''Dom Casmurro'' is an 1899 novel written by Brazilian author

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...

. Like '' The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas'' and ''

Quincas Borba Quincas may refer to: * Quincas Borba, a novel written in 1891 by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis * Joaquim Albino (1931), generally known as ''Quincas'', Brazilian footballer (Canto do Rio, Fluminense, Palmeiras) {{disambig ...

'', both by Machado de Assis, it is widely regarded as a

masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

of realist

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. It is written as a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

by a distrusting, jealous husband. The

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

, however, is not a reliable conveyor of the story as it is a dark

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

. Dom Casmurro is considered by critic Afranio Coutinho "a true Brazilian masterpiece, and maybe Brazil's greatest representative piece of writing" and "one of the best books ever written in the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

, if not the best one to date." The author is considered a master of Brazilian

with a unique style of realism.

Adaptations

In 1998, Fernando Sabino published the novel ''Amor de Capitu''. In this version, the narrative was rewritten in

third person Third person, or third-person, may refer to: * Third person (grammar), a point of view (in English, ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', and ''they'') ** Illeism, the act of referring to oneself in the third person * Third-person narrative, a perspective in p ...

. A

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

adaptation was made in 2012 by Mario Cau and Felipe Greco. This comic won the 2013

Prêmio Jabuti The Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize") is the most traditional literary award in Brazil, given by the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL). It was conceived by Edgard Cavalheiro in 1959 when he presided over the CBL, with the interest of rewarding autho ...

(the most traditional Brazilian literary award) in "best illustration" and "best school related book" categories

References

Sources

* Machado de Assis, Joaquim Maria ''Dom Casmurro'' (1953) Translated by Helen Caldwell. London: W. H. Allen. * Salomon, Geanneti Tavares. 2021. ''Fashion and Irony in «Dom Casmurro».'' New York: Peter Lang.

External links

MetaLibri Digital Library's ''Dom Casmurro''
{{authority control 1899 novels adultery in novels fiction with unreliable narrators novels by Machado de Assis Portuguese-language novels