Esau and Jacob (Portuguese:Esaú e Jacó) is a Machado de Assis novel launched in 1904, four years before his death, by Editora Garnier, and, according to most critics, in full literary heyday, after writing, in 1899, Dom Casmurro, the most famous from his books. Esaú e Jacó stand out for consolidating a "smooth mastery" in the domain of the plot. Machado takes advantage of the occasional eccentricity in a text that leaves behind traces of picaresque and embarks on a realism that resumes the melancholy and lyricism that had begun in the first phase of his literary production. Highlighted are the characters very close to real life.The narrative begins with Conselheiro Aires, character and narrator, who, however, is also seen from a third person. He plays opposite Natividade, mother of twins Pedro and Paulo, who star in the novel. And Machado reaches almost formal perfection by establishing the fascinating plot where the protagonists are opposed and competing. They disagree in politics, in life, always in opposite fields, against each other, since Paulo is a republican and enters law school, while Pedro is a monarchist and is studying medicine, but they even court the same woman who is indecisive between them. Source: Wikipedia (en)