DOM CASMURRO by Machado de Assis 🇧🇷 BOOK REVIEW

I do not know how to review Dom Casmurro. Reading it was like watching a great chess master play, or like when he shows you a great game he has played.

I can only imagine, that if Dom Casmurro will be chosen for a book discussion of any of the groups, there could be disagreements that could lead to war, which can only be settled in peace if Machado de Assis resurrects (he died in 1908) or if, magically, his characters in this novel come to life and answer our questions.

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Timestamps:
0:00 What's in a name?
02:58 Summary (spoilers)
05:21 Review

Hey guys! My name's Juan and I make videos about books (mostly, literary fiction).
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[mvbelobelo]

In high school, reading Machado de Assis's books is mandatory. As a teenager I found it very annoying to be forced to read old books to take a test, but in my adult life I reread some of them and it's simply incredible how modern Machado's narrative is for the time. The ironies, the sarcasm, the breaking of the fourth wall that he uses in some of his books. Machado was a black man, stutterer and epileptic in a very prejudiced and backward society. I wonder how this shaped his sense of humor that still works today.

[JoaoPedro-xylo]

As a Brazilian is very good to see someone outside my country reading and enjoying Machado's books. My personal favorite is Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas

[thaisfernandes]

Brilliant review. I would just add one thing. You mentioned that Bentinho is “convinced” that Capitu is a cheater. I would say he is not and that is why he is haunted by his doubt, but as a lawyer he will try to justify (to himself mostly) his choices in life. To me I got the sense that even though he is eloquent about his version of the story, he also gives away that he will always be haunted by the lack of certainty.

Thanks xx

[alyson_lupo]

I may be wrong but I think this novel was first published on a sunday newspaper, one chapter at a time.
Like a show producer who checks numbers for audience, Machado learned from the streets and cafes, in person, how it was going, who it was reaching.
That explains the short and catching chapters, and the feminine addressment.

[DimitrisRebelYell]

I'm buying it next month and reading it, it was translated into Greek for the first time just 9 months ago.

[LanaCelebic]

I'm very interested in Machado de Assis. Have you read 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas'? It's been on my TBR for a while now, although this one sounds interesting too. I might read one of these soon, though I can't decide which one to start with first.

[rozembergbarbosa]

Dona Glória deveria ter feito de Bentinho um padre. Como tinha prometido.
Acabou se tornando um casmurro, um que dorme durante a leitura de um poema.
Gosto muito do desenvolvimento do personagem José Dias. Ele é o melhor.

[JulianaFernandes-oicu]

I just finished reading Dom Casmurro. Amazing! It's already one of my favorites books ever. Thanks for sharing a little bit of our beautiful Brazilian literature.
Have you read " O alienista" ? Another wonderful book from Machado.

[linaccal]

I believe that Bentinho was a tremendously insecure man, bordering on an abusive relationship, not to mention that the book was written by a man in a century where patriarchy reigned. It is very simplistic to think that Capitu cheated.

[nobody]

Nice review, but also there are some minor but interesting details that I believe are good to keep in mind
Dom is an old way to say means sr, which is a very respectful way to call someone, so the translated title is Sr Casmurro (your definition of Casmurro was pretty good, which btw even we do not use that word anymore, so even a Portuguese speaker may not understand the title lol)
At that time lawyers were one of the most respected jobs you could have along with being a politician, so that implies he is supposed to be very smart and belong in the high society, which is one of the reasons they use the term "Dom" for Bento, but it is also used in an ironic way since Machado de Assis LOVES to use irony, therefore the title gives the reader the idea a mix of "someone with status" and "an unhinged man that is mocked by his peers".

[fadista]

I just finished this and it was quite like a puzzle. He seems to have anticipated the reader's judgments along the way and then, delivered a final rebuttal. It read, to me, like a court case in its pace...the opening, the building of the case and the final summary, driving the prosecution's case home. But as a friend of mine in the profession once said "You don't need facts to argue a case." 😉

It also feels like a fable, a warning about allowing feelings to determine one's fate. To me even if....if it were true about Ezequiel, this was his son for all purposes and the better choice would be to raise him as such. But to me Bento was not a reliable witness--he shows too much immature thinking at all stages...I think Capitu was a devoted wife and Escobar a good friend...and his son deserved love from his only dad. God allowed them to escape to heaven and made Bento bear his own bitter ideas alone.

This is a book that makes you think about relationships and life, you are right it is like a rorshach test I think.

Yes, definitely would like more reviews of these older Latin American and Iberian authors--📚

[therdpill]

hah, funny: Just read yesterday the beginning of DOM CASMURRO and said to my self: I have to stop! I must first finish the Modiano I am reading. Now, will I watch your review first? Or later when I've read the book. Ah, can't wait, I will watch it now. :-)

[TheGerbita]

Sounds amazing! I skipped over the spoilers, but will come back once I read it.

[shofiqdm]

nice review👏👏👍👍 thanks for sharing your opinion 💕

[fadista]

Ok I am about 1/4 through, it's much as you described. I am starting to see the memory of Mr Saturnine start to take shape under his belief of the infidelity. It has an impressionist quality that I like.

[lobecco]

Did you read it in portuguese? It is my favorite book.

[osvaldosoares]

Great review… “unreliable narrator” is a perfect definition