A totally different read than what I had thought, at times hard to follow. In such a short story we are following Macabea's very pathetic uneducated, A totally different read than what I had thought, at times hard to follow. In such a short story we are following Macabea's very pathetic uneducated, unloved, unhealthy existence and her search for what is real for her, but life is cruel and she is unaware, while eating her fair share of Hot Dogs. Her tale is told by Rodrigo who spotted her one day in a very hostile environment. He exist as she exist. He does not even share her name until around halfway through when she meets a boy who ask her name, but mistreats her and leaves her for another. Before she gets to realize what could be and have a happy life it is all taken away in a moment.
A narrative of should we examine our conduct in our own lives before it is too late to matter.
"As for the girl, she exists in an impersonal limbo, untouched by what is worst or best. She merely exists, inhaling and exhaling, inhaling and exhaling. Why should there be anything more?"...more
This is the second read from Author Machado de Assis. His story telling is so different than other Authors, which I really find interesting. I did notThis is the second read from Author Machado de Assis. His story telling is so different than other Authors, which I really find interesting. I did not enjoy this one as much as I did Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas but that is okay. It is a different tale.
Benito is telling his story of his life from his prospective through Cloudy Rose-Colored Glasses. It is a romantic tale of his life growing up and falling in love with Capitu his childhood friend. They go their separate ways for a time while he is at seminary but he comes back and they eventually marry and have a son. During their life he has many negative thoughts and almost takes action on them. He is ruled by these thoughts making it hard for him to have a very happy life.
I did not like the mini chapters. They left me wondering about the details of these small flashes of time and some I would of enjoyed going into more detail. When a major event happens one that I thought he would have gone into much more detail of this loss in his life it was an afterthought. It is an interesting read. Not a normal romance for me, but I believe that was what Benito was trying to tell, a romance between him and Capitu. Worth the read. Just left me wondering about the rest of his life, was it a good life or just getting through it....more
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas...what can I say. This is my first read of de Assis a South American author, very different from any read I have The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas...what can I say. This is my first read of de Assis a South American author, very different from any read I have enjoyed before. I have never read a book with so much introduction. The narrator is writing his story of life after he dies! What I call his delirium while he is passing from one state to the next is humorous...riding a hippopotamus!
Brás Cubas, is quite the person of drama, tells the story of his life once gone from birth to the complete circle of human life. From his first kiss and love of the needy Marcela to her death, she was ugly and in poverty. The loss of his mother, after being abroad for schooling, was very hard on him, he was lost for quite a while. He finally found love with Virgilia who was married to Lobo Neves' who once was named President asked Cubas to join him as his Secretary. Politics seem to irritate him. His relationship with Dona Placida, he loved her dearly, helped him with his relationship with Virgilia. Dona was taken by a Con that married her and stripped her of her savings. When Dona passed he stated she had sneaked out the same way she had come into his life. When the time came he reflected, no real gain in his life, did not do well in politics or marriage. He did do well in wealth, slavery and an easy death. His last regret...no children.
The author challenges ones normal story telling. The narrator kind of mocks his life by telling the story not in glorification of his life but in what really happens, sometimes less than perfect.
Seven years. On my shelf, off and back on again. I have started and gave up. Some say you will love it. I do enjoy a good family saga. A dilemma from Seven years. On my shelf, off and back on again. I have started and gave up. Some say you will love it. I do enjoy a good family saga. A dilemma from the beginning is generations of the same name and their behavior quite odd. They come and go or are they dead? Show up pages and pages later just missing for a bit I guess. Making it hard for me to connect with them. The Patriarch of the family establishes a little village so remote that gypsies bring them necessities about once a year. Macondo could not withstand no modernization and eventually dies from plagues and war. Ursula, this could be her story, she is my favorite and lived to be over a hundred. She prevailed in her sense that family was very important and she cared for them a lot. She was their Matriarch, strong and protective. Until her age and blindness catch up with her and her memory and present time intermingle. When she was described as a shriveled raisin it made my heart break for her and what all she had done to maintain the family.
Marquez wrote and wove beautiful sentences and I would reread those again to let them sink in. The Magical realism's use is to make one ponder what is myth, legend, ghost, and what is truth, is it a real event or not. The unbelievable, that would make you ask why, is the never ending tragedy that plagues them, it is just hard to fathom. The magical vs realism is what Marquez is able to make happen in this read, the unbelievable seem possible. The trails of butterflies following the loves are just beautiful. But there are things that are just...the one who farts that kills all the flowers! The rain that goes on and on for four years!
If for nothing else but the beauty in the sentences and Ursula this is a read you need to move up on your TBR pile!...more
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