Blood-Drenched Beard

Book excerpt: Blood-Drenched Beard is the gripping, visceral English-language debut from Daniel Galera. His father shoots himself, and all he's left with is the old cattle dog and a vague desire for explanation. He loves swimming so he drifts south to Garopaba, a quiet little town on the Brazilian coast, where his grandfather disappeared in mysterious, possibly brutal, circumstances decades before. There, in the midst of romantic flings and occasional trips, he comes to discover more than he could ever have imagined - not just about his grandfather, but also about himself. Praise for Daniel Galera: 'Outstandingly powerful'- Estado de Sao Paulo 'The writer who has evolved more than any other of his generation'- NoMinimo Daniel Galera was born in Sao Paulo in 1979. He co-founded the influential publishing house Livros do Mal, and has translated David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith and Irvine Welsh into Brazilian Portuguese. He has published a collection of short stories and three novels, as well as an acclaimed graphic novel (with Rafael Coutinho).