Enchanting, fresh translations of the finest stories by Brazil's
greatest writer and author of short stories, cited as the greatest black
writer in Western literature
"Machado de Assis showed the human comedy is the same everywhere, and
in conflicts between man and society, society usually wins." --The New
Yorker
Machado de Assis is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating story
writers who ever lived. What appear at first to be stately social
satires reveal unanticipated depths through flashes of darkness and
winking surrealism. This new selection of his finest work, translated by
the prize-winning Daniel Hahn, showcases the many facets of his
mercurial genius.
A brilliant scientist opens the first asylum in his home town, only to
start finding signs of insanity all around him. A young lieutenant basks
in praise, but in solitude feels his identity fray into nothing. The
reading of a much-loved elder statesman's journals reveals hidden
thoughts of merciless cruelty.
This beautiful new collection of fresh translations offers the perfect
gathering of his most beloved stories:
The Fortune-Teller
The Posthumous Portrait Gallery
The Loan
The Tale of the Cabriolet
The Stick
The Secret Cause
The Canon, or Metaphysics of Style
The Alienist
The Looking-Glass
Midnight Mass