A Aia e Outros Contos

by Eça de Queirós

O que terão em comum uma humilde aia, que dá a maior (e mais cruel) prova de lealdade à sua rainha, um senhor abastado das terras de Jerusalém e um centurião romano, que procuram desesperadamente por Jesus, e Jacinto, um verdadeiro homem da cidade, agarrado a todos os objetos e conforto da vida moderna, que se muda para o campo? São personagens que ganham vida em três contos de Eça, escritos no seu estilo inconfundível.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

José Maria Eça de Queirós was a novelist committed to social reform who introduced naturalism and realism to Portugal. He is often considered to be the greatest Portuguese novelist, certainly the leading 19th-century Portuguese novelist whose fame was international. The son of a prominent magistrate, Eça de Queiroz spent his early years with relatives and was sent to boarding school at the age of five. After receiving his degree in law in 1866 from the University of Coimbra, where he read widely French, he settled in Lisbon. There his father, who had since married Eça de Queiroz' mother, made up for past neglect by helping the young man make a start in the legal profession. Eça de Queiroz' real interest lay in literature, however, and soon his short stories - ironic, fantastic, macabre, and often gratuitously shocking - and essays on a wide variety of subjects began to appear in the "Gazeta de Portugal". By 1871 he had become closely associated with a group of rebellious Portuguese intellectuals committed to social and artistic reform and known as the Generation of '70. Eça de Queiroz gave one of a series of lectures sponsored by the group in which he denounced contemporary Portuguese literature as unoriginal and hypocritical. He served as consul, first in Havana (1872-74), then in England, UK - in Newcastle upon Tyne (1874-79) and in Bristol (1879-88). During this time he wrote the novels for which he is best remembered, attempting to bring about social reform in Portugal through literature by exposing what he held to be the evils and the absurdities of the traditional order. His first novel, "O crime do Padre Amaro" (1875; "The Sin of Father Amaro", 1962), describes the destructive effects of celibacy on a priest of weak character and the dangers of fanaticism in a provincial Portuguese town. A biting satire on the romantic ideal of passion and its tragic consequences appears in his next novel, "O Primo Basílio" (1878; "Cousin Bazilio", 1953). Caustic satire characterizes the novel that is generally considered Eça de Queiroz' masterpiece, "Os Maias (1888; "The Maias", 1965), a detailed depiction of upper middle-class and aristocratic Portuguese society. His last novels are sentimental, unlike his earlier work. "A Cidade e as Serras" (1901; "The City and the Mountains", 1955) extols the beauty of the Portuguese countryside and the joys of rural life. Eça de Queiroz was appointed consul in Paris in 1888, where he served until his death. Of his posthumously published works, "Contos" (1902) is a collection of short stories, and "Últimas Páginas" (1912) includes saints' legends. Translations of his works persisted into the second half of the 20th century.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0211055/bio

Reviews

[Inês Fonseca · Rating 1 out of 5]

hum- quê-😀 e a tradução? já saiu?

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este pequeno livro serviu-me como introdução aos trabalhos do autor Eça de Queirós. Pelo que parece, os rumores foram sempre verídicos, já que a forma na qual este livro foi escrito é de veras singular e inconfudilvelmente Eça de Queirós. Cada conto teve como ponto principal mostrar os caminhos pelos quais estes personagens passaram para chegar a "Deus" ou à "felicidade", sempre cheio de referências à Biblia, aos gregos e aos romanos. Infelizmente, ainda não tenho o nível de conhecimentos gerais para entender todas as referências e acredito que foi por isso que eu não sinto que consegui mergulhar totalmente dentro desta obra. Para os leitores mais ávidos, esta obra serviria de petisco, por enquanto, para mim é um banquente.

[leonor · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5