Contos Completos de Machado de Assis, Volume 1

by Machado de Assis, Djalma Cavalcante (Org.)

[ Tomo I | Tomo II ]

Esta obra rastreia os contos de Machado de Assis em diversos jornais e revistas da época, num total de 218 narrativas organizadas em 4 volumes, por data de publicação, no período entre 1858 e 1907. Os contos são apresentados com notas explicativas sobre locais ou eventos históricos que possam permitir ao leitor de hoje situar-se. Além disso, o livro contém notas especiais sobre o vocabulário da época, bem como a história da publicação do conto em periódicos e livro e paralelo com a produção de outros gêneros por Machado, no mesmo período.

A organização da obra conta com cronologia, ilustrações, bibliografia de e sobre Machado, índice por assinaturas e índice por veículos de publicação original e ensaio sobre o Machado de Assis contista.

É obra para servir de referência básica aos leitores de Machado de Assis.

Tanto ao pesquisador da obra do bruxo do Cosme Velho, quanto ao professor de literatura, ao estudante e ao leitor comum. Esta edição oferece uma possibilidade de acompanhar as transformações da narrativa culta do escritor ao longo dos anos.

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

802 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

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.
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

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uns melhores, outros piores, mas merecedor da nota máxima.

[Juan David Vargas Quiceno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conocí Machado de Assis gracias a la recomendación de Alejandro Gaviria en su libro "Siquiera tenemos las palabras".
Es una de las mejores recomendaciones que he recibido. Machado de Assis es un autor extraordinario, en sus libros se mezclan historias divertidas con temas sociales, denuncias políticas, e incluso distopías como el caso de La Serenísima República. En general son cuentos cortos fáciles de leer que aportan mucho al lector.

[David Meditationseed · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many brazilian schools and universities insisting that Machado de Assis is the best brazilian writer in the history of the country. In my opinion it is not true, despite being and intelligent, insightful and social critic author.

For me the best feature of Machado is the use of subtlety and metaphors for all characteristics above.

It is in his short tales that we find a lot of them as ants: scattered, seeming harmless, but when they come together, they tear down previously unimaginable walls.

This anthology of short stories is amazing, a rare tingling.

[Cecília · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muiiito bom. De época mas genial.

[Zemas Barbosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Na minha opinião, a mais bela forma de ler e aprender o idioma português em seu mais alto nível.

[NancyKAllen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest authors of the Portuguese language. Your style is fantastic. It certainly was a pleasant reading.

[Andre Piucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#

#-#-# TO READ #-#-#

#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#

[Ana Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revisiting Machado feels a little like returning to a place you once knew well, only to realise how much more there is to notice the second time around. I first read Contos Completos de Machado de Assis, Volume 1 many years ago, and coming back to it now has been both nostalgic and surprisingly fresh.

What strikes me most is Machado de Assis’s quiet precision. His stories are deceptively simple on the surface, yet layered with irony, psychological depth, and a subtle critique of society. This time, I found myself paying closer attention to the narrators—their unreliability, their wit, and the way they draw the reader into complicity. There’s a modernity to his voice that feels ahead of its time; he plays with perspective and expectation in ways that still feel inventive today.

I also appreciated more deeply the themes of human contradiction—vanity, ambition, insecurity, and moral ambiguity. Machado doesn’t judge his characters harshly; instead, he exposes them gently, often with humour, allowing us to recognise parts of ourselves in them. Some stories linger long after finishing, not because of dramatic plots, but because of the quiet unease or insight they leave behind.

Reading this collection again has reminded me why Machado de Assis is so widely admired. His work rewards patience and reflection, and returning to it later in life offers a richer, more nuanced experience. I’m very glad I came back to these stories—they feel both familiar and newly profound.

[Carlos Irizarry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Kindle edition of this work and to say it was a surprise would be a misunderstatement. These stories feel like the work of other authors: Joyce, Kafka, Borges,yet all these works were done decades before theses writers put plum to pen. Modernity. Assis is the first sweep of modernity. That is the secret.

[Marcia B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok book. Read it in High School.

[Rachel Wolfmoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Machado de Assis is the best Author in Portuguese. His works are the masterpiece of reading.

[Daniela Carvalho Dias de Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilhoso!