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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
It was ok but not one of my favorites. The novel centered on a female friendship between a sugar baron’s daughter, Graca, and an orphaned kitchen maid, Dores, who becomes her companion. The two run off in their early teens to become singers on the radio. Along the way, they help reinvent/invigorate Samba style music in Brazil. Although the novel is told from Dores’s perspective, Graca seems to be the sun around which all of the other characters revolve. I found it hard to like or be sympathetic to Graca. She was over the top in terms of selfishness and self-absorption, but at the same time exceedingly troubled and insecure. The novel focuses on themes of love, friendship, envy, pride, and greed. It also brings to life a shadier but more culturally vibrant neighborhood of Rio in the early 1900s. A cool drink and some Samba music will go a long way in helping appreciate this book as you read it.
Took awhile to get going as there is a lot of backstory and context, but it’s worth it to understand the depth of the characters you spend the rest of the book with. After the halfway point I was enthralled and didn’t want to stop reading. The end is tragic but a beautiful representation of how life really is. I enjoyed it and now feel sad to be leaving these characters and their story.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had a hard time getting into this book. I think it could have been about 100 pages shorter, but Dor's and Graca's tempestuous friendship is both infuriating and addictive. It convinced me to keep reading.
Beautifully written. This was ultimately a story about love in its many forms and loss, set in the backdrop of the rise-and-fall of a musical group; however, I loved the details about Samba and the Lapa neighborhood in Rio. There were parts of the story that needlessly dragged, but overall it was a good read. I also enjoyed this book's format - you know fairly early on how the story of "Sofia Salvador and the Blue Moon Boys" will end, but you still want to read further because you want to know the how and the why.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An enjoyable read that for some reason just didn't fully engage me. Nicely descriptive but the characters just didn't feel fully fleshed out enough for me.