Ilse’s Reviews > The Maias > Status Update
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Affonso ended up discovering an intimate charm in the view.It was like a seascape,framed in white stonework, suspended from the blue sky showing the fleeting episodes of a peaceful river life with always in the background two white houses full of expression, sometimes sparkling and emitting rays from the glowing windows;sometimes taking on a pensive air,covered in the tender pinks of sunset,almost like a human blush
— Sep 28, 2026 09:20AM
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Maria
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Sep 28, 2026 10:30AM
Oh, I'm so glad you're reading The Maias, Ilse. I hope you enjoy it. That quote works wonderfully in English.
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Prose is beautiful. I need to get this. Thank you, Ilse, for introducing me to this. Arghh, it's such a shame Goodreads closed down the messaging feature. I miss discussing books and life with friends like you.
Maria wrote: "Oh, I'm so glad you're reading The Maias, Ilse. I hope you enjoy it. That quote works wonderfully in English."Maria, last weekend I had the intention to taste a few pages, curious about the flavour of this novel that's been on my nightstand for almost a year - its music and beauteous sentences lured me to make a proper start with it anyhow, even if I have not finished George Sand's memoir on her winter in Mallorca yet :). I am reading it in Dutch, but for quotes I also look into an English translation (I cannot find the name of the translator) - imho both manage to offer an alluringly flowing prose. I had to shortcut the English quote to fit it in the box, which I hereby post fully - what a wonderful rich and funny way to describe a view!
Affonso ended up discovering an intimate charm in it. It was like a seascape, framed in white stonework, suspended from the blue sky facing the terrace, showing, in its infinite varieties of color and light, the fleeting episodes of a peaceful river life: the melancholy of a great steamer, glimpsed for a moment, disappearing immediately, as if already devoured by the uncertain sea, or even for the days, in the golden dust of silent siestas, the black shape of an English battleship. And always in the background the patch of green-black hill, with two white houses at water level, full of expression – sometimes sparkling and emitting rays from the glowing windows; sometimes taking on a pensive air at the end of the day, covered iin the tender pinks of sunset, almost like a human blush."
Thank you very much for encouraging me to dive into The Maias!
Initial translation in teh 60s was done by Patricia McGowen Pinheiro and Ann Stevens. But the current and the one I've read is by Margaret Jull Costa. I hope you would enjoy it, dear Ilse. It was my summer hit:-)