Ana Paula Maia

After having worked in a few jobs related to these areas, she launched her debut novel, »O habitante das falhas subterrâneas« (tr: Inhabitant of the underground faults), in 2003. The book was very influenced by the classic »The catcher in the rye«, by J. D. Salinger, and its story was focused on the misfortunes of Ariel Esperanto, who, as well as Holden Caulfield, transits overwhelmingly through his adolescence and adult life. However, this influence did not last long and in her next novel, »A Guerra dos Bastardos« (2007; tr: War of the Bastards), Maia narrates a silent war that could take place in the underworld of any city. With this book, which was translated into Serbian in 2011, her cinematographic influences became more visible and comparing her style to Quentin Tarantino started to be usual. But it took her a few years to acquire an unique signature in her writing, which only happened in 2009, when the trilogy »A Saga dos Brutos« (tr: The brutes saga) came out. Composed by two short novels and a novel, the trilogy portrayed an ordinary man in a very innovative manner. Her narrative is full of excess and cruel realism. The three stories, »Entre rinhas de cachorros e porcos abatidos« (2009, tr: In between dogfights and slain pigs), »O trabalho sujo dos outros« (2009, tr: The dirty work of others), and Carvão animal« (2011, tr: Animal charcoal), basically discuss how the character of the human being can be shaped under the influence of the daily work and how the environment intervenes in the building of identities. Here, Maia’s heroes are workers living always on the fringe of society, tied to the ambiguities of their own duties and conditioned to their own choices. On the second half of 2013, she will be publishing her new work »De gados e homens« (tr: Of cattle and men), whose plot takes place in an abattoir where a weird change in the cattle behavior affects the lives of the all men.

The author also participates in various short story collection books both in Brazil and abroad. Ana Paula Maia lives in Rio de Janeiro.

O habitante das falhas subterrâneas

7 Letras

Rio de Janeiro, 2003

Entre rinhas de cachorros e porcos abatidos

Record

Rio de Janeiro, 2009

Carvão Animal

Record

Rio de Janeiro, 2011

Krieg der Bastarde

A1

München, 2013

[Ü: Wanda Jakob]