Inderdaad, dit werk kan men enigszins plaatsen naast het werk van een Dostojevski, maar met een groter gehalte aan pathos.
Hierbij vermeld ik dan dat ik niet erg hou van die eerder ongeremde , extatische Zuid-Amerikaanse uiting van smarten, tot zelfs in hun gedachtewereld..... Uiteraard doet dit geen afbreuk aan de culturele geplogenheden van Zuid-Amerika of de Zuiders volkeren. Hierin zijn de Russische schrijvers dan gematigder en geremder....hetgeen dan ook beter aansluit bij onze eigen expressieve wereld.
Het plot rolt erg knap uit de pen van Cardoso en op literair vlak is het zeker een meesterwerk. Vanwege de mij vaak storende exorbitante smartgevoelens is mijn waardeoordeel : 3/5 . GT 090123. ( )

Edição comemorativa dos 40 anos da primeira publicação ( )

Wow. This novel is an utterly lush, hyperventilating, humid, and vividly rendered story, of people tearing one another apart. I loved it. It's ridiculously emotional and yet it never tips into the merely melodramatic, because the language is so gorgeous, and because the happenings, well, they just keep happening--one unexpectedly vivid and tumultuous scene after another.

Quite apart from the story, the novel approaches greatness because of the very different voices in which the story reveals itself--in fragments of letters and diaries and accounts, told from the points of view of many characters, each with his or her own prejudices and gaps in knowledge. The voices range from the meticulous and somewhat timid voice of "the pharmacist," to the over-the-top, gothic proclamations of Andre'. Each voice is unique and each adds to the story in unexpected ways. ( )

A multilayered novel filled with deceptive twists and turns and a rich, opulent narrative. Take your time with this Brazilian gem! ( )

I should note that I didn’t buy this book. I attended the 2017 MLA convention here in Philly. On the last day of the convention the publisher representative, who was actually the president or someone high up in the structure, was dishing out the books for free. Take as many as you want free. So being the book slut that I am, of course I did.
Open Letter, the publisher, has a new fan and not because the books were free.
Because this book is wonderful.
Cradoso’s novel chronicles the fall of a family when a disruptive force enters the premise. It is one of those families that you can find a gothic book. A reviewer on a cover blurb makes reference to Faulkner, though the reference is somewhat misleading because Cradoso to my mind is the better writer. At the very least, one is not subjected to the level of confusion that seems to go hand and hand with Faulkner. Cradoso dazzles because the story is the center point, not the ability to dazzle.
This novel is told from various views, from various witnesses, and if the novel has a weak point, it is the similarity of the voices, for they are not entirely disc tint. In fairness, this could be a problem of the translation or because of translation.
The book is a wonder. ( )