Hailed in his lifetime as one of Latin America’s greatest writers, Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was a storyteller known for his wholly innovative narrative techniques and uncanny talent for unraveling the social and political milieu of nineteenth-century Brazil. These signature traits are on full display in Quincas Borba, a novel that sees Machado satirize a rapidly changing Rio de Janeiro. Originally published in 1891, the story begins with the death of its titular character, a mad philosopher infamous for spouting pessimistic theories of “Humanitism.” Borba leaves his fortune-including his dog, also named Quincas Borba-to Rubiao, his loyal caretaker and a schoolteacher by trade. Bestowed with opulence beyond his wildest dreams, Rubiao is quickly coaxed into the comforts of a rich man’s life-the only stipulation being that he continues to care for the canine Quincas Borba with the same dedication he once did the human. Adrift in the big, bad, bustling world of late-1860s Rio de Janeiro, it isn’t long before Rubiao is targeted by the city’s sycophants, who can smell his naivete from a mile away.
