Our correspondent in São Paulo recommends six books about Brazil
A set of guides to take you beyond the football and the favelas
TOM JOBIM, a singer, once quipped that Brazil is not for beginners. It is larger than the contiguous United States and its population is more racially diverse. The country with the largest share of the Amazon rainforest is also home to a flooded desert and Swiss-style mountain resorts. There is far more to Brazil than the clichés that capture the common imagination—whether football or favelas. When presidential elections take place in October 2022, the world will become reacquainted with the polarisation of Brazil’s politics and the stubborn inequalities of its society. The following list of books introduces some of the characters who populate the sprawling, multi-faceted place. All are available in English.
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