Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... The Maias (1888)by José Maria Eça de Queiroz
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. “Porque não se deixaria o preto sossegado, na calma posse dos seus manipansos? Que mal fazia à ordem das coisas que houvesse selvagens? Pelo contrário, davam ao universo uma deliciosa quantidade de pitoresco”. (My loose translation: “Why couldn't the Black be left alone, in the calm possession of his charms? What harm did it do to the order of things that there were savages? On the contrary, they gave the universe a delicious amount of the picturesque”) In “Os Maias” by Eça de Queiroz I’ve just re-read “Os Maias” because I read somewhere in the Portuguese press it had racist “undertones”. Let me get this out of the way first: I have a personal moral obligation to not be racist, as well as a personal inclination. I do not have a moral obligation to erase history because someone says that they find it offensive. I'm not arguing that just because it happened a long time ago it is harmless or that I approve, just that history is there to be learned from and you cannot do that if you sanitize it into oblivion. I just believe that history and fiction in particular is a "warts and all" thing, you have to show the nasty stuff and doing so does not in any way imply that you agree with the opinions and mores of the time under study. Having said that, overreaction effectively gives genuine racists a get out, painting any one who complains about racism as hysterically oversensitive and prone to grandstanding. Moreover, free speech only needs to be defended when someone says something that is controversial, or offensive, or utterly disgusting. The fact that you personally find something offensive is not reason enough to ban it. And banning things has nothing to do with free speech. The principle of free speech is the bedrock of democracy, allowing criticism and new ideas to flourish in society, and it is far more important than any individual's sensibilities. If you start to declare all literature depicting racism as racist, then you immediately include all anti-racist literature in that category- it's virtually impossible to condemn racism without depicting it. “To Kill a Mockingbird” depicts racism. Toni Morrison's Beloved depicts racism. Primo Levi's “If This Is a Man” depicts racism. Are these anti-racist works to be derided as racist for simply depicting the horrors they condemn? Bottom-line: No, “Os Maias” is not a racist novel ffs! It's fiction, you stupid tossers! Passa-se um drama familiar logo no comecinho. Depois disso nada acontece por umas seiscentas páginas - os personagens visitam-se, tomam chá, jogam cartas, ocasionalmente há um affair, mas nada de substantivo. Centenas de páginas de diálogos chatíssimos e descrições desnecessárias. Lá pelo final passa-se outro drama familiar. E é isso. This magnificent 19th century novel has been called, 'The greatest book by Portugal's greatest novelist,' by Jose Saramago. Harold Bloom called it, 'one of the most impressive European novels of the nineteenth century, fully comparable to the most inspired novels of the great Russian, French, Italian and English masters of prose fiction.' I had never heard of this book or its author before I picked it up to read as the 'Q' author for my Alphabet Challenge. I am so glad I did, and I will be reading more of de Queiros. The book reminds me of Buddenbrooks, so for anyone who has read and loved Buddenbrooks that might be recommendation enough. The family in The Maias is much smaller than that in Buddenbrooks. After his mother runs away with her lover, and his father's tragic death, Carlos da Maia is raised by his wealthy grandfather. He studies at medical school, and as a young man becomes a dilettante in Lisbon society. Ultimately, he faces a tragedy that will form his character for the rest of his life. What I loved about this book are the characters. The love Carlos's grandfather has for Carlos permeates the story. He is there behind the scenes, not intrusive, but his love is boundless. It takes Carlos a long time to realize this. The story of Carlos's friendship with Ega, another happy-go-lucky man-about the town is also beautifully portrayed. We should all be so lucky as to have such a friendship in our lives. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesColecção História da Literatura (Livro 10)
The Maias depicts the declining fortunes of a landowning family over three generations as they are gradually undermined by hypocrisy, complacency and sexual licence. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)869.33Literature Spanish and Portuguese Portuguese Portuguese fiction 19th CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
(My other very sad comment: I read the translation by Margaret Jull Costa. Her work, as always, is impeccable. But her publisher—New Directions—did her and the readers a grave disservice by publishing the book with no supporting information. In some books, I would not need a glossary, but when an author describes his characters’ methods of transportation in excruciating detail (at least six different terms—I stopped counting—for their carriages: calèche, phaeton, dog-cart, four-in-hand…), when amounts of money are important and often used to make a point but the reader has no sense of relative value, the publisher owes it to readers to explain these things. This book had nothing: no notes, no glossary, no introduction (though a brief “appreciation” at the end by Jull Costa), nothing. De Queirós made these distinctions and wrote as he did with a purpose. But when the reader cannot decipher them, I think a publisher actually harms the work by not helping with notes or explanations. Too often I spent time hunting information down because it seemed too important to just pass by. And like War and Peace, a list of characters wouldn’t hurt.) ( )