{"product_id":"vastlands-the-crossing","title":"Vastlands: the Crossing","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY COLM TÓIBÍN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ebeguiling work of great literary beauty and metaphysical power' PAUL LYNCH\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'Dramatic, wildly colourful and continuously interesting' \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A veritable linguistic tour de force' MARIO VARGAS LLOSA\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn 1956, Brazilian author João Guimarães Rosa published what would become his magnum opus, \u003ci\u003eGrande Sertao: Veredas\u003c\/i\u003e. South American literary critics were astounded by this ground-breaking ode to the backlands of Brazil, declaring it the Brazilian \u003ci\u003eUlysses\u003c\/i\u003e. Guimarães Rosa's astounding work would take the Latin American literary world by storm.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Originally translated as \u003ci\u003eThe Devil to Pay in the Backlands\u003c\/i\u003e in 1963, \u003ci\u003eVastlands\u003c\/i\u003e is a single sweeping retrospective monologue from the point of view of Riobaldo, a former \u003ci\u003ejagunço\u003c\/i\u003e - a mercenary or bandit - recounting his life in the backlands of inland Brazil. Raised in poverty by a single mother, Riobaldo receives a basic education before forging his own path within the deeply embedded machismo of the backlands, buoyed by his incredible military abilities and sheer tenacity. His story is a twisting narrative of fraught longing and the flux of power in a lawless state, of old feuds and new betrayals, exiles, Faustian pacts and precarious hierarchy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eNow, over sixty years since its only English translation and seventy years since its initial publication in Portuguese, multi-award-winning literary translator Alison Entrekin renders Guimarães Rosa's feat of linguistic engineering in kaleidoscopic prose, offering the key to this beloved yet often-overlooked masterpiece to a new generation of readers.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Vastlands : The Crossing","offer_id":50811072872645,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/978-1-0372-1258-1.jpg?v=1793067434","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/vastlands-the-crossing","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}