I'm Brazilian and had to read this book for school when I was a teen, completely loved it. Later had to read for college twice, along with Dom Casmurro (his masterpiece) and Quincas Borba. Brás Cubas is still my favorite one. Good to see ppl are appreciating this guy, he is a hero.
Dom Casmurro seems to be garnering more attention from global readers. I am so glad that Brás Cubas has found such a wide readership. Machado de Assis had such a brilliant and ironic voice.
Thanks, Brandon, I had come across references to it in articles and essays over the years, so I was excited when the new translation was published. He also wrote Dom Casmurro, which some really enjoy. I don’t know if there is a more recent translation of that work. I hope your week started well! Cheers, Jack
Oh man, that opening reading got me really excited for it. I love this! Shots fired :D After just recently learning of his brilliance, I simply must read everything by him!
Haha, thanks! There are laughs, smirks, and sighs to be found on nearly every page. It was a great book to finally read and didn’t disappoint after a decade of looking forward to reading it. I’ll be curious to see what you make of it! Hope you are all doing well. Cheers, Jack
I just read this and loved it. I read an old 1950s translation, with a different title and some strange drawings interspersed. But the humour and weirdness you describe came through for me. Also, agree its a great palate cleanser after more conventional classic novels.
I’ve heard there are editions with drawings, David. Can’t imagine this being much stranger. Glad you enjoyed it as well! I can see how some readers would hate it, but it was right up my alley. Have you read Tristram Shandy? I hope your week started well! Cheers, Jack
@@ramblingraconteur1616 The drawings are by someone named Shari Frisch, not the translator (william grossman), and not the author (obviously), so not sure how they ended up in there. But I like them, strange but only 4-5 of them interspersed, didnt derail my read, look kinda like Kandinsky in pencil. I havent read Tristram shandy, but sounds like something I'd enjoy. If you're ever up for a read along of that, I'll join in.
French literature was at the time like a great shadow over Portuguese and Brazilian literature, it almost held a monopoly and dictatorship between the possible outside influences on those literatures. Which is expected, since France was the dominating cultural power, but weird because Portugal was and still is one of England's closest and long lasting ally, so we would expect more influence of English language literature, but no. The references you mentioned as spot on, and Machado was one of the first to start breaking with the monopoly of French literature influence, being more influenced by English language literature than the French one. At the time it was mandatory for every person from the elite (where 99% of the writers came from) be become fluent in French before finishing basic education, while English literacy was rare in that same social class, so much so that more 19th Brazilian writes could read Latin than English, common to read Virgil in latin but uncommon for them to read Dickens in English. Another English literature influence I see in this work is Dickens himself, at least in the inspiration for the title and the general idea of the book, because the full original title of The Pickwick Papers was The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club; there is also a reference to a book or memoire being written posthumously in The Scarlet Letter. Machado was the first to bring English language influences to Brazil when it comes to literature, he being a self made polyglot allowed him to break from the shadow of French dominion but he still was part of the environment, and so we can't forget the influence of Memoirs from Beyond the Grave, which is so obvious it hurts 😆, by François-René de Chateaubriand.
Such a great book! I am due to a reread of it soon. This was one of the only books that I studied in the last year of high school that everyone in class enjoyed. Dom Casmurro is another great book by Machado de Assis, it is darker though.
Thanks, Carolina! I read Dom Casmurro about ten years ago, but the translation was somewhat archaic. I’ll have to take another look at it. I may also read some of the short stories Machado de Assis wrote. Did you read it in the original Portuguese? I hope you’re having a fantastic start to this week. Cheers, Jack
Exquisite review! You gave such a profound and penetrating outlook of the book. It puts a smile upon my lips to see Brazilian literature and Machado de Assis gaining international visibility for their greatness. We, Brazilians, will oftentimes regard anything national as inferior. I am genuinely glad you enjoyed the reading. Greetings from Brazil! 💛💚💙
Thanks for the kind words, Leticia! I’m a huge fan of Machado de Assis and this novel in particular. Have you read any of his stories? Any other Brazilian writers you’d recommend? Cheers, Jack
This would be pretty high in my list of recommendations, Brian. It’s also half the length of Tristram Shandy or Gargantua & Pantgruel in terms of wild romps. Hope your week has started well! Cheers, Jack
You didn’t catch the Battle Language, Steve? Must need to step up the Bene Gesserit training . . . Haha, just adjusting my shirt to be comfortable while I record. I hope you and Frieda had a great day! Cheers, Jack
Ela só existiu por conta do elitismo, de forma similar, o mesmo aconteceu com o topo da produção cultural em todo o mundo. Cultura de massa e democratização são repelentes de qualidade artística.
Eu quero indicar um livro espanhol Memórias do Padre Germano de Amália Domingo Soler,ouvi dizer que tem em inglês, queria encontrar alguém que quisesse embarcar nessa leitura,de qualquer maneira agradeço pelos que já leram,escutei em áudio livro em português e espanhol,senti a ausência na versão inglesa a curiosidade fala alto, até mais...
I'm Brazilian and had to read this book for school when I was a teen, completely loved it. Later had to read for college twice, along with Dom Casmurro (his masterpiece) and Quincas Borba. Brás Cubas is still my favorite one. Good to see ppl are appreciating this guy, he is a hero.
Dom Casmurro seems to be garnering more attention from global readers. I am so glad that Brás Cubas has found such a wide readership. Machado de Assis had such a brilliant and ironic voice.
Exato.
❤
Machado was at least a century ahead . The Alienist is another gold book of his.
I am embaressed that I have never heard of this book. Your discussion here was absolutely excellent! Adding to my list now.
Thanks, Brandon, I had come across references to it in articles and essays over the years, so I was excited when the new translation was published. He also wrote Dom Casmurro, which some really enjoy. I don’t know if there is a more recent translation of that work. I hope your week started well!
Cheers, Jack
Oh man, that opening reading got me really excited for it. I love this! Shots fired :D After just recently learning of his brilliance, I simply must read everything by him!
Haha, thanks! There are laughs, smirks, and sighs to be found on nearly every page. It was a great book to finally read and didn’t disappoint after a decade of looking forward to reading it. I’ll be curious to see what you make of it! Hope you are all doing well.
Cheers, Jack
I just read this and loved it. I read an old 1950s translation, with a different title and some strange drawings interspersed. But the humour and weirdness you describe came through for me. Also, agree its a great palate cleanser after more conventional classic novels.
I’ve heard there are editions with drawings, David. Can’t imagine this being much stranger. Glad you enjoyed it as well! I can see how some readers would hate it, but it was right up my alley. Have you read Tristram Shandy? I hope your week started well!
Cheers, Jack
@@ramblingraconteur1616 The drawings are by someone named Shari Frisch, not the translator (william grossman), and not the author (obviously), so not sure how they ended up in there. But I like them, strange but only 4-5 of them interspersed, didnt derail my read, look kinda like Kandinsky in pencil. I havent read Tristram shandy, but sounds like something I'd enjoy. If you're ever up for a read along of that, I'll join in.
@@davidhall8656 That would be fantastic. Life is pretty busy at my school, but I am hoping that calms down next year. I will keep it in mind.
Machado de Assis simplesmente sensacional!!!🩵
French literature was at the time like a great shadow over Portuguese and Brazilian literature, it almost held a monopoly and dictatorship between the possible outside influences on those literatures. Which is expected, since France was the dominating cultural power, but weird because Portugal was and still is one of England's closest and long lasting ally, so we would expect more influence of English language literature, but no. The references you mentioned as spot on, and Machado was one of the first to start breaking with the monopoly of French literature influence, being more influenced by English language literature than the French one. At the time it was mandatory for every person from the elite (where 99% of the writers came from) be become fluent in French before finishing basic education, while English literacy was rare in that same social class, so much so that more 19th Brazilian writes could read Latin than English, common to read Virgil in latin but uncommon for them to read Dickens in English. Another English literature influence I see in this work is Dickens himself, at least in the inspiration for the title and the general idea of the book, because the full original title of The Pickwick Papers was The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club; there is also a reference to a book or memoire being written posthumously in The Scarlet Letter. Machado was the first to bring English language influences to Brazil when it comes to literature, he being a self made polyglot allowed him to break from the shadow of French dominion but he still was part of the environment, and so we can't forget the influence of Memoirs from Beyond the Grave, which is so obvious it hurts 😆, by François-René de Chateaubriand.
Such a great book! I am due to a reread of it soon. This was one of the only books that I studied in the last year of high school that everyone in class enjoyed.
Dom Casmurro is another great book by Machado de Assis, it is darker though.
Thanks, Carolina! I read Dom Casmurro about ten years ago, but the translation was somewhat archaic. I’ll have to take another look at it. I may also read some of the short stories Machado de Assis wrote. Did you read it in the original Portuguese? I hope you’re having a fantastic start to this week.
Cheers, Jack
Yes, I am brazilian.
He also has a great novella called The Alienist that I think has a new translation
@@carolinasiqueira752 thanks for sharing that, I will have to look for it. Hope you had a great day!
I loved this review!! Your insights were incredible and gave me some thoughts. I read this book a long time ago, it made me want to read it again 😅
What a unique one, Jack! 👍🏼 I love it when the reader is called out.
Thanks, Kari, I don’t always enjoy experimental novels, but this was delightful. I hope you’re having a great week!
Cheers, Jack
What great timing! I'm just buddyreading this with Ros and Alba, so I'll have to bookmark this for after.
Haha, well I certainly hope that all three of you enjoy it, Sina! Please let me know what you think of it when you finish.
Cheers, Jack
Merphy Napier really liked this book which is where I first heard of it. I've got it on my list to read next year.
Certainly hope that you enjoy it, Penny! I hope you had a great start to this week.
Cheers, Jack
Exquisite review! You gave such a profound and penetrating outlook of the book. It puts a smile upon my lips to see Brazilian literature and Machado de Assis gaining international visibility for their greatness. We, Brazilians, will oftentimes regard anything national as inferior. I am genuinely glad you enjoyed the reading.
Greetings from Brazil! 💛💚💙
Thanks for the kind words, Leticia! I’m a huge fan of Machado de Assis and this novel in particular. Have you read any of his stories? Any other Brazilian writers you’d recommend?
Cheers, Jack
Gonçalves Dias, Gregório de Matos, Olavo Bilac e Clarice Lispector tem vários escritores só li esses.❤@@ramblingraconteur1616
Another great sounding book. How will I ever read them all.
This would be pretty high in my list of recommendations, Brian. It’s also half the length of Tristram Shandy or Gargantua & Pantgruel in terms of wild romps. Hope your week has started well!
Cheers, Jack
What was that opening second? Were you patting your iron-hard eight-pack abs for good luck? I always do that (mine, that is, not yours)
You didn’t catch the Battle Language, Steve? Must need to step up the Bene Gesserit training . . .
Haha, just adjusting my shirt to be comfortable while I record. I hope you and Frieda had a great day!
Cheers, Jack
É uma a cultura brasileiro não seja divulgada pois a elite sempre a monopolizou 🤦♂️
Ela só existiu por conta do elitismo, de forma similar, o mesmo aconteceu com o topo da produção cultural em todo o mundo. Cultura de massa e democratização são repelentes de qualidade artística.
Eu quero indicar um livro espanhol Memórias do Padre Germano de Amália Domingo Soler,ouvi dizer que tem em inglês, queria encontrar alguém que quisesse embarcar nessa leitura,de qualquer maneira agradeço pelos que já leram,escutei em áudio livro em português e espanhol,senti a ausência na versão inglesa a curiosidade fala alto, até mais...
Unfortunately didn't liked it. But everyone deserve its own taste.