The Alienist and Other Stories

In "The Alienist and Other Stories", Machado de Assis turns everyday life into an enigma and irony into a lens. The stories gathered here reveal characters shaped by quiet ambitions, persistent illusions, and truths that slip in through the cracks. With subtle humor and a gaze that loses neither tenderness nor sharpness, the author dismantles habits, exposes contradictions, and invites the reader to notice the uncanny hidden within ordinary scenes. The result is a collection of narratives that resonates far beyond its own time — incisive, human, and unsettlingly close to us. The stories included in this volume are: The Alienist, The Medallion Theory, The Turkish Slipper, In the Ark, Mrs. Benedita, The Bonze's Secret, The Ring of Polycrates, The Loan, The Most Serene Republic, The Mirror, A Visit from Alcibiades, Final Request.