ElectricMari reviewed The alienist by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Come for the short stories, stay for the long story.
4 stars
As the interesting introduction pointed, Brasil in the 19th century was still very much influenced by the European culture. It still did come to a surprise to me that the first short stories reminded me so much of many European ones. Machado de Assis wanted to paint the general characters that walked through the streets of Rio de Janeiro during his time. And so he did, with a very ironic and wise brush. But his stories and his characters didn't seem to stand out for me. What made me give my review 4 stars is the eponymous "short" story (it's quite long compared to the other ones), "The Alienist" which I loved! Very funny and original.