Willa Magland
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
This is the first bookbug book that I had trouble with! I don't think I was hyped up enough for it, plus I was a little confused with the book's inner universe. I didn't really enjoy it all that much, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't good.
First off, the writing was fantastic. I read the english translation by Rabassa, who preserved the beautiful, poetic introspection of Brás's conscience. The style is very creative, from its premise as a collection of memoirs literally written posthumously, to its execution in its playful manipulation of chapters and punctuation. It really shows that authors have always stretched the limits of traditional writing.
The book was a miss for me because of its two larger focuses: the affair and his experimentation with philosophy. I found these subjects annoying and bland! However, in the second half of the book when I was really reaching my wits' end, I started to pick up on de Assis' clever construction of Brás Cubas' character. The man lives a semi-interesting life, and then dies. It really does feel as though these are his personal memoirs that he's written about his actual life. The author isn't trying to keep me interested, he's trying to paint a realistic portrait of his character, and he succeeds!
Anyway, I'm glad I finished it. I was pretty disappointed with my edition, though. It had numerous typos and left me feeling pretty "in the dark" about some things. Maybe I'll consider trying the Penguin Classics one.
Current Status ☕
