<P>Featuring ten stories never before translated, dating from 1878--1886, his most radically experimental period, this selection of short fiction by Brazil's greatest author ranges in tone from elegiac to philosophical to impishly ironic. Including Machado's classic essay on world literature -- also appearing in English for the first time -- and with pieces chosen from his vast body of work for their playfulness, pathos, and stylistic subversion, this collection is an ideal introduction to the work of one of the treasures of world literature.</P>