The Maias

By Jose Maria Eca de Queiroz and Margaret Jull Costa

'The greatest book by Portugal's greatest novelist.' Saramago

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dedalus
• Release date: Mar 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781907650338

Reviews for The Maias

[antao-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“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 QueirozI’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!

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[haidji-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is about the life of Carlos da Maia (rich, handsome, generous and intelligent) in 1870s Portugal, when along with his best friend and partner in crime João da Ega he spends his time making witticisms about society and having affairs. Carlos desires to be a doctor, but once he has lavishly furnished his practice he loses interest in it. Instead, he spends his time with his friends, joking and making plans that never come to fruition. Carlos spends a lot of time talking about success, but little time actually pursuing it.

[5eva5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story of the fortunes and misfortunes of three generations of men in the wealthy Portuguese Maia family in the 1870s. The Maias is a Naturalist novel, but instead of concentrating on the seamier part of life, his protagonists are of the higher echelons in Portuguese society and are subjects of as well as collaborators in the author's observations of society and its continuing physical and moral decline. It's definitely not as gritty most other Naturalist works, but it has at its core the pessimism that is truly Naturalist - very few of the characters are allowed to be happy and those who are for a while tend to pay for it many times over before the story ends. But it's not all doom and gloom; wealthy Portuguese society is quite a charming and amusing place to be, with the illicit affairs, languid trips to the countryside, fashionable visits to the opera, and the preposterous swagger of the upper classes. Eça de Queirós is remarkably good at writing characters who are quite pretentious, decadent, and quite silly without making then into caricatures - there is a huge amount of affection for each of them and although there were a few I should have intensely disliked, they are all presented with such a healthy dose of irony that you can't but be fond of their idiosyncrasies and lunatic ideas. My only complaints is that I haven't heard of this author sooner - he's one of Portugal's most esteemed authors, but why he isn't mentioned any time Flaubert, Eliot, Balzac, or Tolstoy comes up, is a mystery to me. His greatest crime seem to have been that he wrote in one of the "smaller" languages, which has been rectified by the excellent, and award-winning, translation by Margaret Jull Costa – highly recommended for anyone with a liking for 19th century literature.

[starbox_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story of a wealthy young man, Carlos Maia, brought up by his benevolent grandfather Afonso in late 19th century Lisbon. How this comes to be fills the start of the story. Then Carlos graduates from medical school and comes home with grand ideas but soon lapses into dilettantism. Hanging out with his friends, going into society, gambling, duelling and above all pursuing married ladies seems to form the main part of his life. Although many episodes are amusing, I felt the novel wasn't going anywhere for the first half.But then the threads come together and it becomes unputdownable. De Queiros brings his observations on Portugal and on life into the narrative.As other reviewers have commented, this absolutely deserves to be included in the list of 'must read' European classics

[shawnd_72 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly taut for a 600+ page novel, this late 19th century family epic is quite similar to Gustave Flaubert's Sentimental Education and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. In many ways, it is superior in structure, voice, and meanders far less than Flaubert. The story itself is about Carlos, the emerging scion of a wealthy Lisbon aristocratic family. Carlos's father and mother had a dramatic, tumultuous history that predates the book, and it is in this backdrop that Carlos unwittingly jumps into life under the eye of an indulgent grandfather. In part a subtle social critique, the politics and messages do not drown out the succinct prose and wonderful stories. The characters are well developed, although without the color of a Russian novelist. It is thrilling, romantic, driving and tremendously sad saga that leaves one refreshed and touched but not wanting more.