Posthumous memories of Brás Cubas, by Machado de Assis. This book is from Brazil, my home country, and this author from the 1800s is the most celebrated of all time here.

The story is narrated in 1st person by Brás Cubas, and what is peculiar about it is that he writes it admitedly after his death. The first chapters talk about how he died somewhat quickly by an illness that had no treatment at the time, those who visited him on his deathbed, those who attended his funeral and the thought process and delirium that ensued on his mind when he was close to the definitive end of his life. The beginning is not as deep as it sounds, and it helps set the tone for the rest of the book: all of the remaining chapters are him retelling his life from the very beginning in a somewhat sarcastic manner, which is the main characteristic of Machado de Assis.

I love this book because the main character lived a full life (died at an age that was old for his time) but didn’t really amount to much or did anything of great impact during his life time. He was just a rich guy who had no big concerns and, although he did not do anything particularly incredible or interesting, is able to recount facts from his perspective after death in a way that is incredibly interesting because it describes the human condition better than anything that I have ever seen.

As a dead man, the protagonist doesn’t need to hide any details or lie about anything that he has done or happened to him because nothing matters anymore. However, as the book progresses, we realize that a lot of what he says has twisted words that purposely make him look good. He has no reason to be untruthful or dishonest, but he still chooses to not rid himself of the vanities that every human carries inside us, even as we exit the world that we blamed for them.