As Farpas

As Farpas

by Eça de Queirós, Maria Filomena Mónica (Org., Introdução e Notas)

PELA PRIMEIRA VEZ “AS FARPAS” ESCRITAS POR EÇA DE QUEIROZ EM EDIÇÃO AUTÓNOMA E INTEGRAL

Pela primeira vez publicam-se integralmente todas as «Farpas» de Eça de Queiroz, separadas das que foram originalmente escritas e publicadas por Ramalho Ortigão e pelo próprio Eça ao longo dos anos de 1871 e de 1872, e que, até hoje, foram sempre reeditadas em conjunto e sem a identificação das respectivas autorias.

Genres: Portugal, Nonfiction, Politics, Classics

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1871

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

[Queirosiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Não estranhem qualquer coincidência com a realidade actual, ou pelo menos, estranhem e depois entranhem. N'As Farpas, existe quase assustadora semelhança com a actualidade que acontece de página para página. É um livro essencial para compreendermos este nosso país e para nos apercebermos da falta de originalidade que nos persegue desde o séc. XIX, uma vez que as críticas ferozes que Eça e Ortigão fazem nesta obra, mantêm-se, agravam-se, perpetuam-se. Embora a obra nos faça rir das nossas desgraças, é com esse ridículo que despertamos - um pouco como o efeito balde de água fria.

[Rosa Ramôa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma farpa aqui outra ali...Muito bom espetar farpas...

[Rosa Ramôa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"É dia de Natal. A cidade amanheceu alegre no céu fresco e azul. Os carrilhões das igrejas repicam festivamente. As salsicharias, os restaurantes, as pastelarias, ostentam em exposição os seus produtos mais apetitosos: (...) os bolos do Natal: os fartes, os sonhos, os morgados, as filhós, as queijadas, os christmas-kacks, os puddings, os bombons glacés. E a profusão destas exposições dá às ruas o aspecto culinário da abundância, da plenitude."

[Karim Rhayem · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2/5]: Funny book overall, more of a social satire. I did not understand all of the references and jokes as they are deeply rooted in portuguese politics and social clues. Just not for me, as I coudln't grasp the essence of it.

[João Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Portugal de há 150 anos... um horror de acanhamento intelectual e material.

[André Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apesar da linguagem um pouco intrincada e arcaica e de alguns temas serem obsoletos, outros tantos mantêm-se bastante atuais e o sarcasmo e humor com que Ramalho Ortigão e Eça de Queirós espicaçam o leitor valem por si só a leitura, que já de si é bastante curta.

Uma pérola.

Spoiler Alert: Eles não gostam nada do Alexandre Herculano

[Maria Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very witty pages about the customs and idiosyncrasies of his time. Full of humor and brilliancy.

Maria Carmo

[Abilio Pacheco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retrato de uma época que é atual...

[Beatriz Mestre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ainda não havia twitter.