''O Cortiço'' (titled in en, The Slum) is an influential Brazilian novel written in 1890 by

Aluísio Azevedo Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo (; 14 April 1857 – 21 January 1913) was a Brazilian novelist, caricaturist, diplomat, playwright and short story writer. Initially a Romantic writer, he would later adhere to the Naturalist movement. He ...

. The novel depicts a part of Brazil's culture in the late Nineteenth century, represented by a variety of colorful characters living in a single

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

. It is written with the intention of belonging to the

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

movement leaning towards Naturalism, much like Flaubert's

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities ...

. Azevedo's ''The Slum'' tells the stories of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and other European immigrants,

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

s, and former

African slaves Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean sl ...

living and working together in a single community. It explores the author's intensely naturalistic beliefs, having various characters being defined and changed by their environment, race and social position. Examples are: the division between the lackadaisical, yet passionate, mulattos and the hard-working, driven Portuguese immigrants, how the climate and culture of Brazil can slowly transform these immigrants' behavior in atavistic ways. In addition the role of women is a key theme, with all female characters in one way or another revealing their purpose in the slum. In 2013 the book became a Musical on Brazilian Broadway starring Gabriel Boni Rodrigues and Rafael Morelli. Today the play is with Daniel Tupauan and Christian Coronel.

Additional information

* 1890 novels Brazilian novels Naturalist novels {{1890s-novel-stub