Book, Bury Your Dead[LS]

A skillful mix of detective novel, horror western and philosophical novel, written by one of the most original voices in contemporary Brazilian literature. Edgar Wilson is “a simple man who gets things done.” He works at the body responsible for collecting dead animals on roads and taking them to a warehouse where they are crushed in a large grinder. His professional colleague, Tomás, is a former priest excommunicated by the Catholic Church who distributes extreme unction to the dying victims of fatal accidents who cross his path. Edgar Wilson's routine, absurd in its peacefulness, is changed when he comes across the body of a woman hanging in the woods. When he discovers that the police do not have the resources to collect him - the hearse is broken -, the employee is unable to leave him at the mercy of the vultures and decides to clandestinely tow the corpse to the warehouse, where he keeps it in an old freezer, waiting. of a police officer who, when he arrives, cannot resolve the situation. In the coming days, the improvised bier will receive yet another find from Wilson, the laconic hero of this desolate Kafkaesque novel: this time the body of a man. Accustomed to living with brutality, Edgar and Tomás are not shaken by death, but they know the border, which they travel daily, between good and evil, man and animal. While Tomás strives to save his soul, Edgar worries about the carcasses of those who cross his path. Therefore, the two decide to put a dignified end to those unfortunate corpses. In their attempt to return them to the course of normality, a fugitive word in the universe that Ana Paula Maia masterfully constructs, the two dead animal removers will learn about the unhealthy fate of their fellow creatures. With dry language, which mimics the roads along which the novel unfolds, the author raises existential questions that are difficult to resolve. The result is an unusual mix of philosophical romance and western that reveals Maia's powerful literary project. “Neither from the soul nor from the heart. Ana Paula Maia’s characters suffer from their liver.” — O Estado de S. Paulo “You need to understand a lot about fiction, reality and the representation of reality to be able to write like this.” — O Globo “Ana Paula finds, amidst the most repulsive maneuvers, the mythical tone of a biblical curse, disguised in surface popism.” —Rolling Stone Brazil