Book Description
“I am a deceased writer not in the sense of one who has written and is now deceased, but in the sense of one who had died and is now writing.” So begins the posthumous memoir of Braz Cubas, a wealthy nineteenth-century Brazilian. Though the grave has given Cubas the distance to examine his rather undistinguished life, it has not dampened his sense of humor. In the tradition of Laurence Stern’s Tristram Shamdy, Epitaph of a Small Winner is one of the wittiest self-portraits in literary history.
Customer Reviews:
"Lifelong Wastrel Kicks a Goal at Last".......2000-12-31
Brazil has produced a number of wonderful novels. I can name "Rebellion in the Backlands" by Euclides da Cunha, "The Devil to Pay in the Backlands" by João Guimaraes Rosa, "The Tent of Miracles" and "Gabriela; Clove and Cinnamon" by Jorge Amado, and "The Three Marias" by Rachel de Queiroz, but these are only a few. You have to add to this list at least a couple novels by J. M. Machado de Assis, Brazil's greatest writer of the 19th century, (he died in 1908) and one of the greatest writing anywhere at that time. EPITAPH OF A SMALL WINNER would be on that list for sure. I can hear you say, "Can you really compare this fellow to writers like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Balzac, Zola, Melville, Austen, or Eliot ?" My answer would be "yes" and "no". That's because I like definite answers. Sorry, just kidding. I would say "no" because Machado de Assis doesn't write like any of the others. His style is unique and his choice of perspective also. He is the opposite of a realist. He never hits you over the head with any serious descriptive narrative. His characters speak throughout. So, how could you compare him effectively with the others ? But, I would say "yes" because he is a master of subtle story telling, of wit, satire, and irony. This novel, like his others, does not resemble any other work. He is certainly among the greats.
Braz Cubas, the narrator of the novel, is already dead when we meet him. So he has plenty of time to tell about his life. As he notes, "death does not age one"; he can afford to ramble a bit. What we receive, through his life story, is a satirized view of the indolence and lack of intellectual rigor of the Brazilian upper class of the time. We read the life of a man who did nothing at all in 64 years. Or almost nothing. He didn't study, he didn't work, he didn't marry, and he didn't have any direction. He became a parliamentary deputy through connections and did absolutely nothing while there. He enjoyed the physical pleasures of life, he envied others, he had ambitions that he did next to nothing to fulfill. He failed at nearly everything, then at last he croaked. The reason why he feels (from beyond the grave) that he wasn't such a loser after all is the author's final bit of irony. Machado de Assis employs his usual style---160 short chapters in 223 pages---with the title of each chapter used to spice up the progress of the novel, which in turn is full of irony, with, whimsy, and very clever writing, full of ingenious metaphors. You cannot say that this is a "page turner" in any conventional sense. It is rather philosophical, but as the author says, "a philosophy wanting in uniformity, now austere, now playful...." To quote from chapter 124, which is all of 9 lines long---"To hop from a character study to an epitaph may be realistic and even commonplace, but the reader probably would not have taken refuge in this book if he had not wished to escape the realistic and the commonplace." That is my recommendation to you. Escape both the realistic and the commonplace and read this book. You won't regret it.
One of The Writer's Best.......2000-10-26
Quoting D.H. Lawrence is his review of "Moby Dick", "this is one of the strangest and most wonderful books I've ever read"
Well, maybe not that wonderful.
"Epitaph of a Small Winner" was the second book of Machado de Assis' collection that I read, the first being "Dom Casmurro."
This novel innaugurated Realism in Brazil, at a time when most writers were trying to break away from Romanticism. It is a strange book, narrated in first person by the deceased himself, Bras Cubas. I would not consider it easy to read. Some of its passages are pretty hard on the reader, specially if you read it in Portuguese (as I did). I recall having to go back in the chapter to understand what Machado was trying to say.
"Epitaph of A Small Winner" is required reading in most Brazilian schools. I believe it shouldn't be, since some of its language and style is a bit incomprehensive for teenagers. I read it for the first time when I was 29, so that might give you a picture of what I am trying to say.
Machado de Assis is regarded as "Brazil's finest writer." I do not agree with this point of view, since the country has many fantastic writers, such as Jose de Alencar and Aluizio Azevedo. Rating Assis as "the greatest" would be, at least, overrating him
The bottom line is that if you want to get acquainted with early 20th Century Brazilian literature, this book is a good start. Maybe you might want to investigate this South American country's writers further, and make your own mind if Machado is really the finest
Great book! But make sure you avoid this edition........2000-04-27
"Epitaph of a Small Winner" is NOT the title of this book. The original title, "Memorias Posthumas de Bras Cubas," can only be accurately translated as "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas." Why did they give this edition of the book such a weird title? I don't know--probably for the same reason that they didn't translate it well! I read this translation of the book, because the foreward by Susan Sontag led me to believe it would be the best. But though it wasn't awful, it was sufficiently awkward that I had to force my way through it. Granted, I enjoyed the book, because Machado de Assis is a superb master of comic narrative, inverting into parody just about every literary convention of his nineteenth century. But think how much MORE I would have enjoyed it if I had known that there was another translation of the book, which, far from awkward, was masterful and elegant, by the acclaimed translator Gregory Rabassa (of One Hundred Years of Solitude fame). Also to its credit, that other translation correctly renders the title as "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas." So don't make the mistake I made: don't waste your time with any other editions, like the lame-ass one on this page. (I make due apologies to Susan Sontag.) Move your buns over to the page for "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas." And relax! Machado de Assis was an ingenious author, prefiguring such diverse talents as Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Franz Kafka, John Barth, and even Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. If you like them, you're going to like him.
Superb evocation of cosmic comedy.......1998-12-13
Machado de Assis has written a book for cynics everywhere--the narrator comically and gleefully smashes virtually every sacred cow you can think of, even mocking his own incipent death. The effect is not one of tragedy, however, but liberation through comedy--one of the funniest books I've ever read, universal in its appeal.
Average customer rating:
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Epitaph of a Small Winner
Machado de Assis
Manufacturer: Noonday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Classics
| Comic
| Contemporary
| Literary
ASIN: B000PCETOG |
Product Description
"A classic comedy of ideas."
Amazon.com
Silverlock needs no introduction, though this reprint bears three; skip them. A. Clarence Shandon, not a very pleasant person, falls into a postmodern whirlwind tour of folklore and literature, with a bard as his Virgil. Shandon gradually absorbs better qualities from the people he encounters. The plot is great fun; the true entertainment for many readers comes from playing spot-the-reference, for Myers packed every page with scraps and tags of blended allusions to other works. Don't worry -- the story is wonderful even if you're not well-versed, but you may find yourself suddenly interested in the Odyssey, ballads, Izaak Walton, Don Quixote or Apuleius.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A book that is a literary puzzle, an adventure of sorts, and full of sneakiness and tongue-in-cheekness. I have read quite a lot, and when I read this, I had trouble trying to work out who was who in quite a lot of cases. I suppose this is a lot of the appeal, though, being like a really, really hard cryptic crossword, at times.
A promising beginning..........2007-06-05
The first third of the book is very promising. Unfortunately, the book runs out of steam when Lucius enters the picture. I found that storyline completely uncompelling and the resolution is rushed. the latter third of the book is no better--it is filled with cliched moralizing and an unsatisfying deus ex machina conclusion.
Don't Believe The Hype.......2007-04-11
I suspect that this is one of those polarizing books: those that love it REALLY love it; others will be, at best, blandly indifferent or outright bored. I hew more closely to the second camp.
The book has notable adherents and in recent years has been hailed as a bit of a neglected gem, but I found it only moderately diverting. It was written in 1949 and so it's a bit dated (and its attitudes toward women are not the most advanced, but then again, the protagonist is by his own admission a cad and a bounder), but that's really not much of a problem.
The novel is your typical Pilgrim's Progress type of thing, and is divided into three parts, which turn out to be Chance, Choice, and Oracle, or as I see it, Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, based on the decreasing level of quality (and the not-concidental Dantean shenanigans toward the end). It starts out strong, but the charms grow old fast, and the overarching quest in the middle section simply is not very gripping. In the final third, the book becomes unbearably didactic and wearisome, and then, rather suddenly, the words "The End" scroll across the screen.
On a side note, I found myself often contrasting this book to Stephen Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". Both feature (anti-)heroes thrust into a strange land and both deal, to some degree, with large philosphical concerns. (In fact, Donaldson acknowledges having read this, and having plucked the titles of a couple of his novels from one of the songs within, but purports to find the book sub-par.) The major contrast, of course, is that Covenant believes nothing of what he sees, but Shandon easily rolls with all that he finds, no matter how fantastical, to an extent unbelievable of someone from mid-20th century America.
Filkers and others who enjoy making songs out of poems will like "Silverlock", as will those who excelled in high school English classes and who can pick out some of the myriad allusions. I suspect most others will find this to be much less than advertised.
I would, at any rate, recommend picking up an annotated version to get details on some of the more cryptic appearances of characters from myth, fable, and literature.
Rollicking romp through Lit.......2005-12-15
Silverlock is a fun, roller coaster ride through literature. It chronicles the journey--inner and outer--of an American cynic as he travels through the world of literature. Some of the fun is tracking down the literary characters, from Beowulf to Don Quixote to Becky Sharp. Part of me regrets not having been born in the 1950s to relish Silverlock fully; the Internet makes finding the sources of the characters effortless. Hopefully, readers take the next step and read the original sources to expand their understanding and appreciation of literature. In my opinion, the novel posits that literature is an evolving, cumulative organism. Modern (American) literature is built on the foundation of the stories that came before. The novel shows that someone can find meaning in the stories he or she encounters, and sharing those experiences--and possibly using them to invent new stories--is one of the joys of life. Anyone with respect for literature and the history of speculative reading should give Silverlock a try.
I invoke the Commonwealth!.......2005-12-10
_This is truly a book for book lovers. It starts with a middle-aged Chicagoan with a degree in Business Administration and a life that that has ceased to hold any meaning or charm for him. He boards a freighter as a passenger in order to try to put a little interest and excitement in his life. Well, he finds it. The freighter is shipwrecked after several days of running before a storm and the main character, Silverlock, finds himself cast adrift without a life boat. As he says- if he had cared to live, he would have died. As it is however, he doesn't struggle and exhaust himself- he merely surrenders himself to his fate and the currents. Fate soon finds him....
_What Silverlock finds is the Commonwealth. This is a place where all the great stories from myth, legend, and literature actually exist, somehow, side by side. This requires a suspension of belief, but given the excellent story telling that isn't too difficult. That seems to be what the Commonwealth is all about- it is the Commonwealth of story telling, or imagination.
_It is more than just a survey of great characters and stories, however. Silverlock comes across as pretty unsympathetic at the beginning, but through experience and suffering in his travels from east to west he grows immeasurably in character. Perhaps the Commonwealth is a mask for purgatory, where lost souls are given a second chance at growth and redemption. In any case it is more heaven than purgatory for the reader.
_Save this book for special quiet times when your spirit needs a recharge. I know that I do.
Customer Reviews:
I invoke the Commonwealth!, .......2005-12-10
_This is truly a book for book lovers. It starts with a middle-aged Chicagoan with a degree in Business Administration and a life that that has ceased to hold any meaning or charm for him. He boards a freighter as a passenger in order to try to put a little interest and excitement in his life. Well, he finds it. The freighter is shipwrecked after several days of running before a storm and the main character, Silverlock, finds himself cast adrift without a life boat. As he says- if he had cared to live, he would have died. As it is however, he doesn't struggle and exhaust himself- he merely surrenders himself to his fate and the currents. Fate soon finds him....
_What Silverlock finds is the Commonwealth. This is a place where all the great stories from myth, legend, and literature actually exist, somehow, side by side. This requires a suspension of belief, but given the excellent story telling that isn't too difficult. That seems to be what the Commonwealth is all about- it is the Commonwealth of story telling, or imagination.
_It is more than just a survey of great characters and stories, however. Silverlock comes across as pretty unsympathetic at the beginning, but through experience and suffering in his travels from east to west he grows immeasurably in character. Perhaps the Commonwealth is a mask for purgatory, where lost souls are given a second chance at growth and redemption. In any case it is more heaven than purgatory for the reader.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about the "companion" aspect of this book. I remember when I first read it, a big part of the charm was recognising the characters and situations from my own reading (if you recognise a majority of them, then you are "well-read") Then when I reread it, time and again, I would recognise a reference or two that I had not gotten previously. Having it right there in the book where you can simply look it up seems rather common- almost like cheating.
_Save this book for special quiet times when your spirit needs a recharge. I know that I do.
The definitive version of Silverlock.......2004-05-04
Having first been recommended this book by a close friend in the early '80s, and after borrowing her copy and finding a copy for myself, I have since run through 3 entire copies of this book in paperback. In addition, I have loaned out two other copies to friends over the years, and never had those returned. However, like Ben Franklin, I never begrudge the loaning of a book to a friend and never getting it back.
Now, I have it in hardback, and hope that this one will last much longer. The addition of the Silverlock Companion just makes the overall intristic value of the novel go up by several notches. Now, after running across a litterary reference that I like, I can actually track it to the source to find yet another diamond in the rough.
Good for all ages from high school on up, I recommend this to anybody interested in literature and/or a ronp of an adventure story. Whether you recognize all, some or none of the persons, places and things in the Commonwealth, it's one of the best reads in the last century. Enjoy.
A unique, amazing, and little known masterpiece.......2004-05-02
Upon first discovering Silverlock 22 years ago, I was struck with a sense of amazing wonderment which must have filled the discovers of the New World when they first saw a new land totally unlike any they had seen before. A masterwork of fantasy on par with Tolkien in quality, yet truly unique, being derivative of nothing else, Silverlock is a classic that works on several levels. First, it is a bang-up good adventure yarn, following the misadventures of the title character from his ship wreck in unknown waters through many close scrapes, battles, drinking bouts, and wenchings in the enchanted realm of the Commonwealth of Letters. Secondly, it is an allegory, following the development of Silverlock from a cold cynic with no respect for or knowledge of the world of literature, to an enthusiastic aspirant maker of tales. And finally, it is an incredible literary game of 'identify that reference', as every person, place, and thing in Silverlock, outside of the protagonist is lifted from the vast range of literature and myth, from Gilgamesh to Mark Twain.
These literary references and the way Silverlock interacts with them create the unique magic of this book. Typical of the scenes that you will find here is Silverlock emerging from the forest where the night before he has been the guest of Robin Hood and his merry band, stopping at a tavern and lunching with the Mad Hatter and his party, and pushing on for an evening feast at Heorot Hall, where the revelers are celebrating the death of Grendel by recounting the tale of the Alamo in Norse verse. All this and more in but one chapter.
Nesfa Press' new edition of Silverlock has the added advantage of including The Silverlock Companion, which among other things includes an alphabetical listing of all the literary allusions, and a bibliography of books containing the poems, stories, and legends to which allusion is made in Silverlock.
Silverlock is a book you will come back to many times. I just finished my third reading of it, which certainly will not be my last. This is a book to keep, treasure, and share. Buy two copies, one for you, and one to lend and share the magic
Theo Logos
A wonderful, mindbending romp.......2004-03-26
A family member introduced to me to this book several years back, and I've since snatched up every copy I've been able to get my hands on! This is a marvelous lagniappe of allusions and illusions, with nods to everyone from Homer and Beowulf to Robin Hood and Tom Jones. How many characters and places can you recognize? I stopped after thirty-five. . . perfect for the literature buff, the trivia maven, the avid reader, or anyone looking for a fun read.
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Silverlock
John Myers Myers
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Satire, General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000K9K79U |
Product Description
A. Clarence Shandon, a selfish and conceited lad from Chicago, is shipwrecked off the (imaginary) Commonwealth. He acquires a guide and a friend....he travels across country via Walting Street meeting every well known character: Robin Hood, Beowulf, Haoratius, and dozens more. He goes to Xanadu and Thebes an Ilium....he resuces maidens in distress, meet sorcerers, witches and alchemists....Within all this wit and satire and derring-do, as an inner theme, is the development of a cocky young know-it-all into Silverlock, the gallant knight.
Average customer rating:
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Casonova's Master
Anne Silverlock
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0440110661 |
Average customer rating:
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An Invincible Love
Anne Silverlock , and
Silverlock
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0440141265 |
Customer Reviews:
A great piece of History ¡¡¡¡.......2004-05-09
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the comic book that will bring you back to your childhood, Eric and Marc Silvestri created this master piece, the plot, the action, etc. It's like a Picasso or a Da Vinci's Mona Lisa of the comic industry. Get it now, it's an order not a request.
Average customer rating:
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Cyberforce #1 (The Tin Men of War Part 1) October 1992
Eric Silvestri
Manufacturer: Image Comics and Malibu Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Image Comics
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000RP5LZ2 |
Average customer rating:
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Cyberforce #3 (The Tin Men of War Part 3 of 4) May 1993
Eric Silvestri
Manufacturer: Image Comics and Malibu Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Image Comics
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000RP5JBS |
Book Description
This menu cookbook from Holly Rudin-Braschi is the first ever written specifically for electric tabletop grills and provides everything the home cook needs to make delicious and healthy meals using their particular type of indoor grill.
Beginning with the basics of all types of tabletop grills on the market and the special techniques used for each one, GRILL POWER goes on to cover a broad range of dishes, from burgers and steaks to seafood and vegetables. Each menu includes grill times for each type of grill, a menu game plan, estimates of total prep and cooking time, informative and entertaining "cook's notes", nutritional breakdown, and more!
Customer Reviews:
Great Book for Grilling.......2007-08-26
This book has a lot of good information on portable grills. It contained a lot of things that I did not know that were extremely helpful. After reading this book, I feel that I can use both my George Foreman portable grills easily. Thanks for writing such an informative grilling book.
Easy To Love.......2006-04-27
I can boil water except I usually burn it, so imagine my joy to find a cook book with so many easy to use and tasty ideas. My favorite cooking item is my George Forman grill and everything I have tried so far comes out great.Her varied uses for chicken are most welcome to those of us on special diets or just trying to cut the fat from our diets. The ingredients are easy to assemble and instructions easy to follow. I also gave a copy of this book to my uncle in Missouri. He is a legendary griller. The back yard is his kingdom. He has enjoyed her book and has gotton some great new ideas from it. Thank you Grill Power for bringing me and my George Forman even closer than before.
1 star because 0 stars was unavailable!.......2006-03-22
Do listen to the sour grapes reviews. This book is for people looking for meals that you cannot pull together without first shopping at multiple locations to purchase the ingredients. I prefer simple recipes with items I can find in my pantry or pick up on my way home from work. Save your $$$!!!!
Excellent Book...Ignore the sour grapes review.......2006-03-04
This book has been fantastic even for an experienced griller. The recipes are excellent and the organization of the book makes it user friendly. I do not find the "fluff" I have found in many pop cook books and absolutely don't know where the sour grapes vindictive reviewer below is coming from.
I have done lots of outdoor and indoor grilling and have used two kinds of indoor grills and found Grillpower very helpful on both types. I commend the author and look forward to other books down the pike. I concur with all the other positive reviewers. Five stars on this one.
Save your money!.......2006-02-28
This book was a huge disappointment, what fluff they filled the pages with. Most of the book is dedicated to reused recipes where she substitutes the grill for what would normally be a frying pan. Eighty percent of the book is recipes and eighty percent of the recipe info is about other things besides the grilling. That means 64 percent of the book is not about grilling!
There is very little useful info for new grill purchasers. This book is a marketing ploy for new grill buyers. There are better cookboooks out there for recipes. With them I will figure out how to substitute the grill for the frying pan, without the author's help. Even her stated qualifications as an author for this book are sad. I went through this book over the first few days I had it. Right now I'm not sure where I left it, and I don't care a bit.
In regards to the high regards; maybe it's their first cookbook?
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- Excursion to Tindari: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery
- Faithless
- Feint of Art:: An Annie Kincaid Mystery
- Final Jeopardy (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries)
- Four Blind Mice
- Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1)
- G Is for Gumshoe (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
- Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1)
Books Index
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Book Of Disquiet, The
Quincas Borba (Library of Latin America)
Philosopher or Dog?
The Master and Margarita
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (Library of Latin America)
