The Devil to Pay in the Backlands

work by Guimarães Rosa

Also known as: “Grande sertão: veredas”

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July 19, 2026

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The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (Grande Sertão: Veredas) is a monumental novel by Brazilian author João Guimarães Rosa. Published in 1956, it is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian literature.1

The novel is set in the sertão, the Brazilian hinterland, and draws heavily on the oral traditions of its people. It explores the conflicts and challenges faced by backlanders as their isolated rural society grapples with the transition to a modern, urban world. Rosa's innovative prose style revitalized Brazilian fiction in the mid-20th century. The work is an epic narrative that firmly established Guimarães Rosa's international reputation.1

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Brazilian literature
The novel
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands), his 600-page epic masterpiece on honour, courage, love, and treachery that takes the form of a first-person monologue by a backlands outlaw who makes a pact with the Devil to gain revenge.
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The Devil to Pay in the Backlands), his 600-page epic masterpiece on honour, courage, love, and treachery that takes the form of a first-person monologue by a backlands outlaw who makes a pact with the Devil to gain revenge.
Read More