THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE

The book presents one of the greatest works by Henry James. An apparently common story about the encounters and conflicts between John Marcher and May Bartram. They meet again ten years after having first met in Italy. He has vague memories regarding the circumstances involved in their first encounter, but May remembers everything, including a confession made by Marcher. He revealed that he would meet with a "rare and strange" event at some moment in his life. So, May decides to share in his wait for the beast to leap out of the jungle. The design of the book follows the evolution of the narrative. As their wait becomes more dramatic, the stock of the paper becomes heavier, the colouring becomes darker and the text spacing becomes more compressed. The interpretation of the text by the design of the book is a mark that distinguishes the Coleção Particular, of which The Beast in the Jungle is the third title. The other volumes are Bartleby, o escrivão (Bartleby, the Scrivener), by Herman Melville, and Primeiro amor (Premier amour), by Samuel Beckett. José Geraldo Couto´s translation maintains James´ literariness and skillfully follows his tortuous sentences and rhythm. The afterword was written by Modesto Carone, one of Brazil´s most important literary critics. The edition celebrates the 10th anniversary of Cosac Naify.