- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: FSG Adult; Reprint edition (Nov 1 1991)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374523037
- ISBN-13: 978-0374523039
- Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.7 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 358 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#319,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics > Spanish & Portuguese
- #26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > European > Spanish & Portuguese
- #31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Portuguese
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The unreliable narrator and the fictional memoir are long-standing literary traditions. Nineteenth-century Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis uses both to brilliant effect in his novel Dom Casmurro. Narrated by Bento Santiago, this memoir looks back over a life filled with the suspicion of betrayal: Bento is convinced that his wife had an affair with his best friend, and that his son was the result of it. Though he has no real evidence to support this belief, Bento becomes so obsessed with it that, in the end, he commits crimes far worse than the suspected adultery to avenge himself. The memoir itself is a kind of justification for his actions; Bento, now alone, recreates the environment of his childhood and attempts to rewrite the facts of his life--in essence, reconstructing the past.
Among readers familiar with Latin American literature, Machado is considered a master. His novels blend black comedy with deadly accurate social commentary and an unerring perception of human psychology to create works that are brilliant, complex without being opaque, and joys to read. The Oxford University Press edition is ably translated by John Gledson and accompanied by critical essays that will help orient readers unfamiliar with Machado's work. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
It's the simplest of stories: boy falls in love with girl next door, they grow up, marry and have a child. Enter jealousy, exit happiness and boy/narrator, Betinho, who goes on to write his magnum opus, the History of the Suburbs . However, Betinho has been promised since conception to the priesthood, a glitch that allows de Assis to describe a community so familiar with God that bargaining with Him is as common as haggling with the butcher. This upper- middle-class Brazilian society of the last century ( Dom Casmurro was first published in 1899) is the setting for Betinho's transformation from a coddled only child to the middle-aged Dom Casmurro, or Lord Taciturn. It is marked by his fantastic imagination, both comic (as when he consults with maggots who are eating books he needs for a dissertation) and tragic (evidence of his beloved wife's infidelity is circumstantial at best). Deftly translated, Dom Casmurro is a book full of humor, sweetness and a tender melancholy--a book that deserves to be read.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dom Casmurro - Coorection,
By
Ce commentaire est de: Dom Casmurro (Hardcover)
In my review about Machado de Assis I made a mistake. He's probably the most important writer in the 19th century and not 18th. Sorry about that.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting reading,
Ce commentaire est de: Dom Casmurro (Paperback)
This is one of the best novels I have read. It has everything to enjoy a nice reading.The situations are very descriptive not only of the 19th century's Brazil, but even of the present Brazilian culture (don't get me wrong, I don't mean the characters, but the interactions); the analysis of these situations goes into reflections about the humans (feelings, memories, decisions,...); the author even builds a well-driven relation between him and the readers, be them women, men, or specific people. The one I read has notes from the editor that helps to understand more the author's "intentions" and the background of the novel itself. I recommend you this one. Finally, the Portuguse edition was useful for me to study the language while enjoying a good reading. I got a high amount of vocabulary and expressions.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Brazilian classic,
By Marcela (Brazil) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Dom Casmurro (Paperback)
I can say without a shadow of doubt that this is my favourite book. It was the first book of Machado de Assis that I read and which made me follow in love with his work.It is a story about an old man who "try to attached both extremes of his life" on the own words of this character, Bentinho who explains his nickname, Dom Casmurro, on the first pages of the book. He tells the reader about his youth, his studies and mainly about his first and only love: Capitu. However, if you are expecting another novel talking about love, reading the book will surprise you. It is not only about love, it is about insecurity and doubts. Better, this novel is about the human soul, its worst and best sides. I would say that the talent Machado de Assis takes the reader into an investigation. But it is not an usual one. It is necessary to enter into Bentinho's mind looking for clues that could absolve him or his beloved, Capitu. The reader is overwhelmed by the doubts that disturbs Bentinho and which made him took drastic actions. The most fantastic element in this book is that reading it over and over never guarantees the certainty about what it is right and what is wrong. If we suppose that there is some truth to be found. It is a game between the character and the reader!
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