The posthumous memoirs of Brás Cubas : a novel

Annotation. "Be aware that frankness is the prime virtue of a dead man," writes the narrator of The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas . But while he may be dead, he is surely one of the liveliest characters in fiction, a product of one of the most remarkable imaginations in all of literature, Brazil's greatest novelist of the nineteenth century, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. By turns flippant and profound, The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas is the story of an unheroic man with half-hearted political ambitions, a harebrained idea for curing the world of melancholy, and a thousand quixotic theories unleashed from beyond the grave. It is a novel that has influenced generations of Latin American writers but remains refreshingly and unforgettably unlike anything written before or after it. Newly translated by Gregory Rabassa and superbly edited by Enylton de Sá Rego and Gilberto Pinheiro Passos, this Library of Latin America edition brings to English-speaking readers a literary delight of the highest order **Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas** é um romance escrito por Machado de Assis, desenvolvido em princípio como folhetim, de março a dezembro de 1880, na Revista Brasileira, para, no ano seguinte, ser publicado como livro, pela então Tipografia Nacional como Memorias Posthumas de Braz Cubas. O livro tem como marcas um tom cáustico e novo estilo na obra de Machado de Assis, bem como audácia e inovação temática no cenário literário nacional, que o fez receber, à época, resenhas estranhadas. Confessando adotar a "forma livre" de Laurence Sterne em seu Tristram Shandy (1759–67), ou de Xavier de Maistre, em Memórias Póstumas rompe com a narração linear e objetivista de autores proeminentes da época, como Flaubert e Zola, para retratar o Rio de Janeiro e sua época em geral com pessimismo, ironia e indiferença — um dos fatores que fizeram com que fosse amplamente considerada a obra que iniciou o Realismo no Brasil, ainda que com elementos livres e próprios a Machado de Assis. — [Wikipedia](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%B3rias_P%C3%B3stumas_de_Br%C3%A1s_Cubas) (CC BY-SA 4.0) Annotation. "Be aware that frankness is the prime virtue of a dead man," writes the narrator of The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas . But while he may be dead, he is surely one of the liveliest characters in fiction, a product of one of the most remarkable imaginations in all of literature, Brazil's greatest novelist of the nineteenth century, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. By turns flippant and profound, The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas is the story of an unheroic man with half-hearted political ambitions, a harebrained idea for curing the world of melancholy, and a thousand quixotic theories unleashed from beyond the grave. It is a novel that has influenced generations of Latin American writers but remains refreshingly and unforgettably unlike anything written before or after it. Newly translated by Gregory Rabassa and superbly edited by Enylton de Sá Rego and Gilberto Pinheiro Passos, this Library of Latin America edition brings to English-speaking readers a literary delight of the highest order Machado de Assis (1839-1908) is considered the pre-eminent writer of Brazil, but his work has only recently become known to the English-speaking world. This new translation of Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, first published in 1881, now brings Machado de Assis's sardonic wit and keen appreciation of human foibles to a much larger audience. Machado de Assis (1839-1908) is considered the pre-eminent writer of Brazil, but his work has only recently become known to the English-speaking world. This new translation of Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, first published in 1881, now brings Machado de Assis's sardonic wit and keen appreciation of human foibles to a much larger audience. Contents......Page 6 Series Editors' Introduction......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas......Page 22 Afterword......Page 226