Chronicle of the Murdered House
By Lúcio Cardoso and Benjamin Moser
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Winner of the 2017 Best Translated Book Award
Longlisted for the 2017 National Translation Award
"The book itself is strange—part Faulknerian meditation on the perversities, including sexual, of degenerate country folk; part Dostoevskian examination of good and evil and God—but in its strangeness lies its rare power, and in the sincerity and seriousness with which the essential questions are posed lies its greatness."—Benjamin Moser, from the introduction
Long considered one of the most important works of twentieth-century Brazilian literature, Chronicle of the Murdered House is finally available in English.
Set in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, the novel relates the dissolution of a once proud patriarchal family that blames its ruin on the marriage of its youngest son, Valdo, to Nina—a vibrant, unpredictable, and incendiary young woman whose very existence seems to depend on the destruction of the household. This family's downfall, peppered by stories of decadence, adultery, incest, and madness, is related through a variety of narrative devices, including letters, diaries, memoirs, statements, confessions, and accounts penned by the various characters.
Lúcio Cardoso (1912-1968) turned away from the social realism fashionable in 1930s Brazil and opened the doors of Brazilian literature to introspective works such as those of Clarice Lispector—his greatest follower and admirer.
Margaret Jull Costa has translated dozens of works from both Spanish and Portuguese, including books by Javier Marías and José Saramago. Her translations have received numerous awards, including the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 2014 she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Robin Patterson was mentored by Margaret Jull Costa, and has translated Our Musseque by José Luandino Vieira.
Related to Chronicle of the Murdered House
Related ebooks
That Deadman Dance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Could Have Become Ramayan Chamar's Tale: Two Anti-Novels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sicilian Romance Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Fata Morgana Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLoquela Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Town: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Living Days Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll My Goodbyes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lighthousekeeping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the City of Pigs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Regal Lemon Tree Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Shadow of the Fire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5From the Shadows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies of Summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Ecstatic Days: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of the Cage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy, Why, Why? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Remainder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Trespassing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImminence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeven Samurai Swept Away in a River Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Clerk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House in the Dark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Will Love What You Have Killed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Anna Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Clouds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brazilian Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGasoline Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Seed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jacob the Mutant Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Literary Fiction For You
The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prophet Song: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Prejudice: Bestsellers and famous Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Queen's Gambit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tender Is the Flesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piranesi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anna Karenina: Bestsellers and famous Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm Thinking of Ending Things: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Birds: Erotica Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Pulitzer Prize Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nigerwife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camp Zero: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Salvage the Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Chronicle of the Murdered House
2 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A multilayered novel filled with deceptive twists and turns and a rich, opulent narrative. Take your time with this Brazilian gem!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I 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.