Of Cattle and Men

It’s August so that means it’s Women in Translation month, and this is the first of a few Charco Press books I aim to read this month.

It’s pretty much a given that anything that comes with a Charco Press label is going to be good, never had a bad one yet and this was no exception.

Set in an abattoir in rural Brazil where the river is so contaminated with blood that it turns red and salty and the air is heavy with repressed emotions and madness.

The main character we follow is Edgar Wilson, a stun operator at the abattoir, a man who is used to death and killing and takes all in his stride. Edgar knows he is damned and at times this book feels like he’s living through his damnation on earth. Edgar takes care in all he does, notices all that is going on around him and is calm at all points.

As we read on the descent into madness and chaos grows, with the cattle and men mirroring states and often indistinguishable. There is a very honest look into the meat industry and Edgar is exceptionally honest about it and his part in it.

That feeling of damnation whilst on earth and Man’s domination over nature has really strong old-fashioned Catholic vibes to it, as I said before Edgar knows he’s damned and has accepted this as his place as no matter how much forgiveness he received it wouldn’t be enough to wash away the stains on his soul.

Dark and claustrophobic in its relentlessness and closeness of space, the heaviness of the constant blood and fetidness of the miasma of death that surround everything and everyone.

A worthy winner of the Republic of Consciousness prize 2024 as if continues a tradition of the exploration of the dark side of humanity and our relationships with nature and our descent into those depths without shying away from the blood and shit that comes with it.