Status
Available
Publication
New York, NY : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.
Description
"Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson's critically acclaimed translations of Posthumous Memoirs of Brs? Cubas and The Collected Stories of Machado de Assis introduced a new generation of readers to one of Brazil's most groundbreaking authors. Hailed as "the greatest writer ever produced in Latin America" (Susan Sontag), Machado's genius is on full display in this fresh translation of the 1899 classic Dom Casmurro. In his supposed memoir, Bento Santiago, an engaging yet unreliable narrator, suspects his wife, Capitu, of having an affair with his closest friend. Withdrawn and obsessive, our antihero mines the origins of their love story: from childhood neighbors playing innocently in the backyard to his brief spell in a seminary to marriage and the birth of their child--whom, he fears, does not resemble him. A gripping domestic drama brimming with Machado's signature humor, this is another stunningly modern tale from the progenitor of twentieth-century fiction."--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member DieFledermaus
I really loved Epitaph of a Small Winner (aka The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas) so Dom Casmurro had a bit of an unfair basis of comparison going in. There were a number of parts that reminded me of what I loved in Epitaph but it was too meandering overall. I knew that the book was about a
Bentinho Santiago comes from a good family but is dangerously “getting into corners” with the neighbor girl, Capitu. The trusted family servant Jose Dias pushes Bentinho’s mother to send him to the seminary as part of a promise she made when he was born. A good chunk of the novel is taken up by Bentinho’s attempts to get out of going to the seminary and solidify his relationship with Capitu, who does most of the planning. Along the way, he muses on everybody and everything, giving backstories, thoughts on random things he happens to come across and side relationships that don’t affect the plot but are interesting all the same. The structure of the book is very metafictional, with many short chapters, some of which speculate on things to come or comment on the writing of the book or reassure the reader that this boring part is past or more excitement is to come. Bentinho is finally sent to the seminary and Capitu makes him promise not to take orders. School is boring though he does meet someone important - his best friend, Escobar. Things turn out well for Bentinho and Capitu but the last section hurtles through his growing jealousy and conviction that Capitu has been unfaithful.
Bentinho is more of a passive character than his wife – an observer and somewhat wishy-washy. He does seem prone to wallowing in his misery. He describes writing the book in a house that he has built as an exact replica of his childhood home as if trying to recapture the good days that he himself destroyed. Capitu is the one who figures out the plans to convince Jose Dias and Bentinho’s mother to let him leave the seminary and she modestly makes herself indispensable to the household in his absence. She’s active, intelligent, self-possessed and loving (much better at maintaining her calm when they get caught in corners). I never quite believed that the evidence against her was that solid – a lot of it is in Bentinho’s head and he seems the melancholy, suspicious type. Many of her reactions could be explained by everyday emotions or her anger at being accused. I thought that perhaps the author had gone for some ambiguity there but it didn’t mention that in the introduction. This book doesn’t measure up to Epitaph and is a bit random but is well worth reading.
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husband whose jealousy destroys his marriage; however, the majority of the plot describes the childhood love of Bentinho and his sweetheart Capitu. It also follows him at his school and with his best friend. His marriage and unhappiness felt rushed at the end. The random tangents and humor were great as in Memoirs but there were not as many of the bittersweet observations that countered the lightness in Epitaph until the final few chapters of Dom Casmurro.Bentinho Santiago comes from a good family but is dangerously “getting into corners” with the neighbor girl, Capitu. The trusted family servant Jose Dias pushes Bentinho’s mother to send him to the seminary as part of a promise she made when he was born. A good chunk of the novel is taken up by Bentinho’s attempts to get out of going to the seminary and solidify his relationship with Capitu, who does most of the planning. Along the way, he muses on everybody and everything, giving backstories, thoughts on random things he happens to come across and side relationships that don’t affect the plot but are interesting all the same. The structure of the book is very metafictional, with many short chapters, some of which speculate on things to come or comment on the writing of the book or reassure the reader that this boring part is past or more excitement is to come. Bentinho is finally sent to the seminary and Capitu makes him promise not to take orders. School is boring though he does meet someone important - his best friend, Escobar. Things turn out well for Bentinho and Capitu but the last section hurtles through his growing jealousy and conviction that Capitu has been unfaithful.
Bentinho is more of a passive character than his wife – an observer and somewhat wishy-washy. He does seem prone to wallowing in his misery. He describes writing the book in a house that he has built as an exact replica of his childhood home as if trying to recapture the good days that he himself destroyed. Capitu is the one who figures out the plans to convince Jose Dias and Bentinho’s mother to let him leave the seminary and she modestly makes herself indispensable to the household in his absence. She’s active, intelligent, self-possessed and loving (much better at maintaining her calm when they get caught in corners). I never quite believed that the evidence against her was that solid – a lot of it is in Bentinho’s head and he seems the melancholy, suspicious type. Many of her reactions could be explained by everyday emotions or her anger at being accused. I thought that perhaps the author had gone for some ambiguity there but it didn’t mention that in the introduction. This book doesn’t measure up to Epitaph and is a bit random but is well worth reading.
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LibraryThing member Mercury57
If you want to read a classic of Brazilian literature, then it has to be Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. Never heard of him? Not surprising — on the rare occasions when you come across anything about literature from South America, it will typically reference the big names like
Machado de Assis isn't as well-known outside his home country but within Brazil it's a completely different story. Dom Casmurro, the book considered his finest novel, is required reading for every child in the country. It's on the school syllabus in much the same way that Bronte, Dickens and Austen were in the UK (until the government started messing around with eduction and children were no longer have to read whole books)
This is a novel in the realist mode that ranks alongside many other great nineteenth century novels like Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina which similarly focus on love, marriage and adultery. But the similarity only extends to the theme and not to the way de Assis handles his subject.
The novel purportes to be an autobiography written by Bento Santiago, a lawyer from Rio de Janeiro. We meet him as a semi reclusive man in the maturity of his life, the occupant of a substantial house built as a replica of his childhood home. He is alone, with few friends still alive.
After years of wedded bliss to a childhood sweetheart, he suspects that he has been cuckolded; that his wife Capitú, has cheated on him with his best friend and that her child is not his.
Writing, he decides, will relieve the monotony of his life. Ideally he wants to write something about jurisprudence or politics but that will require more energy than he has available right now; so instead he opts for the easier path of recording reminiscences from his past.
Through the narration that ensues, we follow him from his early adoration of Capitú, the girl next door who he believes similarly adores him. They cannot declare their love publicly however — his mother has him marked down for a glittering career in the church and would not welcome any disruption to those plans. So off he goes to the seminary, the first stage of the journey towards accomplishing the vocation his mother is sure is his destiny. Bento of course has other plans and the rest of the story traces his desperate efforts to keep Capitú's affection, win over his mother to his plans, and marry the girl of his dreams.
Described in such terms would suggest Dom Casmurro is a straight forward linear narrative. Far from it. The chapters are very short (some in fact just one paragraph long) and not necessarily connected to each other by the order of the events they supposedly relate so undermining the usual 'beginning, middle and end' way of narrating.
Machado also plays with his reader's expectations about the traditions of a love story, confounding those expectations by making Bento so completely unreliable as a narrator that we question whether there really was any grande passion with Capitú. Bento says his version of events is 'the unvarnished truth' and yet he admits that he has a poor memory, unable to remember even the colour of the trousers he wore yesterday let alone the colour of his first pair. Once we begin to doubt his veracity on the nature of his early relationship with Capitú, then the field is wide open to question whether she really is an adulteress. Is this a figment of Bento's over active imagination?
Inventive he certainly is. He frequently digresses from the story of his love and his life to pontificate on Brazilian life and society or about ministerial reshuffles, slavery, the need to re-write Othello and train travel. Beneto is someone inclined to chatter about anything that just pops into his head, regardless of whether it has anything to do with his story.
Reading this novel I gained the distinct impression that Bento - and Machado - were inviting the reader to understand that their story was a complex series of illusions, that nothing is really what it seems.
"Shake your head reader; make all the incredulous gestures you like. throw the book out even, if boredom hasn't made you do it already; anything is possible. But if you haven't done so and only now do you feel like it, I trust that you will pick the book up again and open it at the same page without believing that the author is telling the truth."
In questioning the narrator's ability to accurately render the very events they are meant to be presenting, Machado also draws attention to the way in which the whole process of writing is an artifice.
Mischevious. Quirky. Puzzling. By the end of Dom Casmurro I wasn't absolutely sure what kind of book I had just read or what was true and what was fabricated. But I did know I had enjoyed being led down many garden paths.
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Colombia's Gabriel García Márquez or Isabel Allende from Chile. As for Brazilian writers, about the only one to get much world wide attention is Paulo Coelho.Machado de Assis isn't as well-known outside his home country but within Brazil it's a completely different story. Dom Casmurro, the book considered his finest novel, is required reading for every child in the country. It's on the school syllabus in much the same way that Bronte, Dickens and Austen were in the UK (until the government started messing around with eduction and children were no longer have to read whole books)
This is a novel in the realist mode that ranks alongside many other great nineteenth century novels like Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina which similarly focus on love, marriage and adultery. But the similarity only extends to the theme and not to the way de Assis handles his subject.
The novel purportes to be an autobiography written by Bento Santiago, a lawyer from Rio de Janeiro. We meet him as a semi reclusive man in the maturity of his life, the occupant of a substantial house built as a replica of his childhood home. He is alone, with few friends still alive.
After years of wedded bliss to a childhood sweetheart, he suspects that he has been cuckolded; that his wife Capitú, has cheated on him with his best friend and that her child is not his.
Writing, he decides, will relieve the monotony of his life. Ideally he wants to write something about jurisprudence or politics but that will require more energy than he has available right now; so instead he opts for the easier path of recording reminiscences from his past.
Through the narration that ensues, we follow him from his early adoration of Capitú, the girl next door who he believes similarly adores him. They cannot declare their love publicly however — his mother has him marked down for a glittering career in the church and would not welcome any disruption to those plans. So off he goes to the seminary, the first stage of the journey towards accomplishing the vocation his mother is sure is his destiny. Bento of course has other plans and the rest of the story traces his desperate efforts to keep Capitú's affection, win over his mother to his plans, and marry the girl of his dreams.
Described in such terms would suggest Dom Casmurro is a straight forward linear narrative. Far from it. The chapters are very short (some in fact just one paragraph long) and not necessarily connected to each other by the order of the events they supposedly relate so undermining the usual 'beginning, middle and end' way of narrating.
Machado also plays with his reader's expectations about the traditions of a love story, confounding those expectations by making Bento so completely unreliable as a narrator that we question whether there really was any grande passion with Capitú. Bento says his version of events is 'the unvarnished truth' and yet he admits that he has a poor memory, unable to remember even the colour of the trousers he wore yesterday let alone the colour of his first pair. Once we begin to doubt his veracity on the nature of his early relationship with Capitú, then the field is wide open to question whether she really is an adulteress. Is this a figment of Bento's over active imagination?
Inventive he certainly is. He frequently digresses from the story of his love and his life to pontificate on Brazilian life and society or about ministerial reshuffles, slavery, the need to re-write Othello and train travel. Beneto is someone inclined to chatter about anything that just pops into his head, regardless of whether it has anything to do with his story.
Reading this novel I gained the distinct impression that Bento - and Machado - were inviting the reader to understand that their story was a complex series of illusions, that nothing is really what it seems.
"Shake your head reader; make all the incredulous gestures you like. throw the book out even, if boredom hasn't made you do it already; anything is possible. But if you haven't done so and only now do you feel like it, I trust that you will pick the book up again and open it at the same page without believing that the author is telling the truth."
In questioning the narrator's ability to accurately render the very events they are meant to be presenting, Machado also draws attention to the way in which the whole process of writing is an artifice.
Mischevious. Quirky. Puzzling. By the end of Dom Casmurro I wasn't absolutely sure what kind of book I had just read or what was true and what was fabricated. But I did know I had enjoyed being led down many garden paths.
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LibraryThing member diadorim
It has been the most discussed book at our universities and the base of our literature. Machado was one of the fist authors for adults I read when I was just a teenager. since I met his prose I couldn't stop reading his books over and over again. Dom Casmurro is a book I read entirely in one
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afternoon. What I like more in Machado's books is the narrator's voice who is very ironic all the time, he never is serious and is always commenting the character's behaviour. He kind of seduce us to think like him and is always playing tricks on us. Dom Casmurro is the memories of a man who think to be betrayed by his beloved wife, in the end of the the story we doubt if he is talling the truth. That is the best Brazilian prose. Show Less
LibraryThing member checkadawson
A first person perspective of a life, first lived in love and then destroyed by jealousy. The protagonist's voice is unique and engaging.
LibraryThing member BALE
Dom Casmurro is a tender and intimate look at a budding love that flowers and dies before it has had the opportunity to experience the seasons of a lifetime. The roots remain for a while, alive and struggling for life, but the climatic conditions are not enough to sustain it. The once beautiful
Machado’s is a timeless theme, yet the elegance with which he develops his characters is unique. There is, Jose Dias with his beloved superlatives and his tendency to walk with, “a casual slow step; not the lethargic gate of a lazy man, but a logical calculated slowness, a complete syllogism, the premise before the consequence, the consequence before the conclusion”. Exquisite! There is Benito, the protagonist, narrator and beloved of Capitu. The man who feels, “Daydreams are like other dreams; they are woven according to the patterns of our wishes and memories.” Yet, he forgets to bear this in mind when sharing his story. Thus, the reader is left to question the accuracy of Benito’s narrative. Machado plays with the reader through Benito’s voice so we are left to wonder, what is real and what was only real in the eyes of Benito. Finite conclusions cannot be drawn. Such is the mystery and genius of Machado’s writing. His is a story that continues to play in the readers psyche, long after its reading.
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flower suffers a slow and painful death. One can attempt to replace the plant with a fabric imitation, but without real life, it would be soul-less. Such is the essence of Machado’s lovely portrait of a man so consumed by love, that with fits of obsessive jealousy, he destroys it.Machado’s is a timeless theme, yet the elegance with which he develops his characters is unique. There is, Jose Dias with his beloved superlatives and his tendency to walk with, “a casual slow step; not the lethargic gate of a lazy man, but a logical calculated slowness, a complete syllogism, the premise before the consequence, the consequence before the conclusion”. Exquisite! There is Benito, the protagonist, narrator and beloved of Capitu. The man who feels, “Daydreams are like other dreams; they are woven according to the patterns of our wishes and memories.” Yet, he forgets to bear this in mind when sharing his story. Thus, the reader is left to question the accuracy of Benito’s narrative. Machado plays with the reader through Benito’s voice so we are left to wonder, what is real and what was only real in the eyes of Benito. Finite conclusions cannot be drawn. Such is the mystery and genius of Machado’s writing. His is a story that continues to play in the readers psyche, long after its reading.
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This is story written by a beloved Brazilian author which explores the classic themes of love, betrayal, and relationships. Machado de Assis has a lovely writing style and delightful wit. In an afterword his writing is described as "the pen of wit dipped in the ink of melancholy", which I found to
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be completely a propos. The reader goes through the idealism of youth with the narrator and leaps into the disillusionment of adulthood. There were also some philosophical notions I found really interesting, such as God being the poet and Satan being the musician for the composition we call life. I did not appreciate the sexism, but that is a given in literature of the period, so I can overlook it. The characters were engaging and, for me, they all shared the allure of "the undertow" attributed only to Capitu, the ingenue/femme fatale of the story. Ultimately it is a dramatic tale told really well. Strongly recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member AlCracka
Machado de Assis is apparently Brazil's best-loved author and an antecedent of the magical realist style, and I'd never heard of him until this year. It's exciting when I find things like this. Well, that and a little humbling.
Dom Casmurro is a weird and wonderful book. It's about a lifelong love
Early on, a minor character explains that life is an opera. Not metaphorically. Satan, "a young maestro with a great future," is cast out of the conservatory of heaven after rebelling, but not before stealing a cast-off libretto of God's. He turns it into a full opera and begs God to hear it. At last God relents, but refuses to have it played in heaven; instead, he creates this world as a special stage to hear Satan's composition - which, in the lonely fleshing out, has accidentally lost or distorted some of God's themes. "Indeed in some places the words go to the right and the music to the left...Certain motifs grow wearisome from repetition. There are obscure passages...and there are some who say that this is the beauty of the composition and keeps it from being monotonous." I can't do it justice; you'll have to read it for yourself. It's beautiful.
If your version comes with a foreward by Elizabeth Hardwick, do not read it. It spoils everything. Luckily, I've quit reading forewards beforehand for exactly this reason.
Heather suggested that Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata would make a good companion read, so I obediently read that next; she was totally right. They go together perfectly.
Dom Casmurro is a weird and wonderful book. It's about a lifelong love
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affair in which one person betrays the other; the mystery is who has done the betraying. The narrator doubles back on himself, loses track of his thoughts, lies both to us and to himself, and generally mucks everything up in a series of short,sharp chapters with titles like "Let us proceed to the chapter" and "Let us enter the chapter."Early on, a minor character explains that life is an opera. Not metaphorically. Satan, "a young maestro with a great future," is cast out of the conservatory of heaven after rebelling, but not before stealing a cast-off libretto of God's. He turns it into a full opera and begs God to hear it. At last God relents, but refuses to have it played in heaven; instead, he creates this world as a special stage to hear Satan's composition - which, in the lonely fleshing out, has accidentally lost or distorted some of God's themes. "Indeed in some places the words go to the right and the music to the left...Certain motifs grow wearisome from repetition. There are obscure passages...and there are some who say that this is the beauty of the composition and keeps it from being monotonous." I can't do it justice; you'll have to read it for yourself. It's beautiful.
If your version comes with a foreward by Elizabeth Hardwick, do not read it. It spoils everything. Luckily, I've quit reading forewards beforehand for exactly this reason.
Heather suggested that Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata would make a good companion read, so I obediently read that next; she was totally right. They go together perfectly.
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LibraryThing member snash
A fascinating narrator, exposing his inadequacies and incongruity via the telling of his story. It's a story that can be read psychologically or sociologically; about being out of touch with reality.
LibraryThing member kant1066
“Dom Casmurro” is one of those books that, if you had the good fortune of given a solid Brazilian education in the humanities, you would be quite familiar with. In fact, de Assis is still regularly assigned in literature classes there, and is regarded as one of the greatest writers working in
On the surface, it’s a simple enough love story between Bento, a young boy whose mother has ambitions of him becoming a seminarian and his beloved Capitu. Bento actually goes to the seminary for a short time and meets and befriends a fellow seminarian named Escobar. There is a possibility that Escobar also loves Capitu, but de Assis leaves this wonderfully ambiguous. Flaubert, however, never played with the unreliable narrator to the extent that de Assis does in this novel. Because of the open ambiguity of Escobar’s feelings, Bento and his ravenous jealousy are left to narrate the novel as they will – and it does seem that his jealousy becomes a character all its own. It shapes the entire world of Escobar’s intentions, all the while never leaving Capitu the time to shape her own or explain her actions. Does Bento have reason to feel this jealousy, or is it all just a figment of his own imagination?
These questions, which would otherwise form a good denouement for the action, are never resolved. You’re left in the position that Bento is, examining the minute details of his relationship for signs of Capitu’s infidelity. It’s difficult to tell whether someone like Ford Madox Ford knew of de Assis’ work , but if he did I wouldn’t be the least surprised. The similarities with “The Good Soldier” (which postdates this novel by fifteen years) are uncanny: the use of the unreliable narrator in the examination of a love triangle (or is it even a triangle at all?) is extraordinarily riveting and effective. For those weaned on the European canon and interested in branching out and finding new writers whose names might not be as well-recognized in the English-speaking world, you could do a lot worse than Machado de Assis.
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the Portuguese language in the nineteenth century. It’s one of those serendipities of history that we Anglophones don’t know him better; as many commentaries on the novel all too enthusiastically point out, he displays some unusual parallels to writers whose names are more familiar to our ears, namely Flaubert, Balzac, and Zola. On the surface, it’s a simple enough love story between Bento, a young boy whose mother has ambitions of him becoming a seminarian and his beloved Capitu. Bento actually goes to the seminary for a short time and meets and befriends a fellow seminarian named Escobar. There is a possibility that Escobar also loves Capitu, but de Assis leaves this wonderfully ambiguous. Flaubert, however, never played with the unreliable narrator to the extent that de Assis does in this novel. Because of the open ambiguity of Escobar’s feelings, Bento and his ravenous jealousy are left to narrate the novel as they will – and it does seem that his jealousy becomes a character all its own. It shapes the entire world of Escobar’s intentions, all the while never leaving Capitu the time to shape her own or explain her actions. Does Bento have reason to feel this jealousy, or is it all just a figment of his own imagination?
These questions, which would otherwise form a good denouement for the action, are never resolved. You’re left in the position that Bento is, examining the minute details of his relationship for signs of Capitu’s infidelity. It’s difficult to tell whether someone like Ford Madox Ford knew of de Assis’ work , but if he did I wouldn’t be the least surprised. The similarities with “The Good Soldier” (which postdates this novel by fifteen years) are uncanny: the use of the unreliable narrator in the examination of a love triangle (or is it even a triangle at all?) is extraordinarily riveting and effective. For those weaned on the European canon and interested in branching out and finding new writers whose names might not be as well-recognized in the English-speaking world, you could do a lot worse than Machado de Assis.
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
The author Machado de Assis is one of Brazil's great authors. His literary style is unique. This book, about 255 pages in length, has 148 chapters. The book starts out telling us how Bentinho Santiago has come to be known as Dom Casmurro, or as a reticent, tight lipped man of a noble nature. The
Genre: realism
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the first person narrative, Dom Casmurro takes us back to his adolescent years and his friendship with the neighbor girl Capitú. His mother has promised that she will give her son to the service of God. Bento has other ideas after he discovers he loves the next door neighbor girl. It is a story of young love ruined by jealousy and we have Shakespeare's Othello as our example. The book starts with the old man looking back at his live that he has lived in Rio. We know he is alone with his servant and is writing his life's story out of boredom. Genre: realism
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
Well that was good! This is why I like the idea of the book gift box, this is something I doubt I'd have picked up for myself, but I really enjoyed it. Narrated by the titular character, Dom Casmurro is a nickname, it means something along the lines of Lord Aloof, in that he holds himself apart
As to the characters he includes in his story, they are all in the shade of the love of Bento's life, Capitu. She is many things and different characters in the story react to her differently. She is, regardless of the actual facts, a great leading lady.
Although written at the turn of the 20th century in Brazil, this does not necessarily evoke a particular time and place. What feels very contemporary is the way the story centers entirely on Bento's emotional response to the world around him. He is also breaking the forth wall by talking directly to the reader in a way that feels far more modern a device.
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from the rest of the world. He tells the story of his life, his great love for the girl next door, Capitu, and how he believes that she has betrayed him. Told entirely from one side, there is no answer to his belief in her adultery with his best friend. And, seen as an impartial reader, there is no evidence presented either, is is all extremely flimsy and circumstantial. This is in contrast to his being trained as a lawyer, he never seems to weigh the evidence he believes he has, nor does he give anyone else a fair hearing. As an unreliable narrator, you learn what he wants you to learn, and anything else is not presented. As to motive and the real facts of the situation, I will leave that one to you to determine for yourself. I think this would make a realy good book for a discussion group, with different opinions on the true events.As to the characters he includes in his story, they are all in the shade of the love of Bento's life, Capitu. She is many things and different characters in the story react to her differently. She is, regardless of the actual facts, a great leading lady.
Although written at the turn of the 20th century in Brazil, this does not necessarily evoke a particular time and place. What feels very contemporary is the way the story centers entirely on Bento's emotional response to the world around him. He is also breaking the forth wall by talking directly to the reader in a way that feels far more modern a device.
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LibraryThing member Brasidas
The marketing copy on this particular edition of DON CASMURRO, published by FSG, states that the book is about an alleged marital infidelity. Here's the copy: "Bento Santiago, the wildly unreliable narrative of DC, believes that he has been cuckolded--he suspects that his wife has cheated on him
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with his best friend and that her child is not his." There's more but the message is the same: infidelity. But the book is not about infidelity, or not wholly. I am on page 160 of a 262 page book and so far the protagonist is not yet married. His problem is that he doesn't want to go to the seminary and become a priest. A fate chosen for him by his ridiculously religious mother while he was in the womb. Now, this is hardly a story line to thrill readers in the 21st century, is it? So the publisher has come up with this infidelity angle for its jacket copy. It is such a bait and switch. Farrar Straus and Giroux should be ashamed of themselves. As far the book itself goes, it's good, but THE POSTHUMOUS MEMOIRS OF BRAS CUBAS is better. DON CASMURRO is a novel for your grandmother. It's a love story, beautifully told, and a how-do-I-avoid-the-seminary novel. There's far too much about the hero's saintly Catholic mother, who I view as a control freak and a fool. Moreover, this is probably one of the most reliable narrators I have ever come across. He is only unreliable to the extent that he is crazed by jealous fantasies. This novel was published in the original Portuguese in 1900. It is a period piece. Yes, if you have to read just one Machado novel let it be THE POSTHUMOUS MEMOIRS OF BRAS CUBAS. That book, unlike this one, has stood the test of time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Haidji
This book is a first-person narrative about the life of Bento.
Bento recalls his youth and adulthood, and tells about his friendships, education, romantic life, and family relationships.
Machado de Assis tells a story about a man consumed by his own jealousy. This book contains one of the most
Did Capitu cheat on Bento or not? Machado de Assis doesn't reveal it.
Each reader makes his own mind.
Bento recalls his youth and adulthood, and tells about his friendships, education, romantic life, and family relationships.
Machado de Assis tells a story about a man consumed by his own jealousy. This book contains one of the most
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intriguing dillemas of brazilian literature:Did Capitu cheat on Bento or not? Machado de Assis doesn't reveal it.
Each reader makes his own mind.
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LibraryThing member -Eva-
Bento Santiago tells of his relationship with the beautiful neighbor girl, Capitu, from childhood to adulthood. I've heard about this novel a lot, and it did live up to what I had heard, theme- and story-wise, but unfortunately, it didn't capture me like a classic normally does. The beginning two
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thirds tend to go round and round in circles - how to get Bento out of seminary - and then the pace speeds up at the end and turns into a jealousy story. I may have to improve my Portuguese enough to give this another try in the original. The characters are well done, though, so those who read for characters should put it on the list. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gypsy_Boy
I have read that this is his best work, his masterpiece. I hope not. To be clear: I enjoyed it, it was well-written, and it’s a very good book. But it will depress me if this is his very best. The story of Bento Santiago (aka Dom Casmurro) told as he reflects on his life. According to the
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introduction, his nickname can mean stubborn or wrong-headed (among other things) and indeed, the book bears this out. Santiago avoids the seminary (his mother’s pre-natal promise to God) because he is determined to marry his childhood sweetheart. It’s all about relationships (both within and without the family) and about friend from the seminary carried through their middle age. It’s about love, about jealousy, and about betrayal and, in the end, about where Dom Casmurro “is” as he narrates the story. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
Portuguese