Brazil! Just the name brings images to mind – maybe rainforests, beaches, music, or busy cities. It’s a country with such a huge personality, and so many authors have set incredible stories there.
I love reading books that transport me, and these novels really capture something special about Brazil, whether it’s the energy of Rio, the quiet struggles in the backlands, or even magical adventures.
If you’re looking for a story set in this amazing place, maybe one of these will be your next great read.
This book drops you right into the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. You follow kids like Rocket and Li’l Zé as they grow up surrounded by intense poverty and the constant threat of violence. Their lives twist around gangs and drugs; survival means making tough choices.
It’s a raw look at how environment shapes destiny.
Imagine this: Dona Flor is happily remarried to the steady, kind Dr. Teodoro after her first husband, the irresponsible but charming Vadinho, dies. Then, Vadinho comes back as a ghost only she can see, still full of life and desire!
It’s a funny, sensual story set in Bahia, full of local color, food, and the push and pull between respectability and passion.
This one takes you to the harsh Brazilian sertão, the backlands. Riobaldo, a former jagunço or mercenary, tells his life story. He reflects on brutal feuds, difficult loyalties, and a possible pact he made with the devil.
There’s also a deep, unspoken connection with his fellow fighter, Diadorim. The landscape itself feels like a character in this tale of inner conflict.
Another gem from Amado, this time in a small cocoa-growing town in the 1920s. Nacib, a bar owner, hires Gabriela, a migrant worker with a captivating spirit, as his cook. Her natural charm and way of life shake up the town’s old-fashioned ways just as it faces political changes.
You can almost smell the spices and feel the heat in this story about love and social shifts.
Jules Verne takes us on an adventure down the massive Amazon River. Joam Garral builds a giant raft to transport his family.
But the trip is more than just sightseeing; Joam was falsely accused of a crime years before, and evidence that could clear his name might surface during the journey. There are dangers from nature, encounters along the riverbanks, and the constant worry about the trial ahead.
Set back in the 17th century, this is a classic romance across cultures. Cecília is a young Portuguese noblewoman, and Peri is a brave warrior from the Guarani people. They fall in love amidst the dangers of colonial Brazil’s wilderness.
Peri becomes Cecília’s devoted protector against enemies, both human and natural. It’s a story about loyalty that explores the clashes of the era.
This poetic novel tells the tragic story of Iracema, a beautiful indigenous woman, and Martim, a Portuguese colonizer. Their love blossoms against the backdrop of early Brazil, but cultural differences and conflict create immense challenges.
Iracema becomes a symbol of the land and its transformation as two worlds collide. It’s considered a foundational story for the state of Ceará.
This book follows a poor family – Fabiano, his wife Vitória, their two sons, and their dog Baleia – as they trek through the drought-stricken Northeast of Brazil. They are constantly searching for work and a better life.
The story shifts perspectives between the family members, even the dog, which gives a heart-wrenching picture of their struggle against the harsh land and crushing poverty.
Meet Macabéa, a young woman from the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She’s poor, seemingly unremarkable, and works a dead-end job as a typist. Her life is filled with small, bleak details, like her diet of hot dogs. Yet, she has dreams.
The narrator, a writer named Rodrigo S.M., observes her with a strange mix of distance and empathy. It’s a short, intense book that stays with you.
This is a really intense, philosophical novel. G.H., a sculptor in Rio, decides to clean out her former maid’s room. Inside, she crushes a cockroach emerging from the wardrobe, and this shocking act triggers a profound existential crisis.
She spirals into deep thought about life, identity, God, and what it means to be human. It’s a challenging read but quite unique.
This book is wild! Macunaíma is called “the hero without any character.” Born in the Amazon jungle, he’s mischievous, lazy, and can magically change his shape. The story follows his chaotic journey, partly a quest to recover a lost magical amulet, through jungles and cities.
It pulls together Brazilian folklore, myths, and sharp social commentary in a funny, episodic way.
Updike tells a modern story inspired by the Tristan and Isolde legend. Tristão is a black street kid from Rio, and Isabel is a wealthy white girl. They fall deeply in love, which forces them to flee her disapproving family.
Their journey takes them across Brazil, through dangers and hardships, into landscapes both real and almost mythical. It’s a passionate story about love against the odds.
Young Carlos loses his mother and is sent to live on his grandfather’s sugarcane plantation. Through his innocent eyes, we see the routines, the strict social hierarchy, and the often harsh life of the engenho.
He observes the adult world, the sensuality, the decay of the old ways, and slowly loses his childhood innocence. It’s a strong portrait of a specific time and place in Brazil’s Northeast.
These are beloved Brazilian children’s classics! Imagine a farm where anything can happen. Dona Benta, the wise grandmother, reads stories to her curious granddaughter Lúcia (nicknamed Little Nose) and the cook Tia Nastácia.
They live with Emília, a talking doll made of cloth scraps with very strong opinions, and Visconde de Sabugosa, a learned corncob puppet. Characters from myths, legends, and history visit the farm for incredible adventures.
An old man lies in a hospital bed in Rio de Janeiro and tells his life story, or perhaps pieces of many stories. His memories drift across a century of Brazilian history, full of family secrets, grand passions, betrayals, and political changes.
Because his mind wanders and his memory might be unreliable, you piece together the truth from his fragmented, sometimes contradictory, accounts.
Although by a Peruvian author, this epic novel is set in 19th-century Brazil. It dramatizes the real Canudos War. A mysterious preacher known as the Counselor gathers thousands of followers in the backlands of Bahia.
They form a community, Canudos, separate from the new Brazilian Republic, which leads to a brutal conflict with the army. It’s a huge story with many characters – fanatics, soldiers, journalists, bandits – caught in a clash between faith and modernity.
This science fiction novel jumps between three different Brazils. There’s an 18th-century Jesuit priest chasing a heretic into the Amazon; a sharp, ambitious wheeler-dealer in present-day São Paulo; and a reality TV producer in a vibrant, chaotic Rio of 2036.
Their stories eventually connect through ideas about quantum physics, alternate realities, and the sheer energy of Brazilian life.
This historical novel takes us back to the 16th century. A French expedition aims to establish a colony in Brazil. Two orphaned children, Just and Colombe, are taken along to serve as interpreters with the indigenous people.
They find themselves caught between European ambitions, the unfamiliar world of the Tupinambá tribes, and the dangers of a contested land. It’s an adventure filled with cultural encounters and betrayals.
What if Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson visited Rio de Janeiro in 1886? In this funny mystery, Emperor Dom Pedro II invites the famous detective to Brazil to solve the theft of a valuable Stradivarius violin.
Soon, Holmes finds himself investigating gruesome murders that seem linked to Afro-Brazilian religious practices. Holmes tries to apply his London logic to the tropical heat and culture of Rio, with entertaining results.
Dr. Marina Singh works for a pharmaceutical company. She is sent deep into the Amazon rainforest to find out what happened to her colleague, who died researching a secretive fertility drug under the command of Marina’s formidable former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson.
Marina enters a world of dense jungle, hidden tribes, and ethical questions about science and discovery. The Amazon setting is incredibly powerful here.
A man finds himself wandering the streets of Porto Alegre one night with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He falls in with two unsettling companions who lead him through the city’s darker side, encountering strange situations and characters.
The story feels dreamlike and tense, as the man (and the reader) tries to figure out what’s real and what might be hallucination or nightmare.
This adventure story, aimed at younger readers but enjoyable for adults too, stars Alexander Cold. He’s a 15-year-old American boy sent to accompany his adventurous journalist grandmother on an expedition into the Amazon.
Their mission: to find a legendary giant creature known as the “Beast.” Alex meets a girl named Nadia and discovers hidden tribes, shamanic powers, and the deep secrets of the rainforest.
This book recounts the experiences of Jewish families who escaped Europe during World War II and found refuge in Brazil.
It focuses on their difficult journeys, the challenges of settling in a new country with a different language and culture, and their efforts to rebuild their lives. It tells stories of resilience and adaptation within the context of Brazil at that specific time.
Yes, the author of The Wizard of Oz wrote this adventure novel set in Brazil! It involves an American, Robert Harcliffe, who gets swept up in a fictional revolutionary plot to overthrow the Brazilian monarchy (though it echoes real historical tensions).
There’s action, espionage, and questions of loyalty as Robert navigates the political intrigue in this South American setting.
Linda, an American, moves to São Paulo with her husband Dennis, who is busy with his professorship. Feeling isolated and restless, Linda develops complicated relationships, particularly with Marta, the woman employed to help in their home.
Their interactions expose unspoken tensions about class, race, and desire. It’s a story about searching for connection and identity in an unfamiliar place.
This is a really imaginative and unusual novel. A strange, perpetually spinning sphere orbits the head of Kazumasa, a Japanese man living near the Brazilian rainforest.
Meanwhile, a mysterious black substance called Matacão is discovered on a farmer’s land, attracting corporations, pilgrims, and odd characters to the region.
It’s a satirical look at globalization, environmental issues, and belief systems, told through a cast of quirky characters.
Ludo grew up in a favela in São Paulo but was taken in and raised by a wealthy family. Now an adult, he lives a life of privilege but remains caught between two vastly different worlds.
He works for his adoptive father’s marketing company, but secrets and moral compromises beneath the surface of the city’s elite begin to trouble him. The book examines the stark social divides and Ludo’s struggle to understand his own place.