A máquina de madeira

the long version

A huge stenograph machine arrives in Rio from Recife, accompanied by its creator, father Francisco João de Azevedo. The machine is one of the revolutions of the 19th century. With it, sermons and speeches can be transcribed with previously unknown speed, like the very record of Brazil's progress. It is a time of upheaval in the sciences. Dozens of inventors gather for the Exposição Nacional, which will be receiving a visit from the Emperor d. Pedro II, and investors from around the world. The expectation of a industrial and economic leap for Brazil is in the air. In this historical novel, the writer Miguel Sanches Neto uses the trajectory of father Azevedo, precursor of the typewriter, and almost unknown to us, to narrate the formation of identity of a country. With humor and at times cruel observations, he shows a Rio de Janeiro that is trying to change the exotic for the modern, a place where the winds from Europe share the stage with the remnants of colonial Brazil.