Brazil: Epitaph of a Small Winner (Machado de Assis, trans. William L. Grossman)
Machado de Assis (1839-1908) is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of Brazilian literature. He founded and was the first President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The organization later founded a prize in his honor (the Prêmio Machado de Assis). Known for his ironic and unique writing style, Assis has been highly influential to many 20th century writers including Salman Rushdie, Carlos Fuentes, Susan Sontag, and Woody Allen.
Background: Before the arrival of the Portuguese, Brazil had around 7 million indigenous people, mostly semi-nomadic. In 1500, the land was claimed for Portugal. For the next two centuries, the indigenous population and the Europeans were in constant war. The Portuguese set up sugar plantations, bringing in slaves from Africa, later used for the newly discovered gold deposits. In 1807, Spanish and Napoleonic forces were embattled with Portugal and so the monarchy moved to Brazil for while, where many institutions were established (National Bank, stock exchange, etc.). After many years of increasing frustration, Prince Pedro stood with the Brazilians and declared the country's independence in 1822, although he was later declared Emperor of Brazil. The Brazilian War of Independence spread in the following years, until the Portuguese surrendered in 1824. The next few decades saw considerable turmoil, as the Portuguese monarchy attempted to maintain power and the Brazilians engaged in numerous wars with the surrounding countries. In 1889, the monarchy was finally overthrown in a coup. The first few decades of the 20th century saw repeated coups as different military dictatorships took power and rapid transitions of power. By the 1960s, the presidency was essentially authoritarian and it wasn't until the 1980s that Brazil was able to return to democracy, although economic crises and corruption have still rocked the modern government.
This novel was absolutely hilarious. It is told in a series of micro-chapters. Much like Tristram Shandy, the novel is told as an autobiography, but from a weird perspective. In this case, Brás Cubas, the narrator, is dead, and is telling his life story from beyond the grave. He relates his many mistakes, although he is perhaps not as self-conscious as we might hope (from an ethical point of view), but this certainty makes for entertaining reading. Brás Cubs is extremely pessimistic in regards to most things in his life, although he later decides it really has been a success since he has not passed on the "misery" of life any further since he has had no children. Supremely quirky, I adored this novel and recommend it most highly.
