Translated from the Portuguese. Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:
To the Reader -- CLX. On Negatives. II. The Plaster -- III. Geneaology -- IV. The Fixed Idea -- V. In Which A Lady Betrays Herself -- VI. Chimene, Qui L'eut Dit? Rodrique, Qui L'eut Cru? -- VII. The Delirium -- VIII. Reason Versus Folly -- IX. Transition -- X. On That Day -- XI. The Child is Father of the Man -- XII. An Episode From 1814 -- XIII. A Leap -- XIV. The First Kiss -- XV. Marcela -- XVI. An Immoral Reflection -- XVII. Concerning the Trapeze and Other Matters -- XVIII. A Vision in the Hallway -- XIX. On Board -- XX. Take a Degree -- XXI. The Muleteer -- XXII. Return to Rio -- XXIII. Sad but Short -- XXIV. Short but Happy -- XXV. In Tijuca -- XXVI. The Author Hesitates -- XXVII. Virgília? -- XXVIII. Provided That... -- XXIX. The Visit -- XXX. The Flower of the Thicket -- XXXI. The Black Butterfly -- XXXII. Born Lame -- XXXIII. Blessed Are They That Go Not Down -- XXXIV. To a Sensitive Soul -- XXXV. The Road to Damascus -- XXXVI. On the Subject of Boots -- XXXVII. At Last! -- XXXVIII. The Fourth Edition -- XXXIX. The Neighbor -- XL. In the Coach -- XLI. The Hallucination -- XLII. Which Escaped Aristotle -- XLIII. A Marchioness, For I'll Be a Marquis -- XLIV. A Cubas! -- XLV. Notes -- XLVI. The Inheritance -- XLVII. The Recluse -- XLVIII. A Cousin of Virgília's -- XLIX. The Tip of the Nose -- L. Virgília, Married -- LI. Mine! -- LII. The Mysterious Parcel -- LIII. ............... -- LIV. The Pendulum Clock -- LV. The Age-Old Dialogue of Adam and Eve -- LVI. The Opportune Moment -- LVII. Fate -- LVIII. Trust -- LIX. An Encounter -- LX. The Embrace -- LXI. A Plan -- LXII. The Pillow -- LXIII. Let's Run Away! -- LXIV. The Transaction -- LXV. Eyes And Ears -- LXVI. Legs -- LXVII. The Little House -- LXVIII. The Whip -- LXIX. A Dash of Lunacy -- LXX. Dona Plácida -- LXXI. The Flaw in the Book -- LXXII. The Bibliomaniac -- LXXIII. Refreshments -- LXXIV. The Story of Dona Plácida -- LXXV. To Myself -- LXXVI. Manure -- LXXVII. Rendezvous -- LXXVIII. The Presidency -- LXXIX. Compromise -- LXXX. As a Secretary -- LXXXI. Reconciliation -- LXXXII. A Matter of Botany -- LXXXIII. 13 -- LXXXIV. The Conflict -- LXXXV. The Mountaintop -- LXXXVI. The Mystery -- LXXXVII. Geology -- LXXXVIII. The Invalid -- LXXXIX. In Extremis -- XC. The Age-Old Colloquy of Adam and Cain -- XCI. An Extraordinary Letter -- XCII. An Extraordinary Man -- XCIII. The Supper -- XCIV. The Secret Cause -- XCV. The Flowers of Yesteryear -- XCVI. The Anonymous Letter -- XCVII. Between Lips and Forehead -- XCVIII. Taken Out -- XCIX. In the Orchestra Seats -- C. Probably the Case -- CI. The Dalmation Revolution -- CII. A Respite -- CIII. Distraction -- CIV. It Was He! -- CV. Equivalence of Windows -- CVI. A Dangerous Game -- CVII. Note -- CVIII. Which Is Not Understood -- CIX. The Philosopher -- CX. 31 -- CXI. The Wall -- CXII. Public Opinion -- CXIII. Solder -- CXIV. End of a Dialogue -- CXV. The Lunch -- CXVI. Philosophy of Old Papers -- CXVII. Humanitism -- CXVIII. The Third Force -- CXIX. Parenthesis -- CXX. Compelle Intrare -- CXXI. Downhill -- CXXII. A Very Fine Intention -- CXXIII. The Real Cotrim -- CXXIV. An Interlude -- CXXV. Epitaph -- CXXVI. Disconsolation -- CXXVII. Formality -- CXXVIII. In the Chamber -- CXXIX. No Remorse -- CXXX. To Be Inserted Into Chapter CXXIX -- CXXXI. On Slander -- CXXXII. Not to Be Taken Seriously -- CXXXIII. Helvétius's Principle -- CXXXIV. Fifty Years -- CXXXV. Oblivion -- CXXXVI. Uselessness -- CXXXVII. The Shako -- CXXXVIII. To a Critic -- CXXXIX. Of How I Did Not Become a Minister of State -- CXL. Which Explains the Previous -- CXLI. The Dogs -- CXLII. The Secret Request -- CXLIII. I Won't Go -- CXLIV. Relative Utility -- CXLV. Simply Repeating -- CXLVI. The Prospectus -- CXLVII. Foolishness -- CXLVIII. The Insoluble Problem -- CXLIX. Theory of Benefits -- CL. Rotation and Translation -- CLI. Philosophy of Epitaphs -- CLII. Vespasian's Coin -- CLIII. The Alienist -- CLIV. The Ships of Piraeus -- CLV. A Warmhearted Thought -- CLVI. The Pride of Servility -- CLVII. Brilliant Phase -- CLVIII. Two Encounters -- CLIX. Semidementia -- CLX. On Negatives.
Summary:
"A revelatory new translation of the playful, incomparable masterpiece of one of the greatest black authors in the Americas. The mixed-race grandson of ex-slaves, Machado de Assis is not only Brazil's most celebrated writer but also a writer of world stature, who has been championed by the likes of Philip Roth, Susan Sontag, Allen Ginsburg, John Updike, and Salman Rushdie. In his masterpiece, the 1881 novel The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (translated also as Epitaph of a Small Winner), the ghost of a decadent and disagreeable aristocrat decides to write his memoir. He dedicates it to the worms gnawing at his corpse and, in 160 brief chapters, tells of his failed romances and halfhearted political ambitions, serves up harebrained philosophies, and complains with gusto from the depths of his grave. Wildly imaginative, wickedly witty, and utterly unforgettable, it is a novel ahead of its time that has been compared to the work of everyone from Cervantes to Sterne to Borges to Joyce to Nabokov to Calvino, and that has influenced generations of writers around the world. This new English translation is the first to include extensive notes providing crucial historical and cultural context and also includes excerpts from previous versions of the novel never before published in English"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.