The Looking-Glass: Essential Stories

by Machado de Assis, Daniel Hahn (Translator)

Machado de Assis is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating story writers who ever lived. What seem at first to be stately social satires reveal unanticipated depths through hints of darkness and winking surrealism. This new selection of his finest work, translated by the prize-winning Daniel Hahn, showcases the many facets of his mercurial genius.

A brilliant scientist opens the first asylum in his home town, only to start finding signs of insanity all around him. A young lieutenant basks in praise of his new position, but in solitude feels his identity fray into nothing. The reading of a much-loved, respected elder statesman’s journals reveals hidden thoughts of merciless cruelty.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Brazil, Ebooks

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2022

About the author

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, often known as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho, (June 21, 1839, Rio de Janeiro—September 29, 1908, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short story writer. He is widely regarded as the most important writer of Brazilian literature. However, he did not gain widespread popularity outside Brazil in his own lifetime.
Machado's works had a great influence on Brazilian literary schools of the late 19th century and 20th century. José Saramago, Carlos Fuentes, Susan Sontag and Harold Bloom are among his admirers and Bloom calls him "the supreme black literary artist to date."

Reviews

[Vesna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read many great praises for The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, a novel by Machado de Assis, I wish I had been taken more by his stories. His complete stories were already translated only 3-4 years ago by the brilliant team of translators, Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson, and had it not been for yet another talented translator from the Portuguese, Daniel Hahn, one would wonder why there is so soon yet another translation. The main merit of this collection is in carefully curated selections of the stories representative of Machado’s different periods, including one novella The Alienist, a glimpse into his proto-magic realism in a couple of stories, and their superlative translation.

Although the collection is titled after one story, “The Looking-Glass”, which was my favorite from his earlier period, I would single out “The Canon, or the Metaphysics of Style” as a major highlight. This story reads as if Machado invented magic realism and, moreover, wrote it with such originality of literary devices that one would never guess it dates from 1896 rather than the 21st century. It shows him as one of the great progenitors of modern and, yes, even postmodern literature. I very much look forward to reading his great novel.

3.5/5 but Hahn’s translation surely rounds it up.

I read this collection thanks to an ARC from Edelweiss and Pushkin Press.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of ten short stories by the Brazilian author. Clever, humorous, wry observations about human behaviour and also insights into the inner thoughts of his characters. My favourite stories were ‘The Stick’ about a young man who asks a woman friend of his godfather for help and then chooses not to protect a young girl because he needs the help of the woman; ‘The Posthumous Portrait Gallery’- a much respected man dies and his nephew discovers in his diary what he really thinks!; and the novella ‘The Alienist’ about a man who builds a town lunatic asylum and then tries to discover what madness actually is.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great stories here; I really like Machado de Assis.

[Jason Furman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these stories. The sly twists. The interesting narrative perspectives. The range of types of stories. The dream-like qualities (in come cases). The evocation of a world that is a particular time/place (19th century Brazil) but also outside of time.

I also should say I have read several Pushkin Press Essential Stories collection and I think the volumes are beautiful and they are the perfect length (generally about 250 pages), I previously was interested in the complete collection of Machado de Assis stories but worried about which to read and not loving reading just a subset. Having something this length was perfect, and I may go the longer one eventually--although will try some novels first.

[Kumasama · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few stories were not the best, but the latter ones are brilliant. Loved The Alienist which is the longest story here and it captures the sarcastic vibe and mind of Machado de Assis. His philosophical views are always interesting.

If you seek normal plot based stories then this is not the book for you, as he never much cares for providing closure in most cases.

[Juli Rahel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories and I always think collections such as these from Pushkin Press are an excellent way to get a taste of new (to you) authors. The Looking Glass is just such a case for me, as I was entirely new to Machado de Assis before now and have now become a willing convert to his writing. Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My very sincere apologies for the long delay!

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was a Brazilian author, who wrote in Portuguese, and lives from 1839 to 1908. The grandsons of freed slaves, he grew up poor in Rio de Janeiro and never attended university. He worked his way through various, journalism-related jobs and public positions before finding success with his writing, switching from plays to fiction. While he continued to work governmental jobs, he also began publishing his novels and short stories. What I found intriguing about reading up on him was that as a Black man married to a white woman and the grandson of freed slaves, he apparently largely stayed away from addressing political topics and themes in his writing. I am one of those people who considers everything to be political and I think issues such as race, slavery, class, etc. nonetheless come through in the stories contained in The Looking-Glass, even if they're not addressed directly. Apparently this changed somewhat when Brazil became a republic in 1899 and it is also after this that he wrote the novels considered his masterpieces and major works of Brazilian literature, especially Quincas Borba and Dom Casmurro. After reading his short stories here, I am definitely eager to give them a try soon!

The collection The Looking-Glass contains ten stories from de Assis and as with every collection, not every story will be an equal hit with everyone. However, I found myself actually really enjoying almost all of them. It starts with 'The Fortune Teller', where a torrid love affair meets a torrid end. This story was delightfully dark and felt very tongue-in-cheek. 'The Posthumous Portrait Gallery' is next and here Machado de Assis' wit really comes through. After the death of a respected man, his nephew finds his journal which contains all his brutally honest thoughts about the people he has met. 'The Loan' sees a spendthrift attempt to get money from a friend, while 'The Tale of the Cabriolet' sees a curious canon dig into the tragic lives of two recently deceased visitors to his town. 'The Stick' is a really intriguing story and shows how, despite all the fun and wittiness, de Assis is addressing something about human nature. A young boy runs away from the seminary and looking for help, but then finds himself tested when he in turn might have a chance to help someone. 'The Secret Cause' might be a little much for some readers, as it contains graphic depictions of animal abuse, but it is a fascinating insight into a deeply odd mind. 'The Canon, or Metaphysics in Style' is probably one of my favourite stories in the entire collection. While a canon is attempting to write a sermon, de Assis takes us by the hand in a whirlwind journey to find the right adjective for a noun. It is a story that somehow feels both highly modern, yet also very magical realist and somehow a little surrealist. 'The Alienist' is another great story, about a doctor deciding to create a madhouse and going slightly above and beyond in his search for the true nature of madness. 'The Looking-Glass' gives the collection its name and its frame narrative is what really intrigued me. It begins with a conversation between meta-physicists about the soul, which is interrupted when a man insists we truly have two souls, an internal and external one. As proof, he relays his experiences in his own youth when, as an ensign, he became dependent upon a looking-glass to know himself. Finally, there is 'Midnight Mass', a very quiet story about a midnight conversation between a young man and a woman. This latter one is apparently considered one of the greatest stories of Brazilian literature and I did find it very touching.

Since I was new to Machado de Assis and had no real conception of when he wrote, I went into The Looking-Glass completely blind. I remembered that it was written in Portuguese, but I had no notion of what his style might be like. Purely from a style perspective, I was amazed that these stories came from the mid to late 1800s. Now, I'm a medievalist, so I'm not surprised that texts that are old are good. Where my amazement came from is that something about Machado de Assis' style feels incredibly modern. Perhaps it is the cynicism that comes through, or the way magical realism seems to be present here almost a century before it became an actual thing. Machado de Assis somehow finds a way of giving realistic settings and people and situations, reflecting (I think) Brazil in the 19th century pretty well, and yet there is a romantic or inventive twist to how he writes it that feels un-realist. There is also the fact that he addresses the reader directly and leaves many of his endings quite open. Reading these stories, it felt like Machado de Assis and I were in conversation about humanity, about both our hypocrisies and the beauty we are capable of. I really want to continue that conversation by reading more of his work.

Daniel Hahn explains in an afterword that he attempted to retain a 19th-century style in his translation, which could perhaps feels a little antiquated to some readers. I thought this worked really well, especially as it also retains the aged feel of the text. Considering how modern and fresh some of Machado de Assis' writing feels, having this contrasted with the style is a really good way of highlighting his achievements as an author.

The Looking-Glass: Essential Stories won't necessarily be for everyone. There is a cynicism and a harshness to some of the stories, but there is also real wit and beauty. Overall, I would wholeheartedly recommend it to those with an interest in magical realism and literature from South-America.

URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the Pushkin Press Essential Stories series I’ve had the opportunity to explore the short stories of Herman Melville (a new author for me) and Fyodor Dostoevsky (an author I’d read before but only in full-length novel form). This latest collection has introduced me to another new author, the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis, who lived from 1839-1908. This book contains ten of his stories, translated from Portuguese into English by Daniel Hahn.

When trying a new author for the first time, you never really know what to expect, but since Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (usually just referred to by his surnames) is described as one of Brazil’s greatest authors I thought he would surely be worth reading, even if the stories turned out not to be to my taste. Fortunately, I did find most of them quite enjoyable, providing lots of insights into the various sides of human nature. Although the stories were written more than a hundred years ago and on the other side of the world from me, they were still relatable because, of course, human beings aren’t really all that different, no matter where or when they lived.

The longest story in the book, which could probably be considered a novella, is The Alienist, in which Simão Bacamarte, a physician, opens an asylum in the town of Itaguaí. Bacamarte has a genuine interest in the new science of psychology and begins committing patients to the asylum so that he can study their symptoms. However, the numbers being admitted rapidly start to increase as it becomes clear that sane people are being sent there as well. Once most of the population of the town has been locked up and the others begin to rebel, Bacamarte is forced to reconsider his criteria for deciding who is sane and who is not, with surprising results!

Another story, The Stick, follows the story of Damião, a young man who escapes from a seminary and is afraid to return home because he’s convinced his father will send him back. Instead, he seeks the help of Rita, his godfather’s lover, who lets him stay in her house until the situation is resolved. Rita is a teacher of lacework and embroidery and has several young girls working for her. Damião discovers that one of them, a black slave called Lucrécia, is being badly treated and he must decide whether to intervene. I found this story interesting because Machado himself was the mixed-race grandson of freed slaves – and slavery was not abolished in Brazil until 1888.

Apart from The Canon, which describes a noun and an adjective searching for each other inside a man’s brain (too bizarre for me), I found most of the other stories intriguing in different ways. The Fortune-Teller, The Tale of the Cabriolet and Midnight Mass were some I particularly enjoyed. However, although I don’t usually include ‘trigger warnings’ in my reviews, I should mention that in The Secret Cause there are some graphic descriptions of animal cruelty which aren’t very pleasant to read!

At the end of the book, I was interested to read Daniel Hahn’s note on the translation where he explains why he deliberately tried to retain the 19th century feel of the original writing, even though this wasn’t necessarily the easiest option for a translator. I think this was the right decision – it worked for me and I found this collection a good introduction to the work of Machado de Assis.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A snappy collection of stories generally from the late Victorian years begins with a lively and snappy opener. The woman in a love triangle is scorned for visiting a tarot reader, but when the visit is a great reassurance what's to stop the fortune teller getting more custom from others in the affair? Then a high-brow society kind of man dies, and his five friends gather with his live-in nephew to discover the literary delights of his secret diaries – which is all well and good until the nephew finds what the man really thought about them all – which is all well and good until the ending is rather on the lame side.

There is humour in a man asking for a huge business loan for some cockamamie scam scheme, forever it seems reducing his request before it gets at all meetable. 'The Tale of the Cabriolet' is not really such, even if they do feature in a minor tragedy, improved or negated depending on your opinion of it in being rather lightly presented. And again we get a let-down of an ending, an open one this time, as a man flees from the seminary refusing to be trained as a priest, and settles on feminine wiles as a way out of his status of absconder.

Next we return to the scenario of the first tale – a man falls for his friend's spouse, where here the husband is a psychopathic doctor and the contents include an incredible scene of animal abuse that will send many to the 'delete' button, or many copies of this in the recycling before the morning. Also possibly able to cause that is some pure waffle about a canon writing a sermon – if I'd turned to this first it's debatable how eager I'd have been to ever return.

The centrepiece of this – well, it starts somewhere near the middle, and takes up most of the rest, and casts an unassailable shadow on the two pieces after it – is a novella centred around a psychiatrist and his demand the town become famous for a decent little lunatic asylum. The problem is, the man is adamant that there are many, many reasons for many, many people to be its inmates. There is an Italo Calvino short, one of my favourite fictions ever, which does kind of do something similar but with thieves and honest men, and does it an hour quicker, but this much earlier work can stand the comparison in fine fashion. It, along with the greatest part of this collection is a surprise, for the freshness you don't associate with its age, for it being by someone so little heard of, and being by someone Brazilian. Now declare the latter of those a prejudiced opinion, but it is not going to be a rarely held one – few regular readers would have picked a Brazilian compilation of pieces dating back to the 1880s and up to the turn of the century to be really quite such gleeful and clever fun. A few regrettable elements aside, this is an easy four stars.

[A Bookworm In Chile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classics can be a bit of a mixed bag for me. Some I love them while others are simply ok and some leave me bored to tears. Fortunately,
The Looking Glass by Machado de Assis falls into the first of these category. It was an easy read and I often found myself cracking a grin. Brazilian literature is not often widely read with the US and that seems a shame. Particularly so in this case because I feel that a lot of people could get a lot of enjoyment out of reading this collection of short stories.

...And because I'd very much like to have someone to tell me if I'm crazy for thinking the author wore a wry smile while writing them. There's such a delightful, dry sense of humor in the writing that I couldn't help it. It's very much a product of its time, but feels surprisingly modern in some parts. Perhaps that's why it held up so well for me.

My enjoyment was probably also due to the excellent translation. It's not easy to translate a work of literature and even less so to translate one written over a century ago, but Daniel Hahn managed to do so in a way that doesn't seem put of place but. In the translator's note, he says that he tried to maintain an older voice without seeming a parody. I wouldn't consider myself an expert by any means, but I think he pulled it off.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press.

[Zosia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read the two most well-known novels by Machado de Assis, Dom Casmurro and The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, but this collection of short stories was a great starting point. It contains ten stories first published between 1881 and 1893 in a new translation by Daniel Hahn (2022).

I really enjoyed these stories (the only one I didn’t care for was The Canon), they were written in a sharp, precise way with dark and satirical undertones. The writing actually felt really modern and the storytelling made you want to read on and on. I would say, if you don’t want to read about animal cruelty, better to skip the story titled The Secret Cause as it has some horrific descriptions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the e-ARC.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d heard the name but had never read anything by Machado de Assis and knew nothing about him, and now, thanks to this super volume from Pushkin Press I have rectified both gaps in my knowledge. Machado de Assis was a Brazilian novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer who is often regarded as the father of Brazilian literature. This collection of 10 stories, newly translated, is a great insight into his work and the society he was writing about, and I very much enjoyed reading them. Some I liked more than others, as is usually the case with such a collection, but they all at the very least intrigued and interested me, and some I found particularly sharp and satirical, and quite amusing. An excellent introduction to this relatively unknown writer.

[Lisa Grønsund]

I've received an advanced digital copy of this book, courtesy of the author and publisher, via Netgalley, for review consideration.

RTC

[Jo Suaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why can't I give a 3 and 1/2 stars like letterboxd? :(((

[Matthew Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely set of stories that seems modern in the way Billy Budd seems so. Not entirely consistent, but the Alienist is something else.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best stories are: 1) the alienist, 2) the posthumous portrait gallery, and 3) midnight mass.

[Thrisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried to finish it for three years, finally gave up (womp womp); enjoyed some of the stories!