The Poor (Os Pobres, 1906), by Portuguese author Raul Brandao is a powerful tribute to the underclasses. Innovative thematically and stylistically, the novel consists of loosely connected vignettes on two narrative levels: the lives of prostitutes, where the inexorable need for love is transformed into a means for survival; and the life of Gebo, a seemingly slovenly man, with neither sentiment nor intelligence. Instead, as he searches tirelessly for work and loves his daughter and wife with tenderness and constancy he is revealed as a victim of the economic situation in Portugal. With...