Machado very much like Pessoa is succinct at surfacing underpinning motives flourished by societies moors and contradictions. My favourite stories were The Psychiatrist, Education of a Stuffed Shirt and The Looking Glass. One of my favourite passages from the book ...

"Sleep, real sleep was another matter: it brought me relief - not for the usual reason, that it is the brother of death - but, for another. I believe I can best explain it in this way. Sleep, eliminating the necessity for an exterior soul, permitted the inner soul to go into action."

Over-all, I enjoyed quite a few of his short stories, some more then others of course, which is natural. I have yet to read Epitaph of a Small Winner which is on my 'to-read' list but on the whole I have found Machado to be a unique echo in literature perhaps one of few of a small band of like-wise authors of the same ilk. ( )

You Don't Love the Same Woman Twice: "The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil" by Machado de Assis, John Charles Chasteen (translator)


Published 2013.

Let’s talk about luxury. Not that one, but the one that goes through the objects that I covet. One of these objects is the 1600-page-book “Os Romances de Machado de Assis” (the Novels of Machado de Assis) edited by the Glaciar publishing House, containing among others “Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas”, “Memorial de Aires” e “Dom Casmurro”, “Quincas Borba”, “Esaú e Jacob”, “Helena”, … This beast of a book waits for me (or I’m waiting for it; take your pick). Being neigh on impossible to find it despite having been published quite recently, I just had to make do with Chasteen’s translated collection. After having finished it, it’s also become a cult object.

Contents:

“To be Twenty Years Old” (Vinte anos! Vinte anos!)
“The Education of a Poser” (Teoria do medalhão), my favourite story; the poser in the story resembles a few Portuguese politicians from the here and now, but I won’t name them in case one of them is reading this…I’m sure I could find further examples from other political milieus
“The Looking Glass” (O espelho)
“Chapter of Hats” (Capítulo dos chapéus)
“A Singular Occurrence” (Singular Ocorrência)
“Terspischore” (Terpsícore)
“Father Against Mother” (Pai contra mãe)
“The Alienist” (O Alienista)

You can read the rest of this review on my blog. ( )

De Assis rocks the short story. I mean, all I have to say is "The Rod of Justice." ( )