The Ex-Magician and Other Stories

by Murilo Rubião, Thomas Colchie (Translator), Murilo Rubiiao

In twenty stories by an acclaimed Brazilian writer, animals, dragons, and human beings alive and dead appear, disappear, and exist in a world of magic and fantasy

Genres: Short Stories, Magical Realism, Brazil, Fiction, Portuguese Literature

133 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Murilo Rubião was a Brazilian writer. His entire work consists of short stories, all of them dealing with fantastic themes, which is uncommon among Brazilian writers. He was very obsessive about his work, revising it at every new edition, always changing a few details, like characters names and so on.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ex-Magician and Other Stories by Murilo Rubião is a gemlike collection of improbable tales reminiscent of Kafka. These tales are full of transformations that challenge the existence of memory and the boundary between life and death. In "Zacarias, the Pyrotechnist," for example, a man is run down by a car filled with young men and women. When the perpetrators stop to see what happened, the corpse speaks up and asks to be driven to the cemetery. In "Barbara," a man's wife keeps asking for the impossible. At one point, when he thinks she is about to ask for the moon, the narrator is relieved that she wants only one of the smaller nearby stars.

I can see myself coming back to this collection and re-reading some of the stories.

[Benjamin Uminsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This obscure writer of highly enjoyable tales, firmly ensconced in the magical realism genre, came recommended to me by a friend.

Rubiao infuses most of his short tales with an assumed fantastic element, most overtly in the first story, "The Dragons". Rubiao's use of the fantastic takes on a bit of a farcical touch in this one as he meditates on a society's rediculous reaction upon trying to assimilate foreign dragons into their society. Naturally, this kind of tale certainly lends itself to interpretation, but when read, it should be clear to the reader of its allusions to foreign cultures trying to assimilate into mainstream society.

Other tales were a bit more diffuse in their "meaning" ("The Glass Flower" comes to mind), which is fine because those tales took on such a pleasing aesthetic.

One other story to note, which was one of my more favorite in its conveyance of a Kafka-esque absurdity, was "The City". In this ridiculous tale, we have poor Cariba who has been arrested on the suspicion for asking questions. He is ultimately detained indefinitely because he is, apparently, the only soul in the entire village of... actually I don't think we ever find out what village he is in, but he happens to be the only individual that asks "suspicious" questions.

Such an odd story... and one that characterizes many of Rubiao's wonderful stories in this collection... the fantastic, absurd, strange, etc.

You can probably find a cheapy hard cover of this collection on ABE books. Well worth it!!

[Irena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful magical realism

[Murilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

AE MEU PARSSA, HONROU O NOME EIN

VÁRIOS CONTO FODA DE BOM

TÁ DE PARABÉNS

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ser funcionário público e a burocracia lentamente levam à morte.

Minha primeira comunicação oral em congresso literário foi sobre esse conto *---*

[keith koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short (a couple of pages each) short stories. Completely wacked-out, absurd magic-surrealism, very far out. I read this the first time back in '79 and it was just as much fun the second time through. This is the literary equivalent of a Dali painting. But better.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Todo homem, ao atingir certa idade, pode perfeitamente enfrentar a avalanche do tédio e da amargura, pois desde a meninice acostumou-se às vicissitudes, através de um processo lento e gradativo de dissabores. (…)

Ouvira de um homem triste que ser funcionário público era suicidar-se aos poucos. (…)

Tive que confessar minha derrota. Confiara demais na faculdade de fazer mágicas e ela fora anulada pela burocracia. Hoje, sem os antigos e miraculosos dons de mago, não consigo abandonar a pior das ocupações humanas. (…)

Não me conforta a ilusão. Serve somente para aumentar o arrependimento de não ter criado todo um mundo mágico."

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange little collection of tales of magical realism. In Rubiao's stories, women are mysterious and wild, unexpected guests come and go, and neighbours do strange and unexplainable things.

It was all very absurd. What I found troubling was the lack of closure or meaning throughout the collection. A neighbour behaves strangely for an extended period of time while two brothers spy on him until finally the neighbour bursts into flames and one of the brothers shrinks until he disappears. No explanation or reaction. A lot of build up and then it just ends absurdly.

[Vincent Hernot · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine, but not much more than that. You've got to think Borges, Bioy Casares and the like, but you get a lot less here. Vignettes without much ending, atmospheres, ideas not worked out: intentionally or not, it ends up being rather repetitive and superficial. Maybe I should have read one a day, instead of all at once. Minor thing anyway.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brazil
lots of subtle woman-hating; I'm not sure if I just didn't get it or if there is nothing to get

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comparisons to Kafka are right on. Short stories, often fantastical, but most seem to speak to some aspect of the human condition (so, fables). My faves: A pyrotechnic that is so Type A that he refuses to die, a magician that recognizes the value of his abilities a little too late, and a lover who dedicates his life to satisfying the every whim of a lover who is never happy. I am sure I would have enjoyed the collection more if I knew more about Brazilian culture and history.

[Lyuba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this collection of stories in an old bookshop. I expected the magical realism of Márquez but Rubião's stories are different - more raw, much more familiar.
It's an odd collection full of strange animals and characters roaming the pages. I loved "Elisa", "Barbara" and "The Moon".

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title story and The Dragons are exceptional, but I found most of the others a little lacking.