One gap I have in my reading life is classic fiction. I’ve read David Copperfield & Great Expectations by Dickens, Madame Bovary by Flaubert. I have Mansfield Park by Jane Austen & Don Quixote by Cervantes on my Kindle app to be read. For some reason, I have not gravitated towards 19th century literature in my reading life. However, about a decade ago, I read The Posthumous Memoirs by Bras Cubas by Machado De Assis and enjoyed the experience. This novel about a dead Brazilian aristocrat writing his memoir was definitely ahead of its time. I was at my local public library in San Antonio last week and saw the new Penguin Classics translation of the novel by Flora Thomson-Deveaux and decided on the spot I wanted to reread it.

Bras Cubas recounted his life with grandiosity, detailing his romances, accumulated wealth, close companions, and overarching life philosophy across 160 brief chapters that unfolded with the rapid momentum of a thriller. De Assis crafted a protagonist who was both captivating and frustrating, compelling me to keep reading. My second read-through revealed that the story didn’t hold my attention quite as strongly as it did the first time. However, I want to read more Machado de Assis’ novels, especially Quincas Borba (who appears in this novel) and Dom Casmurro. The father of Brazilian literature may be the entry point I needed to read more classic fiction.