Quincas Borba

Hailed in his lifetime as Brazils greatest writer, Machado de Assis has found a new generation of readers through a series of critically acclaimed translations by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson. Now, the duo returns to breathe new life into the irreverent, ambitious and darkly funny Quincas Borba. Originally published in 1891, the novel begins with the death of its titular character, a mad philosopher infamous for spouting pessimistic theories of Humanitism. Borba leaves his fortuneincluding his dog, also named Quincas Borbato Rubio, his loyal caretaker. Adrift in the big, bad, bustling world of late-1860s Rio de Janeiro, it isnt long before Rubio is targeted by the citys sycophants, who can smell his navet from a mile away. Playfully told by an omniscientand possibly unreliablenarrator, and rife with Machados signature satirical jabs, Quincas Borba is another strikingly modern tale from a blazing progenitor of twentieth-century fiction.