Synopsis: This collection titled “The Lost Reflection and Other Foolish Tales” is organized, translated, prefaced, and annotated by Maria Aparecida Barbosa – from “Reflections of the Cat Murr”, also published by Estação Liberdade – and offers a comprehensive and revealing selection of the works of E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822). The texts attest to the stylistic and thematic virtuosity of the author, who became one of the main exponents of German Romanticism due to his originality, irreverence, and iconoclasm.
The diffusion of boundaries between reality and fiction, the intertextuality with his contemporaries (including “borrowing” characters from other authors), the philosophical content with which he envelops his fantastic and horror themes: these are some hallmarks of Hoffmann that had a significant influence on German literature that followed him.
Opinion: I became acquainted with E.T.A. Hoffmann’s writing through the book “The Haunted Castle”, published by the now-defunct and beloved publisher Círculo do Livro. At the time, as a 15-year-old teenager, I was already impressed by Hoffmann’s 
writing. Today, 30 years later, I come across this book from Editora Estação Liberdade with a translation, organization, and notes by Maria Aparecida Barbosa, which is truly impressive.
One of the points in Hoffmann’s writing is precisely the inclusion of subjects such as music, which is present in practically all the tales in this edition.
Although I got to know the writer through the Classic Horror genre, present here through the extreme situations that some characters are forced to endure in the tales, we also have a story very much in the style of fairy tales or classic fables in the tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, which is truly a beautiful fable and gave rise to the famous Russian ballet composed by Tchaikovsky.
“The Lost Reflection” and other foolish tales is a book that gifts us with one of the best writers of his time, E.T.A. Hoffmann, and is truly UNMISSABLE for any reader who enjoys very well-written stories.
I am immensely grateful to Editora Estação Liberdade for sending me the book, which provided me with a nostalgic and very pleasurable reading experience.
Jeffa Koontz
Literary Critic
www.sagaliteraria.com.br