a virtue, then cynicism, vanity and egoism are legitimated. Assis, through an ingenious fallacy, implied that envy is positive, in the same way many theories could "prove" true something clearly absurd looking through today's eyes. Reception In an article in The Guardian, Woody Allen listed the work as one of his favorites. He said in an interview with the newspaper: In the New York Times, Parul Sehgal praised the book new release with a new translation, also praising its irony and charm, while asking the readers "Is it possible that the most modern, most startlingly avant-garde novel to appear this year was originally published in 1881?". In the same 2020 release, Dave Eggers from The New Yorker defined the book as "one of the wittiest, most playful, and therefore most alive and ageless books ever written". Translations There have been multiple translations. It was first translated into English in 1952 as Epitaph of a Small Winner by William L. Grossman. In 1997, it was translated as The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Gregory Rabassa. In 2020, there were two new translations, by Flora Thomson-DeVeaux (Penguin Classics) and Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson (Liveright). The New York Times named Jull Costa and Patterson's translation "the superior translation" (Parul Sehgal, The New York Times). References External links Memórias Póstumas de Bras Cubas Schwarz, Roberto (2005), "The Machadian turning point", São Paulo: CEBRAP magazine. 1881 Brazilian novels Novels by Machado de Assis Portuguese-language novels