The Slum
Alu¿sio Azevedo
A vivid and complex tale of passion and greed set in Brazil's slums, this acclaimed novel is universally regarded as one of the best portraits of Brazilian society ever written. Two intersecting story lines follow an immigrant landlord's quest for wealth and a dangerous love affair between two tenants. With realistic descriptions and archetypal situations, it is a deeply moving and hardscrabble novel that offers a poetic take on 19th-century naturalism.