Como progredir de sombra: O herói de Budapeste

Abstract

In his novel Budapest, Chico Buarque revisits the literary device of the double, experimenting with its various resources and commonplaces in a frantic and vertiginous manner. Just as Jorge Luis Borges ironically revisits "the weary theme of the double" as it was developed by earlier masters like Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson, Chico Buarque refreshes it through parody and pastiche. However, his approach begins by inverting the original concept: the protagonist of Budapest is not someone who will encounter the uncanny meeting with a double; as a ghostwriter, José Costa himself is the double of his many clients. In this way, the novel boldly offers a powerful critique of contemporary forms of individuality.