Quincas borba - joaquim maria machado de assis

Hailed in his lifetime as Brazils greatest writer, Machado de Assis (1839-1908) has found a new generation of readers through a series of critically acclaimed translations by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson.

Now, the duo returns to breathe new life into the irreverent, ambitious, and darkly funny Quincas Borba .

Originally published in 1891, the novel begins with the death of its titular character, a mad philosopher infamous for spouting pessimistic theories of Humanitism.

Borba leaves his fortune--including his dog, also named Quincas Borba--to Rubião, his loyal caretaker.

Adrift in the big, bad, bustling world of late-1860s Rio de Janeiro, it isnt long before Rubião is targeted by the citys sycophants, who can smell his naïveté from a mile away.

Playfully told by an omniscient--and possibly unreliable--narrator, and rife with Machados signature satirical jabs, Quincas Borba is another strikingly modern tale from a blazing progenitor of twentieth-century fiction.