In recent years, Brazil has experienced an accelerated process of democratic decline, loss of rights, and colonization of public space by right-wing extremist discourse. Literature has responded to this situation with works that portray political regression from different angles. This article discusses several novels that present this claim, observing how they embody the impasses, fears, and discomforts of the present: Gog Magog, by Patrícia Melo, published in 2017, shortly after the coup that removed President Dilma Rousseff from power, which discusses the increase in intolerance and violence; Verão tardio [Tardy Summer], by Luiz Ruffato, from 2019, after the presidential elections that brought an obscurantist candidate to power, which deals with the fraying of interpersonal relationships; Solução de dois Estados [Two-State solution], by Michel Laub, from 2021, which stages the polarization between antagonistic societal values; and O riso dos ratos [The laughter of rats], by Joca Reiners Terron, also from 2021, which proposes an allegory of the decline of civilization in Brazil. As a kind of counterpoint to the perspective of these authors, two works that deal with possible resistances are introduced: the novels A ocupação [The occupation], by Julián Fuks, from late 2019, and O som do rugido da onça [The sound of the roar of the jaguar], by Micheliny Verunschk, from 2021.