Machado de Assis /

Fitz has successfully completed the formidable task of introducing and commenting on the vast works of Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908), for whose incorporation into the Western literary mainstream Fitz argues cogently. Parallels with Hardy, Flaubert, James, Dostoyevski, Maupassant, and others precede the interpretation of Machado as a modernist avant la lettre, comparable to Proust, Joyce, and Mann. Fitz discerns major themes--metaphysical concerns about the transitory nature of human existence, ravages wrought by time, the perverting presence of egoism, and the problem of love in human existence--and illustrates them in Machado's five major novels. Unrelenting satire, irony, and humor, combined with philosophical pessimism, are the main contributors to his literary style, which was influenced by Swift and Sterne. Symbol, myth, and metaphor in self-conscious narration define Machado as a "deconstructionist." Fitz's interpretation is clear, forceful, and well informed. The book could be improved by including the author's full name at least once. Main points are repeated unnecessarily. Secondary sources and articles in the bibliography are too limited, needing more non-English studies. Fitz's volume deserves to be included in any library of 19th- and 20th-century authors, as a useful reference tool and interpretive guide. His efforts should finally succeed in bringing Machado de Assis to the attention of all readers and scholars of the modern novel. -K. D. Jackson, University of Texas at Austin