This book offers an alternative explanation for one of the core dilemmas of Brazilian literary criticism: the midlife crisis Machado de Assis underwent from 1878 to 1880, the result of which was the writing of "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas," as well as the remarkable production of his mature years with an emphasis on his masterpiece, "Dom Casmurro."
At the center of this alternative explanation, Castro Rocha situates the fallout from the success enjoyed by Eca de Queiros with the publication of "Cousin Basilio "and Machado s two long texts condemning the author and his work....

First published in 1936, the classic work Roots of Brazil by Sergio Buarque de Holanda presented an analysis of why and how a European culture flourished in a large tropical environment that was totally foreign to its traditions, and the manner and consequences of this development. In The Other Roots, Pedro Meira Monteiro contends that Roots of Brazil is an essential work for understanding Brazil and the current impasses of politics in Latin America.

First published in 1936, the classic work Roots of Brazil by Sergio Buarque de Holanda presented an analysis of why and how a European culture flourished in a large tropical environment that was totally foreign to its traditions, and the manner and consequences of this development. In The Other Roots, Pedro Meira Monteiro contends that Roots of Brazil is an essential work for understanding Brazil and the current impasses of politics in Latin America.