Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis

Please read the 19th Century Brazilian novel The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis for July's meeting. (The novel is also translated as Epitaph of a Small Winner.) The novel is regarded as one of the greatest works of Brazilian literature and an influential precursor of modern literature.
AI tell us this:
Key features of the novel:

• Narrated from beyond the grave: The story is narrated by Brás Cubas, a wealthy and cynical man, after his death.
• Metafiction and unconventional structure: The novel breaks from traditional narrative structures, employing short, erratic chapters, digressions, and direct addresses to the reader.
• Satirical and ironic tone: Machado de Assis uses irony and satire to critique Brazilian society, its elite, and human nature.
• Themes of death, meaninglessness, and societal hypocrisy: The novel explores existential questions and critiques the superficiality and hypocrisy of the 19th-century Brazilian bourgeoisie.

We'll meet again at the Mission Valley library in Seminar Room A. Feel free to bring your own refreshments.