Machado de Assis
The greatest Brazilian novelist, whose ironic, metafictional masterworks Epitaph of a Small Winner and Dom Casmurro anticipated modernist fiction by decades. He is a foundational figure in Latin American literature.
Works
- Epitaph of a Small WinnerA clever rogue narrates his insignificant life with wit, madness, and philosophical detachment
- Dom CasmurroA man's jealous obsession over his wife's possible infidelity destroys their marriage irreversibly
- Quincas BorbaA widow and her ward's complicated relationship explores maternal bonds and inheritance
- The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras CubasA dead man narrates his chaotic and meaningless life post-mortem with dark humor
- HelenaA young woman's sacrifice for an orphan girl she considers her sister tests family loyalty