THE SIMPLE ART OF KILLING A WOMAN

A Brazilian lawyer bears witness to the flaws in her country’s justice system, especially regarding the murder of Indigenous women.

The young, unnamed narrator has traveled to a remote Amazonian border town to participate in a research project for her firm, taking notes on the trials of men accused of killing Indigenous women. The trip is well-timed as her lover, Amir, has turned abusive, and she is acutely aware of how abuse escalates; her own mother was killed by her father when she was a child. From a distance, she is more able to contemplate these experiences as part of a larger pattern of abuse and femicide in Brazil. Three wealthy young men are on trial for the gruesome rape and murder of Txupira, a 14-year-old Indigenous girl. The narrator witnesses the defense attorney meeting with three jurors in the middle of the night during the trial, and after this proof of corruption is publicized in the newspapers, the editor dies under suspicious circumstances. A friend introduces her to his mother's Indigenous community, which welcomes her and helps her recall more details of the night her mother died. Each chapter begins with the description of a woman being murdered by a man in her life as part of the research notebook the narrator is assembling, and as the violence continues, she decides to fight back by publishing the stories. Brazilian author Melo weaves together crime, magical realism, mythology, and social criticism in this relevant and urgent translation from the Portuguese by Lewis. Though the subject is horrifying, especially in the details about marred and dismembered victims, the narrator’s voice is captivating and compelling, offering strength and purpose rather than despair.

A deeply affecting novel illuminating the costs of being a woman in a dangerous, misogynistic society.