The Alienist

Book summary

Back from Europe, Dr. Simão Bacamarte settles in the small town of Itaguaí, in Brazil, and later founds an asylum there, the Green House, to study madness scientifically. His criteria widen week by week: first a respected citizen, then so many residents that the asylum ends up confining four-fifths of the town; after that, it is the most reasonable people who pass through its gates. The town grows uneasy, then rebels, while the scientist pursues his demonstration. This short tale explores the boundaries of reason and the power held by whoever draws them. Machado de Assis turns it into a cool satire, where irony serves as the diagnosis.