The modem Brazilian short story begins with the mature work of
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908), acclaimed almost
unanimously as Brazil's greatest writer. Collectively, these
nineteen stories are representative of Machado's unique style and
world view, and this translation doubles the number of his stories
previously available in English.
The stories in this volume reflect Machado's post-1880 emphasis
on social satire and experimentation in psychological realism. If
he had continued to produce the moralistic love stories and parlor
intrigues of his earlier fiction, Machado's legacy would have been
an entertaining but inconsequent body of work. However, by 1880 he
had begun a devastating satirical assault on society through his
fiction. In spite of his ruthlessness, Machado does at times reveal
an ironic sympathy for his characters. He is not indifferent to
human conflict but uses humor and irony to stress the absurdity of
these conflicts, acted out against the backdrop of an indifferent
universe. Such a spectacle creates a sense of helplessness that can
only inspire wistful amusement.
In his technical mastery of the short story. Machado was decades
ahead of his contemporaries and can still be considered more modern
than most of the modernists themselves. That his stories elicit
such strong and diverse reactions today is a tribute to their
richness, complexity, and significance.
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