In The Crime of Father Amaro, nineteenth-century Portuguese writer José Maria Eça de Queirós delivers a broad critique of the corruption and hypocrisy of the entire society. Father Amaro is a young, handsome priest assigned to the parish in the small city of Leiria. He and the religiously devout daughter Amélia of the house where he is a lodger fall for each other, amid many other improper goings-on among those who claim moral and social propriety. Although it did not inspire me to read with any urgency, I was content to let the story unfold with with unflinching unsentimentality and masterful juxtapositions of events and phrases. It must have been extremely controversial when it first came out, just like the 2002 Mexican film adaptation staring Gael García Bernal. Another good read off the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.

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