Slum (2000)

A Rio tenement becomes a whole social world, full of work, desire, money and neighbours watching one another. Azevedo's crowded movement gives the building as much force as any individual ambition. Read David H. Rosenthal's translation, in the Oxford edition. Published in 1890, this is also a novel to argue with: its racial and environmental assumptions belong inside the discussion, rather than being accepted as neutral explanations of its characters.