination with philosophy, meaningless and discarded images of great literary potential and a plethora of Brazilian early-realism cliché.

First things first, the style...more We start off this piece in a perfectly right foot: Machado's deceased narrator is, like its author, a master at intellectual humor, and at a delicately morbid tone that is unlike what many could ever hope of coming up with. It's a shame it goes downroad just after it starts because of unlikeable characters, a seemingly fruitless fascination with philosophy, meaningless and discarded images of great literary potential and a plethora of Brazilian early-realism cliché.

First things first, the style Machado chose to use is entirely de acordo with his purposes. Sadly, many of his purposes are the same as any other work of Brazilian realism - the boring society criticism, which in this work seems to fall flat on its face because of a lack of wit with regards to the topic, the shattering of early period ideals, done rudely and not effectively here and a re-invention of the portrayal of woman (at this though, Machado succeeds with his Marcela, Nhã-loló and "the flower"). The grip of style, however, seems to fly off the pages once Quincas Borba (a main and title character in Machado's least acclaimed and more criticized novel) comes into page with this philosophical debates. Don't get me wrong, they had all the potential to work, to be great, to add that layer of wit, charm and spice that the social critique of the novel needed. It doesn't, however (though it serves to confirm suspicions of the character's madness). Why? Because firstly, the speech (especially in the Portuguese version) is not only tiresome but also unimaginative, it's as if Machado had been taught about a certain doctrine or two and butchered it flat out in a series of dragging, uninteresting debates that seemingly go nowhere and can't even fulfill their main purpose.

The closest he comes to nailing his purpose is in the only chapter that makes it seem as if Borba's debates were partly worth it or had a point - that of the dogs, which in classical Machado-style is a powerful and delightfully twisted look on human nature. Bravo where bravo is in order, sadly though it doesn't happen too often. Brazilian heritage and all I must admit here that I expected more from the alleged master, but every author makes some mistake.

Not to spoil it, because the story is at times interesting if not humorous or mysterious, in summary, it's a good book with even better potential, that goes un-utilized (not only in lines but also over and over in characters, images, symbols, motifs). The only thing that doesn't fall flat in this novel is the wit of the narration that is so characteristic of Machado. (less)

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Jan 23, 2012 kasia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to kasia by: Ruchama

A friend of mine recommended this to me awhile back, and then a random internet searched revealed that it's one of Woody Allen's favorite books. And I couldn't help but think of that as I was reading, imagining how Woody Allen read it, how it influenced him, etc. It enhances the reading experience, actually - you can kind of see the connection between the novel and Allen's worldview.

It's a strange book, but quite pleasant. It vaguely reminded me of reading Nathanael West's books, though that mi...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're not sold just gazing into the neon eyeholes of death on this edition's cover, let me be among the first to say Epitaph of a Small Winner is a strange and wildly innovative book written in 1880 that deserves a place on the selves of anyone who enjoys magical realism or the surreal. Originally entitled Memorias postumas de Bras Cubas, it is just that - an autobiography written by a dead man.

Stylistically it is both cynical and sweet... in other words, it's very voicy, but in a good way....more

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Sep 16, 2010 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Posthumous", not because it was published after the author's death, but because Bras Cubas wrote his memoirs after he died. This is a 19th century work so it's supposed to be the original. Problem is, it didn't come as new to me, having read before the 20th century bestseller "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold where a murdered girl narrates.

There are similarities here with Machado de Assis' other masterpiece, "Dom Casmurro", both in the manner the narrators ended up (alone) and their principal fema...more

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Mar 30, 2013 S.J. Pettersson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: worn-spines

Doesn't all those lists of books to read, films to see, places to visit etc. before you die just make you want to die right now? So here is a twist; this book is actually a posthumous memoir, written after death when the narrator no longer cares what people will say because he is already dead. So if we make a list of the best 10 books you should read after you are dead, this would in my humble opinion place at # 1 with a bullet (pun intended).
Where did this Brazilian magical mulatto come from? D...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Jimmy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: and-a-half-stars, male, year-1880s, brazil, novel

If you stripped away the ahead-of-its-time narrative tics, the clever self-reflexive games, the subversive style, what you're left with is the heart of this book: the voice.

I was less impressed with the stylistic trickery (and enough has been said about that, just read the other Goodreads reviews) than with the voice: often boastful, he still allows you to see all his faults and weaknesses. And though you see all his faults and weaknesses, he still comes across as extremely likeable. Though he...more If you stripped away the ahead-of-its-time narrative tics, the clever self-reflexive games, the subversive style, what you're left with is the heart of this book: the voice.

I was less impressed with the stylistic trickery (and enough has been said about that, just read the other Goodreads reviews) than with the voice: often boastful, he still allows you to see all his faults and weaknesses. And though you see all his faults and weaknesses, he still comes across as extremely likeable. Though he slyly mocks himself and those around him, he never comes across as having any kind of social or political agenda. The voice is believable despite being a multitude of things: delusional, prideful, petty, insightful, pitiful, philosophical, mocking, cynical, naive, weary, serious etc.

The story is basically one of impotence and mediocrity. Bras Cubas makes headway halfheartedly in all arenas of life, never fully achieving anything in the conventional sense that society deems as such. Though he was always at the brink of each of these accomplishments, he never acheives them: marriage, children, illustrious career. And we're better off for it, as readers, because we see that Bras Cubas really doesn't care for these societal expectations, much like this book doesn't care for fulfilling the narrative expectations of its readers.

The book mirrors this mindframe: it goes in a million different directions, imparting various observations along the way without any kind of central thrust. I don't mean this in a bad way; in fact, its aimlessness is one of the things I liked most about it. There's an openness to it where it doesn't feel too controlled, too one-minded, and this is refreshing.

On the negative side, it never feels completely satisfying either. There are moments of deep insight, and moments of humor, but a kind of constant withdrawal where it never reaches the heights of either. The wording was sometimes clunky too, but this could have been due to the translation. Also, the narrative devices he employs should be nothing new or shocking to a reader in the year 2011, though at the time I can see how it was. But since I'm reading it now and not in 1880, I felt a little annoyed that I was constantly expected to react to certain sections as if I were a maiden aunt (to borrow a phrasing from Manny) scandalized by its unconventional sexy form. To its credit, the cleverness is totally in line with the character's voice, so it didn't feel tacked-on, just slightly tacky in this day and age.

PS - the preface by Enylton de Sa Rego is complete rubbish. Skip it. I haven't finished reading the Afterword by Gilberto Pinheiro Passos, but so far it's kinda rubbish too.(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Larissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eu acabo lendo esse livro de cinco em cinco anos. Pode não fazer diferença mas a interpretação, confome os anos, muda.
Desta vez não fui tão rápida - também não foi tão engraçada quanto à primeira vez.

É um clássico da literatura brasileira e Machado de Assis é considerado uns dos melhores. Mas poucos leem ele por pura e espontânea vontade (geralmente por que esse livro é pedido para vestibulares...pelo menos na minha época era).

A históra trata-se de dois tipos de interpretação. Um em primeira pes...more

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Apr 23, 2011 Hamid rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Hamid by: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3887079-marzieh-rasouli">مرضیه</a>

کتاب سال ۱۸۸۱ چاپ شده. صد و سی سال پیش. این مدل روایت نمی‌دونم چقدر معموله واسه اون موقع. پراکنده‌گویی و شلنگ‌تخته انداختن راوی، فکر می‌کنم بیشتر تو رمان مدرن هست. نمی‌دونم این مدل اون موقع هم بوده یا ایشون خودش خلاقیت به خرج داده. کتاب ۱۶۰ فصل‌ داره که حجم‌شون از قاعده خاصی پیروی نمی‌کنه. یه فصل‌هایی هست که کل‌اش یک خط‌ئه، فصل‌هایی هم هست که چند صفحه طول می‌کشه. کتاب داستان خاصی نداره که بخواد باهاش خواننده رو همراه کنه. همه سعی این بوده که با همین شکل روایت جذابیت ایجاد کنه. یعنی انگار خیلی در...more کتاب سال ۱۸۸۱ چاپ شده. صد و سی سال پیش. این مدل روایت نمی‌دونم چقدر معموله واسه اون موقع. پراکنده‌گویی و شلنگ‌تخته انداختن راوی، فکر می‌کنم بیشتر تو رمان مدرن هست. نمی‌دونم این مدل اون موقع هم بوده یا ایشون خودش خلاقیت به خرج داده. کتاب ۱۶۰ فصل‌ داره که حجم‌شون از قاعده خاصی پیروی نمی‌کنه. یه فصل‌هایی هست که کل‌اش یک خط‌ئه، فصل‌هایی هم هست که چند صفحه طول می‌کشه. کتاب داستان خاصی نداره که بخواد باهاش خواننده رو همراه کنه. همه سعی این بوده که با همین شکل روایت جذابیت ایجاد کنه. یعنی انگار خیلی در بند داستان گفتن نبوده و بیشتر میخواسته اینجور نوشتن رو تجربه کنه. اما از طرفی هم دو تا ویژگی که من تو ادبیات کلاسیک بیشتر می‌بینم و همیشه رو اعصابم بوده رو داره. یکی که اصرار داره تکلیف همه شخصیت‌های کتاب رو معلوم کنه و مثلن اگه فلانی تو فصل ۱۰ ازش حرف زده شده و پولدار بوده باید تو فصل ۱۰۰ تصادفن به شخصیت اصلی داستان بربخوره و ببینیم طرف گدا شده. و موارد از این دست که توش زیاده. یکی هم اینکه هیچی رو به خواننده واگذار نمی‌کنه و اگه مثلن فلان استعاره رو به کار برده یا یه فصلی از کتاب اشاره به دو فصل قبلش داره، هرقدر هم که واضح باشه میاد توضیحش میده. که ببین الان این رو گفتم تو باید یاد فلان چیز بیفتی. یا اگه من الان با این لحن دارم میگم بخاطر فلان اتفاقه. این خیلی رو اعصابه و با شکل روایت تضاد داره.
نکته مثبت‌اش هم یه سری درگیری‌هاست که راوی با خودش داره. از خودش میپرسه و خودش جواب میده. یه جاهایی حس میکنی فلان حرف رو که داره میزنه فقط واسه راضی کردن خودشه، نه تو. یه وقت‌هایی هم جمله‌های باحالی میگه، مثل وقتی که نامزدش بعد از یه مدت معاشرت و حرف ازدواج میره با کس دیگه‌ای ازدواج می‌کنه میگه:
ویرژیلیا عقاب را با طاووس مقایسه کرد و عقاب را انتخاب کرد و طاووس را جا خورده و آزرده، با سه چهار بوسه‌ای که به او داده بود، تنها گذاشت. شاید هم پنج تا، اما حتی اگر ده تا هم بود آنجوری که باید سیرابم نکرده بود. دهن آدم که سم اسب آتیلا نیست که از هر جا بگذرد علف سبز نشود، درست برعکس.

(less)

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Jul 23, 2009 Robert Cooper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a postmodernist novel by a Brazilian literary lion—of the nineteenth century. An extraordinary work to come out of the age of French realism and Victorian romance. A poor mulatto who never went to school, Machado taught himself to read and write in two languages and after gaining fame as an author founded the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The narrator of this novel is a dead Brazilian aristocrat who writes a memoir about his not-very-successful life. He is by turns satiric, philosophica...more

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Jun 25, 2010 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Halverwege al vijf sterren. Wat een prachtig boek, en wat een prachtige vertaling. O ramsj der eeuwigheid.

"O onwijze en onwetende! Juist dat maakt ons meesters der aarde, dat vermogen het verleden te reconstrueren, om de vinger te leggen op de vluchtigheid onzer indrukken en de ijdelheid onzer gemoedsaandoeningen. Laat Pascal maar zeggen dat de mens een denkend riet is. Nee; hij is een denkende drukfout, anders niet. Elke levensfase is een editie die de vorige verbetert, en die op zijn beurt ver...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Scot rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow! The word "remarkable" tends to be overused, but trust me, this novel is assuredly remarkable. I was reading a blog in which Woody Allen praised it as one of five favorite books he'd pick to have if he had to choose, and I was intrigued. Woody selected a Brazilian novel I'm pretty sure I never heard of? From 1880?

When I tracked it down I noted that Susan Sontag wrote the introduction for the first English translation in 1952 (the translation was done by William L. Grossman). With both Woody...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Zach rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book blew me away. About a third of the way in I glanced at the original publication date: 1880. Until then I would have sworn that it was written in the mid-to-late 20th century. It's pretty much a postmodern work of fiction. The form is inventive and the prose timeless. Towards the end the story got a little convoluted, which is the only thing that kept this from being a 5-star rating. I'm not sure I can blame it wholly on the story, either. I found the end a little harder to read, so it...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Natacha Martins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Foi com grandes expectativas que parti para a leitura deste livro, outra coisa não seria de esperar depois de ter lido o magnífico Dom Casmurro e que adorei. Este Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas é bastante diferente do Dom Casmurro e, talvez por isso não tenha sido bem aquilo que eu esperava. Gostei do livro, acho que vale a pena lê-lo, mas também o achei por vezes aborrecido, sem que a vida do defunto Brás Cubas sofresse grandes desenvolvimentos. A verdade é que, no início, ou no fim, depende d...more Foi com grandes expectativas que parti para a leitura deste livro, outra coisa não seria de esperar depois de ter lido o magnífico Dom Casmurro e que adorei. Este Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas é bastante diferente do Dom Casmurro e, talvez por isso não tenha sido bem aquilo que eu esperava. Gostei do livro, acho que vale a pena lê-lo, mas também o achei por vezes aborrecido, sem que a vida do defunto Brás Cubas sofresse grandes desenvolvimentos. A verdade é que, no início, ou no fim, depende da perspectiva, achei que Brás Cubas iria ser uma personagem mais interessante. No início da narrativa pareceu-me que ele iria ser um bon-vivant do século XIX: rico, mulherengo e pouco preocupado com o que os outros pensam dele. Mas afinal Brás Cubas até era boa pessoa e de mulherengo tinha muito pouco, uma vez que, anda praticamente todo o livro com apenas uma mulher, Virgília, o seu único amor. Estava à espera de uma vida mais agitada e fechei o livro com a sensação de que a vida de Brás Cubas foi um bocadinho aborrecida e previsível...

A premissa é, no mínimo original, Brás Cubas decide escrever as suas memórias depois de morto, que a bem da verdade é quando elas fazem sentido e quando o autor terá mais tempo para se dedicar a esses afazeres. :) Brás Cubas foi, na infância, um pequeno terrorista que pregava partidas e fazia a vida dos criados e escravos num inferno. Protegido pelo pai que o adorava, foi crescendo no seio de uma família bem estruturada, feliz à sua maneira. Brás Cubas cresce, apaixona-se por uma espanhola que leva parte da fortuna do pai de Brás, parte para Portugal obrigado pelo pai, forma-se e regressa ao Brasil para estar junto da mãe que estava a morrer. Abalado com esta perda, parte para a Tijuca, para a propriedade da família, onde pretende restabelecer-se e pensar no que fará da sua vida no Brasil. Aí rouba o primeiro beijo da filha de uma das amigas da mãe, com quem não pensa casar, pois a rapariga é coxa, um defeito que não se coaduna nem com a beleza dela nem com o estatuto que Brás sonha para si: "Por que bonita, se coxa? por que coxa, se bonita?". A pedido do pai, regressa ao Rio, com o objectivo de ingressar na vida política e casar, pois político solteiro é algo que não cai bem na opinião da sociedade. A noiva que lhe está reservada é Virgília, uma rapariga de 16 anos, com quem Brás acaba por não casar, porque o pai desta decide patrocinar outro candidato a político, um mais bem preparado e posicionado, um que ambiciona tornar a sua filha Baronesa. Anos mais tarde, Virgília e Brás reencontram-se e o amor que não teve tempo de despertar no passado, arrebata-os desta vez. Tornam-se amantes e... é isto. O livro vai relatando a relação destes dois até ao dia, muitos anos depois, em que Brás Cubas está no seu leito às portas da morte.

Para além da história propriamente dita, está sempre presente uma crítica muito mordaz à sociedade carioca da época, o jogo das aparências e dos interesses, da importância que a opinião pública tinha na tomada de decisões relacionadas com a vida privada de cada um e de como o dinheiro compra quase tudo, inclusive a moral. Acredito que tenha sido uma pedrada no charco quando foi lançado. Tem passagens de humor deliciosas e que só por si valem a leitura do livro. :) Machado de Assis cria, na personagem de Quincas Borba, uma nova filosofia, o Humanitismo. Uma filosofia que professa a lei do mais forte, as guerras como selecção dos mais capacitados e afins. Alguns críticos indicam que esta terá sido a forma que Machado de Assis encontrou de ironizar a teoria da evolução de Darwin, contemporânea de Machado de Assis.

Está muitíssimo bem escrito, isso é inegável, foi a história central que achei fraca, com momentos em que senti vontade de saltar parágrafos. Recomendo porque é Machado de Assis e vale sempre a pena ler este autor, porque a escrita é do mais actual e divertido que existe.(less)

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Oct 04, 2011 Aakash rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Its different I felt probably because its my first Fictional autobiography. The author has written it in a style as an ordinary but skilled person would have written never tring to emulate the authors but let the story sway as it wants.

In the sense that there are no descriptions on my settings or emotions. The author as an observer an outsider of ones life states his thoughts, at many places without any sense of feeling or longing. There are a few statements said so simply but which one can broo...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Annette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I borrowed this one because of the title.
So far it is really funny, and really episodic (woot on both counts) - and it is written from beyond the grave!
I just realized that it's from the 19th century, which again goes against my impression of how people wrote at the time.

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Aug 24, 2009 Stefan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-lit

I can say with certainty I did not "get" all the literary and socio-political references in this unique novel. I did, however, laugh aloud alone in my house. This is smart, funny, albeit fairly old writing. A friend told me machado de assis was a genius. I have to agree.

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Feb 16, 2010 Dusty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dusty by: Sonia Roncador

Shelves: graduate-school, read-in-2010

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis is either Brazil's best-kept literary secret or, depending who you ask, the western hemisphere's most undervalued writer. Is your caipirinha half full or half empty? Same deal. But upon one point anyone who's read him can attest: Machado de Assis should be a household name. He's the real deal: inventive, philosophical, hilarious. And way ahead of his time. Picture Kurt Vonnegut a century earlier -- and in Río de Janeiro.

The book is written from the perspective of B...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Roozbeh Estifaee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first reaction of mine, and probably everybody else's who reads this book, is surprise. It is unbelievable that this great modern novel is written in 1881! It is amazingly current, in a way you doubt if what we call modern and postmodern are young enough to be called so!
"The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas" is a novel written by Brás Cubas after his death. Brás was from an aristocrat family when he was alive, and now that he is writing his memoirs after his death, he still has his character...more The first reaction of mine, and probably everybody else's who reads this book, is surprise. It is unbelievable that this great modern novel is written in 1881! It is amazingly current, in a way you doubt if what we call modern and postmodern are young enough to be called so!
"The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas" is a novel written by Brás Cubas after his death. Brás was from an aristocrat family when he was alive, and now that he is writing his memoirs after his death, he still has his character of wealthy background and ceremonial ethics. He starts talking about what happened to him in his life, but he is always concerned if he is doing his job good enough as the author of the book and if his reader is being bored by what he reads. He wants to write a good novel, and thus he talks a lot, and explains himself and his intentions, so that he seems persuasive to us. He gives opinions on everything and poses unique ideas. His life itself, is stuffed up with all these catchy adventures and strange people. I specially was shocked by his mad philosopher friend, with all his eccentric reasoning and thought.
"The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas" is a novel that puts you in a strange kind of skepticism: Have we really gained anything in the last 100-year period? Are we really as modern as we think? Even if this novel was written 2010, it was still a great great book. How come?! I don't know. But the fact that seems even stranger to me is that nobody knows Machado de Assis, not in Iran, not even in the English-speaking world.
I enjoyed reading this novel, and more, I learned a lot from it. It injected me with a kind of joy had I had not experienced for a long while. In parts of it, I had to close the book and pause reading it every other page, so that I can digest and absorb the ambrosia it provided. I said that Brás Cubas was very concerned if the reader would enjoy what he has written. I should now inform him that his companionship was a great pleasure for me.
P.S: May God bless Adollah Kosari again, for his great translation of the book. Even discovering such a great book and choosing it for translation is good reason to thank him, let alone his great translation.(less)

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Jan 18, 2010 Isabel Maia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: catalog, mine, lusofonia-2010, original

Brás Cubas morreu em Agosto de 1869. Esta caricata personagem auto-intitula-se como sendo o primeiro defunto-autor da história, e não um autor defunto, visto que ele escreveu as suas memórias já depois de ter morrido. Brás Cubas começa as suas memórias com uma dedicatória que antecipa o humor negro e a ironia presente em todo o livro: Ao verme que primeiro roeu as frias carnes do meu cadáver dedico com saudosa lembrança estas Memórias Póstumas.
Eis um enredo interessante logo à partida: um morto...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Jeff Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The blind creativity in this book is responsible for modern Latin American fiction. People say that most of 19th century Russian Literature sprang from Gogol’s Cloak (referencing his short story). It could be said that much of Latin American Literature came from Machado’s Memoirs. The poetry and creativity in prose is far ahead of its time. The book could be written today and have the same impact. I could pick up any modern Latin American author, Roberto Bolano, Clarice Lispector, Enrique Vila-M...more

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Aug 22, 2009 Joana Costa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Confesso que, tratando-se de um livro publicado pela primeira vez ainda no século XIX, esperava dificuldades. Puro engano! Muito fácil de ler, divertido, sarcástico...

Começa com a dedicatória que não é mais do que o espelho do próprio livro: "Ao verme que primeiro roer as frias carnes do meu cadáver, dedico, com saudosas lembranças, estas memórias póstumas".

No que toca à edição que li, não recomendo a ninguém, é de muito péssima qualidade. Sendo barata, não justifica que haja erros graves de im...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Hugo Eduardo Azevedo Fialho rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Machado de Assis

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, often known as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho, (June 21, 1839, Rio de Janeiro—September 29, 1908, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian novelist, poet and short story writer. He is widely regarded as the most important writer of Brazilian literature. However, he did not gain widespread popularity outside Brazil in his own lifetime.
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