Public reader discussion about Dom Casmurro in the WeRead Catalog by Machado de Assis.
By readswindow
Alguém tem alguma dica pra ler livros desse tipo? Eu quase nunca consigo manter o interesse por muito tempo, mas preciso ler mais coisas de Machado de Assis e de outros da literatura brasileira. Não quero ficar lendo só por obrigação, porque isso pra mim é horrível na leitura. Eu queria realmente me envolver e conseguir responder perguntas, caso alguém me pergunte.
By bison-summer
Oi! Tô procurando um livro de ficção brasileira. Eu tenho vários de outros lugares do mundo, mas nenhum do Brasil, porque nunca fico sabendo de nenhum título bem famoso daqui. Alguém tem alguma indicação legal? Pode ser fantasia, distopia ou terror — gosto de quase todos os gêneros, menos romance.
By cipherSail937
Something feels off with the colorized picture—not just the coloring, but it looks like they messed with the shape of his face too. The easiest tell is on the right lens (from our side). In the black-and-white version there’s this big empty-looking area where you can see the background behind him. In the color one, that empty spot almost isn’t there anymore, like they stretched that side of his face wider. Edit: I figured it out. The New York Times black-and-white photo they used is actually the wrong one. Looks like there were two slightly different photos taken during the same session, and the color version is based on the other one. Here’s the correct b&w: https://i.imgur.com/llUml3q.jpg You can spot the difference by checking where the cord of his glasses crosses the top of his shirt. So yeah, no real face-shape photoshopping. Still, the Times using the incorrect (lighter-skin) b&w makes their whole point seem a lot stronger than it probably should.
By prose-pages
Queria saber quais livros vocês curtem (e talvez descobrir uns nacionais novos). Até agora, o meu favorito é Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, tanto pela importância quanto porque mexeu bastante comigo.
By dullcougar1993
As a Brazilian, I just can’t stop recommending Machado de Assis. I think Dom Casmurro is probably my favorite thing he wrote, and luckily there’s an English version out there: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82888.Dom_Casmurro?from_search=true And for anyone who isn’t in the US or the UK, I’m curious—what other authors would you suggest?
By coffee-mocha
I got lucky because when *The Benefactor* got picked up by the first publisher I sent it to (Farrar Straus), I also ended up with Cecil Hemley as my editor. The weird part is that Hemley was the guy who’d already brought out the English translation of Machado that really kicked the book into gear in English. When we met, he told me he could tell I’d been influenced by something—and I’m like, “Epitaph of a small winner?” He said, “Machado de Assis.” I didn’t even know who that was at the time, but he lent me a copy and then I basically had to admit I was influenced after all. Even now, though I’ve read a decent amount of Machado in translation, *Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas* is still my favorite. It’s supposed to be the top of his late novels, and honestly it’s the one I keep coming back to. I’ve heard people say non-Brazilians tend to prefer *Dom Casmurro*, but I’m still surprised Machado doesn’t get the place he deserves. Like, how is he that great and still kind of not widely known? And I don’t really have a clear answer for why—part of it seems like it’s because he’s Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking, and then the whole Latin America situation is awkward too, like Spain gets treated as the default and Brazil gets treated as the outsider. Also, it feels like even within Latin America he wasn’t as widely read as he should’ve been. I’m not totally sure what would’ve changed that, but it’s hard to ignore how long it took for *Brás Cubas* to show up in Spanish. The good thing is, it seems like great books can still find their way, maybe more than once. *Brás Cubas* definitely hits like it’s modern even though it’s old. I don’t know if it’s about “modernity” exactly, but it feels unprovincial in a way that makes you look at your own taste a little differently.
By NinaInTucson95
If you’re stuck at home and you want something really good to read, this Machado de Assis book feels like a solid pick. If you’re not Brazilian you probably haven’t heard of him or the title, but basically the story follows Brás Cubas, who’s already dead, and he’s basically narrating his life story. And it all plays out, kind of, as he’s talking from the grave—so yeah, it’s not like a normal setup. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s honestly a pretty unique book. The jokes land well, the way it’s told is different, and there’s this sincerity to how Brás talks about everything—like he’s not trying to hide things anymore just because nobody can judge him for his actions or thoughts. Everything about the book feels great. It’s totally the kind of thing I could keep rereading, because every time I go back to it, it still feels fresh, even though I already know what happens. There’s just so much going on between the lines. It’s one of my favorites, and I’d recommend it to pretty much anyone. Thanks for reading this far, and hope you have a great day!
By Carries1983
Eu me arrependo demais de ter deixado esse livro de canto parado por uns 3 anos pelo menos, depois que comprei. Eu cheguei a tentar ler umas 4 vezes, mas sempre travava logo no começo, porque achei a leitura bem difícil. Só que em 2026 eu resolvi encarar de novo. Agora tô lendo com calma, palavra por palavra, digerindo mesmo, e tá ficando uma delícia. Bem no resumão: é quase aqueles folhetins estilo Globo, só que sem aquelas atuações ruins, com personagens bem melhores e um dia a dia bem vivo. O Aluísio Azevedo mandou muito demais nessa história.
By field_simple
So, what have you been reading this week? What did you actually finish, and do you have any recommendations (or anything you’re hoping someone can suggest)? Just listing a bunch of novel titles isn’t really enough—I wanna hear what you thought about what you read.
By hiddenDeer60
Hey! I’m trying to get more into classic literature and broaden what I’ve read. Some of my favorites so far are *Jane Eyre*, *Wuthering Heights*, *Dracula*, *Frankenstein*, *The Picture of Dorian Gray*, and *The Bluest Eye*. If anyone has suggestions that feel similar, I’d really appreciate it!!
By Tiny-Sky1982
Acabei de reler Memórias Póstumas e, olhando as postagens antigas por aqui, tá parecendo que depois de todo mundo vai correndo pra ler Quincas Borba (eu nunca li). Aí fiquei pensando: qual é o livro preferido de vocês do “distro” aí?
By Kind
Pessoal, acabei de terminar To Kill a Mockingbird da Harper Lee e agora já tô querendo escolher meu próximo livro. Tentei começar O Retrato de Dorian Gray, mas não rolou muita empolgação. Queria umas sugestões de coisas mais “fáceis de entrar”, principalmente pra quem tá começando e quer ir pegando gosto pelos clássicos, porque eu não tenho muito hábito com esse tipo de leitura. Obrigado desde já!
By BridgeSharp
Dom Casmurro feels jealous in this weird, constant way—like he’s watching everyone, except he’s only got real envy for one thing: that unbreakable kind of faith and the picture of a woman built out of two kids pretending they’re in control. Overall it’s pretty quiet and not exactly full of big, exciting stuff. Bento Santiago’s not living as an absolute elite, but he’s also not the bottom of the pile either—just stuck in the middle, like his own life is. Still, it’s almost like every other line keeps circling back to Capitu and whatever “there’s more here” feeling the narrator can’t stop having. He turns everything into speculation, almost like he’s feeding the same suspicions he already has, and somehow it still keeps going back, obsessively, at the bond he made with her. It starts like a spark, then just kind of dies down and leaves you with the same lonely vibe as the narration itself—doubt, explanations that don’t feel fully settled, and this constant tug at the reader like, “wait, what do you think?” It honestly reminds me of The Museum of Eterna, just without all the long buildup. It’s not my top Brazilian novel or anything, but it’s not nothing either. I’ve got it sitting pretty in the middle of my shelf where it’s one of the first books I notice.
By notebookPencil
Mesmo que a Capitu tenha ou não traído, o que o Bentinho fez já fica bem complicado de defender hoje em dia. Ele mandou o Ezequiel pra estudar primeiro num colégio interno na Lapa e depois na Suíça, mas nunca foi ver o menino. E acho que ele odiava o Ezequiel, porque ele lembrava demais o Escobar. E teve uma coisa que eu fiquei pensando e meio que lembrou White Lotus. O Bentinho fica trocando uns olhares bem sedutores por horas com a Sancha, que é a esposa do Escobar. No fim, parece que todo mundo só queria uma “troca de casais” bem simples.
By cougarmargin15
“Casmurro” is a Portuguese word that basically means stubborn or kind of self-absorbed, and I first heard it through *Dom Casmurro* by Machado de Assis. But I can’t seem to find where the term actually comes from originally—everything I see just points back to the book. Anyone know the etymology?
By Lucky_Brush
Hi everyone—I'm just getting into *Dom Casmurro*, but I keep running into a bunch of words I can’t find translations for. Any tips on how you usually figure out what they mean?