Esau E Jacs

by Machado De Assis, Joaquim Maria

• ISBN13: 9780850515206
• ISBN10: 0850515203
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-15
• Publisher: Luso Brazilian Books

Summary

A classic of Brazilian literature, Esau e Jacó tells the story of twins Pedro and Paulo, "two sides of the truth" and rivals from birth. As adults, the principal source of their differences is politics--Pedro is a monarchist while Paulo wants a republic. Even in their choice of lovers they compete. Both are enamoured of Flora, a modest, retiring girl whose temperment the narrator, Counselor Aires, calls "inexplicable." While Flora can't make up her mind between the two brothers, when she dies, the two brothers swear perpetual reconciliation on her tomb. But even then the two continue to dispute-- as deputies in Brazil's congress. The book ends with the brothers once again swearing eternal friendship, this time on their mother's deathbead.

Author Biography

Widely considered Brazil's greatest writer, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was a self-taught mestizo born in Rio de Janeiro who suffered from epilepsy and a tendency to stutter. But in spite of these difficulties Machado was known for his captivating, pleasant personality. In addition to writing the two most important works of Brazilian fiction, Mem=rias P=stumas de Brßs Cubas and Dom Casmurro, Machado helped found the Brazilian Academy of Letters and served as its first president until his death. The Academy then gained the nickname "House of Machado de Assis." While Machado's work covered nearly every literary genre, in was in the novel where he made his greatest contribution, introducing realism to Brazilian literature and even foreshadowing modernism with his psychological focus, quirky comments outside of the plot and tendency to blur the line between fiction and reality.