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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Like the Samba this book is written around, the lives of Graca and Dores are woven together through fierce love and competition. The blending of unlikely friends is brought to life through music, and an almost toxic bond that leads them from a family sugar plantation in northern Brazil, to a school led by nuns in Recife, down to Rio where their careers as singer and songwriter finally take off, to the United States where Graca becomes a famous star, and back to Rio again where their world comes spiraling to an end. Mixed in were a cast of characters that fed off of the love-hate relationship Graca and Dores shared, and the lyrics to their songs, which so deeply connected to the lives they were living.
An atmospheric coming of age story of two friends in Brazil. One rich, one poor and all drama! It definitely reminded me of the My Brilliant Friend series by Elena Ferrante but with a Brazilian flavor instead of Italian. I really enjoy books that span a character's lifetime and this book definitely feels like you accompany Dores in her life's journey. The descriptions of the sugar plantations, the Lapa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro and old Hollywood were so vibrant - was easy to imagine all these places. And the music! Samba, samba, samba. It was a great background soundtrack to the book. Wonderful historical fiction , I definitely recommend!
Rating: 3.5 stars
My Thoughts:
- It was hard for me to rate this book. I really liked it but I think it was too long. Definitely could have been a lot shorter and at times I didn’t grab me to the point that I wanted to keep listening. It took me 22 days to listen to 16 hours of the audiobook. It definitely is a book that is very descriptive and takes you in a very long journey of Graça and Dor’s friendship. Since I was in between 3-4 stars I went with 3.5.
- The audiobook itself is great! The narration is amazing, I could listen to her talk forever. I do wish she sang the songs instead of reading them but that’s just me asking for too much I think.
- The story starts in the 1930s in Brazil which was a different kind of historical fiction book and I enjoyed learning more about the time and the culture.
- To say the friendship between Graça and Dor is complicated is an understatement. I’ve enjoyed talking about this relationship as part of a buddy read and it was a good books to discuss.
- I loved the lyrics of the songs throughout the book! They were gorgeous and made me want to listen to samba music.
One of my favorite lyrics: “What would happen if I were to leave? No one notices the air they breathe”
My Thoughts:
- It was hard for me to rate this book. I really liked it but I think it was too long. Definitely could have been a lot shorter and at times I didn’t grab me to the point that I wanted to keep listening. It took me 22 days to listen to 16 hours of the audiobook. It definitely is a book that is very descriptive and takes you in a very long journey of Graça and Dor’s friendship. Since I was in between 3-4 stars I went with 3.5.
- The audiobook itself is great! The narration is amazing, I could listen to her talk forever. I do wish she sang the songs instead of reading them but that’s just me asking for too much I think.
- The story starts in the 1930s in Brazil which was a different kind of historical fiction book and I enjoyed learning more about the time and the culture.
- To say the friendship between Graça and Dor is complicated is an understatement. I’ve enjoyed talking about this relationship as part of a buddy read and it was a good books to discuss.
- I loved the lyrics of the songs throughout the book! They were gorgeous and made me want to listen to samba music.
One of my favorite lyrics: “What would happen if I were to leave? No one notices the air they breathe”
A solid novel, full of brazilian rhythms, pain, passion and fire. Main heroines, Graça and Dores, despite the difference in their social status, are both trapped by their predestined future, so it's only fitting that they break the system together. One sings like an angel and was born to be a star, the other deeply understands music and writes unique songs. Graça is (torturously) in love with herself, and Dores is (torturously) in love with Graça. It couldn't end well, could it?
It takes a lot to make a 450 page book a must read, because books just don’t need to be that long. I am, I suppose, a fan of more is more, but that’s more books, not more pages. This is a long way of saying: I get it. This is supposed to be an epic. The creation of a character’s detailed life, from start to finish. It was. And the writing was good. The history was good. But…I don’t think it earns the 450 pages on your TBR.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be edited down (although this is a book crying out for the option of an abridged version), but it’s a long, dense commitment and if you only read a handful of those a year this wouldn’t make the cut for me. It would make a fantastic movie, though.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be edited down (although this is a book crying out for the option of an abridged version), but it’s a long, dense commitment and if you only read a handful of those a year this wouldn’t make the cut for me. It would make a fantastic movie, though.
I had The Air You Breathe sitting on my TBR for a long time. I’m not sure why it took me so long, but I’m so glad I finally picked it up!
This was a sweeping and emotional tale of a complex friendship. It’s rich in setting and details that transport you to the time period. The beautiful prose added to the richness of this book. It took me a bit to get into it, as the book moves slowly in the beginning. It wasn’t long though until I was completely caught up in the complicated friendship between Graca and Dores. The Air You Breathe was a compelling book and for me, was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars.
This was a sweeping and emotional tale of a complex friendship. It’s rich in setting and details that transport you to the time period. The beautiful prose added to the richness of this book. It took me a bit to get into it, as the book moves slowly in the beginning. It wasn’t long though until I was completely caught up in the complicated friendship between Graca and Dores. The Air You Breathe was a compelling book and for me, was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars.
Good lord, I’m finally done reading this book. It took forever!!! It was well written, the story was good, but man did it drag on. I felt like there was no incentive to continue. I knew how it would end. There was nothing that made me get excited to pick it up and read every night.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
