Quincas Borba
Translation by Gregory Rabassa. Edited by Celso / Haberly, David T. Favaretto
Published on 2. September 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-19-510682-4 (ISBN)
Description
Machado de Assis is considered the pre-eminent writer of Brazil. Quincas Borba is one of his four most important novels and features some of the same characters as Memorias Postumas de Bras Cubas.
The main character of this novel is a well-meaning country fellow who moves to the city with his dog, Quincas Borba, named after the mad philosopher who was his previous owner. As the dog's new owner explores the social, political, and commercial world of the city, he also tries to come to grips with the motives that lie behind every human action and begins to ponder what madness really is. Despite the "heavy" messages behind this book, the narration is light-hearted, allowing readers to laugh both at the foibles of society and at themselves.
The main character of this novel is a well-meaning country fellow who moves to the city with his dog, Quincas Borba, named after the mad philosopher who was his previous owner. As the dog's new owner explores the social, political, and commercial world of the city, he also tries to come to grips with the motives that lie behind every human action and begins to ponder what madness really is. Despite the "heavy" messages behind this book, the narration is light-hearted, allowing readers to laugh both at the foibles of society and at themselves.
Reviews / Votes
"In superbly funny books, [Machado] described the abnormalities of alienation, perversion, domination, cruelty and madness. He deconstructed empire with a thoroughness and an esthetic equilibrium that place him in a class by himself."--K. David Jackson, The New York Times Book Review"Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis...[is] a genuine subversive, bent on overturning convention but always with an air of leisurely nonchalance....Quincas Borba consolidates the triumph of a Latin American protomodernist."--Jonathan Keates, The New York Times Book Review
"[A] spirited translation."--Jonathan Keates, The New York Times Book Review
"A graceful new translation of a major novel by the master ironist who remains Brazil's greatest writer of fiction.... A great, teasing, profoundly entertaining book: An unforgettable portrayal of a materially oriented Don Quixote that's also that rariety in any literature--a genuine philosophical novel."--Kirkus
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
453 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-510682-4 (9780195106824)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Joaquim Machado De Assis | Celso Favaretto | David T. Haberly
Quincas Borba
E-Book
04/1999
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€12.49
Available for download
Joaquim Machado De Assis | Celso Favaretto | David T. Haberly
Quincas Borba
E-Book
04/1999
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€15.49
Available for download
Joachim Maria Machado de Assis | Celso Favaretto | David T. Haberly
Quincas Borba
Book
01/1999
Oxford University Press Inc
€95.32
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Gregory Rabassa is the preeminent American translator of Spanish and Portuguese, whose works include One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas. Celso Favaretto teaches at the University of Sao Paulo. David T. Haberly teaches at the University of Virginia.