- Paperback
- Publisher: Vintage
- ISBN-10: 0099801108
- ISBN-13: 978-0099801108
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Dom Casmurro (Portuguese Edition)
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First Sentence
One evening just lately, as I was coming back from town to Engenho Novo* on the Central line train, I met a young man from this neighborhood, whom I known by sight: enough to raise my hat to him. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
One evening just lately, as I was coming back from town to Engenho Novo* on the Central line train, I met a young man from this neighborhood, whom I known by sight: enough to raise my hat to him. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Here's a very short summary of the plot. It is the story of a man, starting with his childhood, and his love for Capitu, the neighbour's daughther. In time, he marries her, and eventually comes to believe her unfaithful. Such a simple storyline doesn't hint at how good the book really is. Narrated in third person, the author nevertheless places the reader over the main character's shoulder, so that the reader can only see what the main character sees, and we have access only to that character's thoughts. Whatever he notices in Capitu to make him think her unfaithful is a mark of his own jealousy, and that is also the measure we are allowed to see; everything else the reader must fill in the blank spaces by him/herself. The author shows a very skillful hand; it is unavoidable to ask oneself if she really was unfaithful, and it is impossible to really know, of course. Fortunately, we can move well beyond that, and ask ourselves what type of character is that of the main actor in the drama, capable of such jealousy for someone who is, after all, known to him since his childhood. We all suffered from small insecurities in our lives, some of them real, some of them imaginary, and some of them we transcend, and we put behind us. The subtle description of episodes in the book constructs a mosaic of our own soul. Also of interest is the description of Brazilian society in the late 19th century; the characters are at the so called top of the social ladder, but the other characters which depend on them, and how they orbit the rich in a dependence relationship, are all there. Besides that, there's even more to be had if one looks at the situation of women in general as portrayed in the book. What makes it a great book, though, is what the author shows us about ourselves.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Machado de Assis is perhaps the greatest Portuguese language romancist, and certainly the most important Brazilian author. This book is his best work. In a very short manner, it could be desribed as a "Brazilian Ottello", but it mustn't be be considered as a version of the Shakespeare classic, but a unique story, very reach in itself. Machado has an amazing ability to make the reader feel like his characters, and involves us in a tram where the complete uncertainty and blind jealousy is thrilling, and rises our deepest passionate feelings, for or against the main character. This book is a definitely a must read for everyone who enjoys good literature.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I first read this book, back in 1987, I was about to marry the girl who had lived next door ever since I was 10. I instantly knew the book would be a lifelong favorite because of the wonderful, simple, and short descriptions of childhood love in one of the early chapters. The question of unfaithfulness Machado created in my mind was only a scholarly one, it did not touch me as emotionally as the passages of childhood love, simply because it was unconceivable that such a thing would happen to us. I was convinced of Capitu's innocence and appreciated it enormously that Machado does not provide us with a clear-cut verdict. Now, 10 years later, I have reread the book because my Capitu is gone and all I have left are questions so similar to Dom Casmurro's that it is frightening. The book has a completely new meaning to me, and Capitu's guilt is screaming at me from virtually every page. I now even more appreciate it that Machado does not provide us with the truth, because such, apparently, is life. This is a book to read slowly, let it soak in gently into your soul during a couple of days if not weeks, and when done, have your love read it, and then talk about it for weeks. It also is a book to keep and read again years later. A new, different version of you will probably find rather different things in it. Both translations, in 1987 I read a Dutch translation, and recently an English one, manage to make clear that Machado had a way with words that is very intriguing. Sometimes so much is said with so few simple words. The real book is written between the lines.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Machado de Assis
Firstly, the novel is not principally intended to be an exposition of nineteenth-century Brazilian society, despite what several critics have said. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 1999
espresso or macchiato?
One of the chapters is simply called "The Cup of Coffee"-- a dark, delicious page of a chapter that will probably lead you into the kitchen, wondering what sort of... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 1998
A Masterpiece of World Literature
Machado de Assis is probably one of the most underrated authors literature departments around the US-and other countries-have (not) encountered. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 1998
Those who didn't rate it 5 stars don't desearve it !
This is a classic of world's litterature. It should be known by everyone that the author learned to write only because he was an appretice at a printing shop when he was only 14 or... Read more
Published on 2 July 1998
So--was he a cuckold?
Forgive me for being a literary proletariat, but this novel leaves the reader with a vague sense of being cheated, if you'll pardon the pun. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 1997
Dom Casmurro - art in paper
Dom Casmurro is simply a book that can be called by "really art". Machado de Assis uses all his culture and sense in a realistic history. Simply the best.
Published on 29 Oct 1997
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