The Alienist

By Machado de Assis

A classic work of literature by “the greatest author ever produced in Latin America.” (Susan Sontag)
 
Brilliant physician Simão Bacamarte sacrifices a prestigious career to return home and dedicate himself to the budding field of psychology. Bacamarte opens the first asylum in Brazil hoping to crown himself and his hometown with “imperishable laurels.” But the doctor begins to see signs of insanity in more and more of his neighbors. . . .

With dark humor and sparse prose, The Alienist lets the reader ponder who is really crazy.

***

This is a Hybrid Book.

Melville House HybridBooks combine print and digital media into an enhanced reading experience by including with each title additional curated material called Illuminations — maps, photographs, illustrations, and further writing about the author and the book.

The Melville House Illuminations are free with the purchase of any title in the HybridBook series, no matter the format.

Purchasers of the print version can obtain the Illuminations for a given title simply by scanning the QR code found in the back of each book, or by following the url also given in the back of the print book, then downloading the Illumination in whatever format works best for you.
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781612191089

Machado de Assis

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (Rio de Janeiro, 21 de junho de 1839 Rio de Janeiro, 29 de setembro de 1908) foi um escritor brasileiro, considerado por muitos críticos, estudiosos, escritores e leitores o maior nome da literatura brasileira.

Reviews for The Alienist

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Taking place in a fictional small town in Brazil, this is a farcical look at the new science of psychiatry, whose practitioners are called Alienists, and what exactly it means to be mad. Who can claim someone is insane versus someone else? What exactly is normal? Are we all mad? Is normalcy a sign of insanity? Many such circular questions are examined in this farce. I enjoyed the story but wasn't overly taken with it. The main character, Bacamarte, a scientist, physician, alienist is studying and experimenting madness and sanity on the residence of a small town. I found him quite over the top and unbelievable, while the residents were gullible and also unrealistic but then one is aware at each turn that this is a farce and over the top unrealistic characters are the norm for such fare. An interesting and enlightening take on sanity/insanity especially coming from this Victorian era. I'm glad to have read it but does not make me interested in the author's other work.

[antao-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You Don't Love the Same Woman Twice: "The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil" by Machado de Assis, John Charles Chasteen (translator)


Published 2013.

Let’s talk about luxury. Not that one, but the one that goes through the objects that I covet. One of these objects is the 1600-page-book “Os Romances de Machado de Assis” (the Novels of Machado de Assis) edited by the Glaciar publishing House, containing among others “Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas”, “Memorial de Aires” e “Dom Casmurro”, “Quincas Borba”, “Esaú e Jacob”, “Helena”, … This beast of a book waits for me (or I’m waiting for it; take your pick). Being neigh on impossible to find it despite having been published quite recently, I just had to make do with Chasteen’s translated collection. After having finished it, it’s also become a cult object.

Contents:

“To be Twenty Years Old” (Vinte anos! Vinte anos!)
“The Education of a Poser” (Teoria do medalhão), my favourite story; the poser in the story resembles a few Portuguese politicians from the here and now, but I won’t name them in case one of them is reading this…I’m sure I could find further examples from other political milieus
“The Looking Glass” (O espelho)
“Chapter of Hats” (Capítulo dos chapéus)
“A Singular Occurrence” (Singular Ocorrência)
“Terspischore” (Terpsícore)
“Father Against Mother” (Pai contra mãe)
“The Alienist” (O Alienista)

You can read the rest of this review on my blog.