Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
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Major Issues Major IssuesJoaquim Maria Machado de Assis is considered the most important Brazilian writer of the 19th century, and his influence on 20th century Latin American literature has been well documented. Many North American writers, too, list Machado de Assis as an influence, including John Barth. Historical critics look to Machado de Assis’ fictional representations of the political, social, and cultural happenings of 19th century Brazil. Critics, and Machado de Assis himself, compare his writing to that of Laurence Sterne. Machado de Assis’ style is characterized by understatement, dark humor, and irony. His structural innovations have also attracted much critical attention, especially his employment of self-conscious narrators, multiple perspectives, disruption of chronology, fragmentation, and ambiguity. Author LinksWho
was Machado de Assis?
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