Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas

work by Machado

Also known as: “Epitaph of a Small Winner”

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June 30, 2026

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Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas) is a groundbreaking novel by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, first published in 1881. The narrative is an eccentric, first-person account told by the deceased Brás Cubas, who cynically reviews his life from beyond the grave.12

The novel is characterized by its unconventional structure, featuring short, often disconnected chapters, a free flow of association, and digressions. This innovative style marked a significant departure from the literary conventions of its time and is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian literature. Machado de Assis's work is known for its subtle irony, psychological depth, and exploration of themes such as social class, disillusionment, and human folly, all delivered with wit and flippancy.12

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Brazilian literature
Emergence of the republic
…of the Brazilian novel with Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881; “The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas”; Eng. trans. Epitaph of a Small Winner), the capricious upper-class cynical and intrusive narrator of which speaks from the grave, and with Dom Casmurro (1899; Eng. trans. Dom Casmurro), a fictional autobiography by…
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…of the Brazilian novel with Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881; “The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas”; Eng. trans. Epitaph of a Small Winner), the capricious upper-class cynical and intrusive narrator of which speaks from the grave, and with Dom Casmurro (1899; Eng. trans. Dom Casmurro), a fictional autobiography by…
Read More

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
This was Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881; “The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas”; Epitaph of a Small Winner, 1952), an eccentric first-person narrative with a flow of free association and digression. The “small winner,” Brás Cubas, cynically reviews his life in 160 short, often disconnected chapters.
Read More
This was Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881; “The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas”; Epitaph of a Small Winner, 1952), an eccentric first-person narrative with a flow of free association and digression. The “small winner,” Brás Cubas, cynically reviews his life in 160 short, often disconnected chapters.
Read More