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zabiume 's review for:
Dom Casmurro
by Machado de Assis
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so fascinating and psychologically complex. Machado de Assis really has an art for putting together a story. The very concept of a lawyer telling us his story, subtly shaping the events and our perceptions of it to a point where it's hard to say what is true and what has been exaggerated....it's excellent. This book is fantastic with its foreshadowing, putting in pieces early on that'll become relevant much later. The author's characterization of Bentinho as self-obssessed, possessive, intensely jealous and cynical is made all the more interesting by having him be the narrator. Unwillingly, there are moments where he charms the reader or draws sympathy from them, but there are bursts of concerning behavior that shake you back into reality. Then again, who among us has not had ugly thoughts — this adds ambiguity to the narrative, where there are no villains and no heroes, there is simply memory and its tendency to shape a narrative. I imagine Capitu or Jose Dias or even Escobar's retelling of the same events might look vastly different, which proves the skills of how insular the author wrote Bento's mind (the human mind, really) to be.
The most chilling part of the novel is how Bento goes from warm to icy cold towards Ezekiel at the slightest suspicion of Capitu's infidelity. The very son he desperately prayed for, the one he adored, instantly turns into a figure of detestment. This coldness from Bento, to me, was the most revealing of his true character. Thescene where he attempted to feed Ezekiel the poisoned coffee was brutal. Bento's pride of having a beautiful woman on his arm is a double-edged sword because of how it brings out his ugly anger, jealousy and bitterness. Also, my favorite realization is how Bento will often go on tangents about the stupidest things, but when it comes to major things like other characters' deaths (ex: Capitu's, Ezekiel's or Cousin Juliana's), he's laughably brief to a point where you're shocked by their suddenness.
This book also opens up the question of marriage as an act of possession. For someone as insecure and untrusting as Bento, even putting a ring on Capitu is not enough for him; he remains forever-suspicious of her being "taken" from him, which is really illuminating of how even marriage can't fix the lack of security one feels in a relationship. Rather, it might not have been a viable option at all. He wants to possess her, control her, even as he himself is sometimes swayed by his own impulses (as was the case when he considered making a move on Sancha) .
Lastly, I loved Machado de Assis' unique metaphors and turns of phrases. I imagine they're even richer in the original Portuguese, but the translation was pleasantly serviceable. There's so much more I will be thinking about, but for now, I would love to cite this as a CLASSIC that has truly lived up to that title.
The most chilling part of the novel is how Bento goes from warm to icy cold towards Ezekiel at the slightest suspicion of Capitu's infidelity. The very son he desperately prayed for, the one he adored, instantly turns into a figure of detestment. This coldness from Bento, to me, was the most revealing of his true character. The
This book also opens up the question of marriage as an act of possession. For someone as insecure and untrusting as Bento, even putting a ring on Capitu is not enough for him; he remains forever-suspicious of her being "taken" from him, which is really illuminating of how even marriage can't fix the lack of security one feels in a relationship. Rather, it might not have been a viable option at all. He wants to possess her, control her, even as he himself is sometimes swayed by his own impulses
Lastly, I loved Machado de Assis' unique metaphors and turns of phrases. I imagine they're even richer in the original Portuguese, but the translation was pleasantly serviceable. There's so much more I will be thinking about, but for now, I would love to cite this as a CLASSIC that has truly lived up to that title.