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Dom Casmurro
He was sure she cheated. His proof? A look at a funeral. Brazil's greatest novel is about how jealousy builds its own evidence. 👀
Who it's for
Bento tells the whole story himself, and the reader slowly realises that his 'evidence' is a look at a funeral, a resemblance, and memories arranged to fit his conclusion.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Dom Casmurro is an 1899 novel by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis, narrated by Bento Santiago, an older lawyer looking back on his life in Rio de Janeiro. He recalls his seminary years, his childhood love for his neighbour Capitu, their marriage and the birth of their son Ezequiel.
Where to find it
The Portuguese original is public domain and free online (including Project Gutenberg). English translations by John Gledson (Oxford) and by Margaret Jull Costa & Robin Patterson are in print and in l.
Before you start
Heads up: A planned suicide and danger to a child.
Age: Ages 14+
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.William Shakespeare, Othello, Act 3, Scene 3
