Book Review: Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia Zoë Perry (Translator)

 Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia (Zoe Perry Translator)

 99 pages, Paperback
Published April, 2023 by Charco Press (First published in Brazil in 2013)

I don't remember how I found this book. It showed up in my library holds, and I vaguely remembered that the author was compared to a Brazilian Cormac McCarthy. The comparison to an excellent and yet deeply masculine writer was interesting, but considering the topic and title, this vegan was a bit worried about the subject matter. It certainly was dark and triggered me many times. I actually don´t want to think about what it says about someone who is not triggered by this story.

McCarthy is a good comparison here. Dark, unsettling story about working-class farmhands in rural Brazil. Maia certainly invokes a dark countryside not unlike McCarthy’s Appalachia, more brutally depicted in Child of God.  It is the story of a slaughterhouse, and as you read, you can feel the heat, sweat, and almost smell the sour rot of death. I am already of the opinion that these are places of nightmare, and since I have not eaten animals in decades, maybe this hits me differently.

The prose translated by Zoe Perry is very well composed; it makes for a weird contrast. The novella is beautifully written, but disgusting and awful in setting and events.

Edgar, the main character, is thoughtful but…

“What's it like killing cattle all day long? Don't you think this is murder? Don't you think slaughtering these animals is a crime?”

Edgar turns towards the voice and comes face to face with a pair of eyes with dilated pupils protected by thick, red-rimmed glasses. The young woman, dressed in a long skirt and a white down blouse, constantly makes notes in a black notebook. Edgar looks at her two-tone, black and brown leather shoes. They have a silver buckle on the side, they're delicate and clean, he thinks of Vera Gun's daughter, who needs glasses for her bad eyes

“I do.”

What does it mean that the character we follow or are meant to empathize with is just fine with casual murder? It is not just cattle but the river, and the planet. They know it.

“Death is laying waste to the river,” says Bronco Gill, evoking his ancestors with a little prayer, mumbling softly. “It's like a curse. A very evil spirit walks in these waters,” he concludes.

I was glad that the novel reminded readers that they play a role. If you eat me, it is your dollars that force men like Edgar to pull the trigger.

“Somebody’s got to do the dirty work. Other people’s dirty work. Nobody wants to do that sort of thing. That’s why God put guys like you and me on this earth.”

He is OK with that, and that was hard for me to read. This novella is not preachy, but it hits the truth. It is my review that was preachy. Those are the moments that stand out to me. This book reminded me that I want to be clear. Meat is murder.