Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was a Brazilian novelist, poet, and playwright, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in Brazilian literature. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1839, he co-founded the Brazilian Academy of Letters and served as its first president. Known for his innovative narrative style and insightful social commentary, his works, such as "Dom Casmurro" and "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas," remain influential.
Book summaries for books written by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Quotes
I am not a writer by profession, I am an idler.
I am not a ghost writer; I am a writer ghost.
The deceased had a great talent for abstract ideas.
I am a child of my time, and this is why I am writing with such freedom.
To each his own madness.
In the game of life, the dice are thrown by chance.
The living are the dead on holiday.
One should not, however, despair of the future.
The value of things is not in the time they last, but in the intensity with which they occur.
I do not know whether the world is becoming better or worse, I only know that I am becoming older.
It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
If I could, I would choose neither to be born nor to die.