"Epitaph of a Small Winner" by Machado de Assis *****

• Summer read with Beth from 2013 list
• Brazilian author
• Originally published in 1880
• Foreword by Susan Sontag
• Dedication:  "To the first worm that gnawed my flesh"..............love it 
• Quotes: 
• p.7...One morning as I was strolling through the grounds of my suburban home, an idea took hold of the trapeze that I used to carry about in my head.  Once it had taken hold, it flexed its arms and legs and began to do the most daring acrobatic feats one can possibly imagine."............love the imagery
• p.9..."....nature is immensely whimsical and that history is eternally irresponsible."....food for thought
• p.21...."Each age brought its share of light and shade, of apathy and struggle, of truth and error, and its parade of systems, of new ideas, of new illusions; in each of them the verdure of spring burst forth, grew yellow with age, and then, young once more, burst forth again." .....continuity and rhythm....I like it
• p.51..."Ambition, like a new born eagle, now broke through its shell and transfixed the world with its tawny, penetrating eyes."........perfect metaphor
• p.78..."The it occurred to me that tight boots are one of the greatest goods in the world, for , by making feet hurt, they create an opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of taking off your boots.".....Yep, works for many experiences.....pregnancy/childbirth, joy/sorrow, yin/yang, etc
• p.88..."Every man has the need and the ability to contemplate his own nose, in order to see the divine light,a and such contemplation, resulting in the subordination of the universe to one nose, establishes social equilibrium.  If noses contemplated only each other, the human race would not last two centuries; indeed, it would not have survived the most primitive tribes."............laugh out loud and love it!
• p.89..."The conclusion, therefore, is that there are two major forces in society:  love, which multiplies the species, and the nose, which subordinates it to the individual.  Procreation, equilibrium.".......Fantastic!
• p.92..."Thus, I, Braz Cubas, discovered a sublime law, the Law of the Equivalence of Windows, and established the principle that the way to compensate for a closed window is to open another window, so that the conscience may always have plenty of air."
• p.182..."...the smile was always there, but at the beginning it had been internal--in the bud, so to speak; as time went on, it blossomed forth into flower and became visible to everyone.  A simple matter of botany."...lovely
• p.188..."Heart and soul, I had been all set to go, and here this doorman, Propriety, suddenly blocked the entrance and insisted on seeing my invitation.  I consigned Propriety to the devil, and with him the constitution, the....."
• p.167..."...even if so radical a concept did not carry with it its own refutation, the most superficial consideration of the salutary effects of public opinion would suffice to establish it as the supremely superfine product of the flower of mankind, namely, the greater number."
• Comments/Observations:
• I love that Braz points out the great flaw in his book as the reader, ever in a hurry to move along.....I find that to be true sometimes....eager to be on to the next book at the expense of savoring the one at hand!
• Review:  What a romp!  Who new a posthumous memoir could be so wonderful?  Our narrator, Bras Cubas, the dead one, finally makes his mark in the world by inventing the posthumous memoir. According to Susan Sontag, in the introduction, this occurs in counterpoint to "Tristram Shandy" speaking to his audience before birth. (I need to read that novel) Finally, Cubas can heave his eternal sigh of relief by achieving a worthy epitaph.  His life was pretty typical, full of love, envy, profound delusions, a touch of intrigue, a variety of failures, petty maneuvering, and embarrassing moments.  So what the heck, is it so much to ask for an eternal sigh of relief now and then?  I think not!