Machado de Assis is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers of Brazilian literature. While often grouped with the Realist school, Machado is truly sui generis, being a writer ahead of his time. Papéis Avulsos is a great illustration of this with its stories approaching a surrealist aesthetic with a realist approach.
Two stories clearly highlight this unique style: “A Sereníssima República” and “Uma Visita de Alcibíades”. The premises of both are absurd: the former about a society of spiders, the latter about the resurrection of an ancient Greek in modern times. But, while far from traditional realist stories, they are a clear critique of society at the end of the 19th century.
More grounded but still absurd is “O Alienista”, the best story of the book. The basic plot is well known by most people familiar with Machado de Assis’s work, but it is still a gripping read and surprisingly funny. Some of the passages are just memorable:
— Sabe a razão por que não vê as suas elevadas qualidades, que aliás todos nós admiramos? É porque tem ainda uma qualidade que realça as outras: — a modéstia.
Era decisivo. Simão Bacamarte curvou a cabeça juntamente alegre e triste, e ainda mais alegre do que triste. Ato contínuo, recolheu-se à Casa Verde.
The only problem posed by this story is its placement in the book as the very first one. This sets too high of a bar for the other stories, unfortunately. Not that any of those are bad, but some are definitely not as good as the others and this is highlighted by the best story being the first.
Papéis Avulsos remains a great read and shows how good Machado de Assis is as a writer. While I prefer his novels, such as Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas and Dom Casmurro, this book is not far behind and is part of what makes Machado de Assis such an imposing figure in Brazilian literature.