On Earth As It Is Beneath

Synopsis

Deep in the Brazilian wilderness, on land scarred by the legacy of slavery and violence, stands a remote penal colony where rehabilitation has long since given way to brutality. As the prison prepares to close, an even darker ritual emerges: on every full moon, the inmates are released into the surrounding forest while the warden hunts them for sport. Trapped between the horrors within the prison walls and the unknown dangers beyond them, each man must decide whether escape offers freedom or merely another form of death.

Spare, relentless, and hauntingly allegorical, On Earth As It Is Beneath is a powerful meditation on violence, punishment, and the enduring consequences of historical injustice. Ana Paula Maia combines the pace of a thriller with the moral force of literary fiction, crafting an unforgettable novel that examines humanity at its most brutal while asking what remains of justice in a world built upon cruelty. Shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize, it confirms Maia as one of Brazil's most compelling contemporary writers.

About the Author

Ana Paula Maia is an award-winning Brazilian novelist and screenwriter whose work explores violence, labour, and social exclusion through stark, poetic prose. Her novel Of Cattle and Men won the UK Republic of Consciousness Prize and the inaugural Cercador Prize for Literature in Translation. On Earth As It Is Beneath is translated from the Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan and was shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize.

Publisher
Charco Press

Publication Date
August 12, 2025

Format
Paperback

Pages
112

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Translated Fiction · Brazilian Literature · Psychological Fiction

ISBN
9781917260107