Dom Casmurro: A Novel (FSG Classics) Paperback – September 15, 2009

It is a fascinating story set in late nineteenth century Brazil…..easy to read and beautifully motivated. However the book is filled with typos, awkward English and occasionally not translated from the Portuguese…..for no reason. I do think it’s a classic and well worth reading anyway

Presents at first as a coming-of-age story of a rich Brazilian boy. Until, that is, in manhood he begins to suspect his almost divine spouse of a devastating infidelity. At that point you realize that in terms of its ominousness you have been reading something resembling Edgar Allan Poe. The writing also has the psychological complication of Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle. Helen Caldwell’s 1954 translation stands up very well (the idiom is perfectly up to date) and except for the absence of 21st-century technology the story reads modern. I liked the short chapters and the digressions, though it took me 20 pages to get into the way this first-person account was being told. This is a psychological thriller whose last 50 pages are quite capable of tearing your heart right out of your body. As far as I’m concerned, Machado de Assis, and especially this novel, should be on every university’s world literature syllabus.

I read Dom Casmurro, by Machado de Assis, while living in Brazil, and also became aware of a variety of opinions about it, as it was mentioned often in the culture paqes of my Brazilian newspaper. I also read most of the rest of the corpus of Machado's novels. This is probably the greatest novel by one of the world's greatest authors.I read the book in Portuguese and bought this translation to give as a present.This author is good at keeping the reader guessing. What stands out is the author's treatment of the narrator, who is a prime example of what is called an "unreliable narrator." The narrator is clearly a jerk, a hidebound old man, who has always been a person of what a Brazilian might call "few lights," but as he tells the story the reader is also aware of the author, the "old wizard," who is laughing at Casmurro the whole time. Critics might disagree with me, but I think the "old wizard" himself is posing as the old wizard, quite self-consciously. The hidebound old man is, of course, a representative of the hidebound old social class which was running the country. Social climbers like Casmurro's wife or (in another novel) Helena are better people in Machado's opinion. But see for yourself, and don't miss this novel!

This classic Brazilian novel, written by Machado de Assis and first published in 1899, is available in the U.S. in a new edition published last year by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. In this first-person narrative, an elderly Bento Santiago reminisces about his happy childhood, including his devoted mother and his enduring love for his childhood sweetheart, Capitú. Over time, Bento's adolescent happiness matures into a complicated adult life, rife with drama and tragedy.As Bento progresses through his life story, his easygoing and often humorous voice adopts a deceptively light tone. This misleading lightness masks a much darker story, one of a man regretful of destroying his happiness with his own crippling jealousy. Not only is Bento the master of his own tragedy, but he also revels in telling the story to us, complete with dramatic flourishes and strategic asides. With strong parallels to Shakespeare's Othello, Dom Casmurro is a classic story of love won and then lost. Although over a century old, this fresh and modern story remains as relevant today as when it was first written.

Short chapters, a warm style that makes you feel the author is writing for you alone and a plot that keeps you on your toes throughout the book make this a classic. Did I mention the fact that somehow you feel you've always known and loved these characters? Need I say more?

Machado de Assis is the master of Brazilian letters, and Dom Casmurro is, together with Brás Cubas, his masterpiece novel. The narrator is so perfectly built that you can't know where the truth and the fantasy lie in his hunting and tragic love story. Nineteenth century's Rio de Janeiro is the background of Bentinho and Capitu's tragedy, which mirrors Othello.

My favorite novel in the best translation.

A pleasure to read. It's a most unusual novel and a satisfying page turner. I'm so glad it is still in print.