Group Read, February 2021: The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas

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Group Read, February 2021: The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas

1puckers
feb. 1, 2021, 2:42 pm

Our February group read is The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis. Please join in the read and post any comments here. (I will be joining this one, my first group read in 11 months!)

2elik82
feb. 2, 2021, 6:22 am

I'm in, starting today my first group read!

3DeltaQueen50
feb. 3, 2021, 4:10 pm

I started the book last weekend and so far I am enjoying it, lots of tongue-in-chgeek humor and a fairly easy read that doesn't feel old fashioned even though it was originally published in 1881.

4puckers
feb. 3, 2021, 5:15 pm

I've made a start on this also - agree with your comments, though initially I've found it a little difficult to follow with its loose structure/time-line.

5BentleyMay
feb. 4, 2021, 8:53 am

I just started last night. I agree with all above - easy to read, but a little difficult to follow, good humor, and has a modern feeling to it.

6DeltaQueen50
feb. 4, 2021, 12:10 pm

I have completed The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas and I quite enjoyed it. Thanks to >5 BentleyMay: for suggesting this one as I probably wouldn't have read it without it being brought to my attention.

7puckers
feb. 10, 2021, 6:13 am

I finished the book tonight. As others have said, a chatty playful narrator with some amusing asides makes this a fairly easy read, and a surprisingly modern one for a book written in 1881. Apart from one intense affair though nothing much seems to happen in Bras Cubas’ life and I was left wondering what the point of it all was, which may be the point the author is making about life.

8elik82
feb. 10, 2021, 2:04 pm

Agree with puckers' summary. In addition, the protagonist is repeatedly toying with idea of getting involved with politics. Interesting to note that de Assis himself avoided discussing politics in his lifetime.
The other fun fact I found out after reading the book is Woody Allen mentioned this book as one of his favourites, I can see how the narrator's interjections have an impertinence reminding of Allen's style.

9puckers
feb. 10, 2021, 3:53 pm

>8 elik82: I agree that it has a certain Woody Allen style to it