Machado's Dom Casmurro as a precursor to postmodern fiction

Aside from its other virtues, J. Machado de Assis's 1900 novel, Dom Casmurro, is avant-garde, and in an entirely unpretentious manner. It's a peek into the postmodern fiction, which would become a dominant mode in mid- to late-20th century writing, not only in the U.S. (Barth, Coover, Barthelme, Gass, et al.) but also in Latin America (Cortazar, to a degree Borges) - but who knew that it really began in Brazil, w/ the little-known (today) Machado? Throughout this novel, told in about 150 short segments, each with a title, Machado breaks through the 3rd wall and addresses the reader directly, opining on the progress he's making and on the decisions he makes about what to include or elide in this attempt to recollect some experiences of his youth. The novel is set, at least initially, ca 1858, as the author-narrator, the eponymous Dom C (it's a moniker or nickname) recounts his first love and the torments he (whose name is Benhito) and his beloved Capitu pledge to marry each other; they're each 15 years old, and Benhito is headed, against his will, to a enrollment in a seminary. The joke is that, from the get-go, he has no intention of becoming a priest - yet he's unable to put his foot town and refuse his mother's dictates and expectations; how strong will his will and resistance be? And how long will Capitu wait for him? The narrator gives us only the vaguest glimpse into his current, late 1890s life, though perhaps he has become a writer - this may become clarified later - but in the meantime his story gives us a glimpse into a time and place remote from all contemporary readers and is full of wry observations, some really funny dialogue - esp w/ Benhito pleading with family friend to state his case to his mother (it's obvious that this so-called friend, Jose Dias, is duplicitous and his only aim is to free B from the seminary so that he can take him on a 2-year, at least, tour of Europe). I'll look for some examples of the wry humor as I proceed into the 2nd half of the novel, but for the moment will just note that this seemingly daunting novel is quite accessible and, as an old man's reflection on his youth, feels surprisingly contemporary as well.