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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
“In life there are countless firsts and even more lasts. The firsts are easy to recognize; when you’ve never experienced something before - a kiss, a new style of music, a place, a drink, a food - you know exactly when you are encountering it for the first time. But lasts? Lasts nearly always surprise us. It’s only after they’ve disappeared that we realize we’ll never again have that particular moment or person or experience.”
I’m not going to lie, The Air You Breathe wasn’t exactly my favourite book. I found it to be somewhat slow moving and there wasn’t much of a plot. It was a general overview of the main character’s life.
However, I will say that this book was SO beautifully written. I highlighted and tabbed so many amazing quotes from this book and I do think it was worth reading for this alone!
I’m not going to lie, The Air You Breathe wasn’t exactly my favourite book. I found it to be somewhat slow moving and there wasn’t much of a plot. It was a general overview of the main character’s life.
However, I will say that this book was SO beautifully written. I highlighted and tabbed so many amazing quotes from this book and I do think it was worth reading for this alone!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
To have a life long friend is to share your greatest flaws and strengths. You cannot alter your past around them, as they were there to see it. Nobody else can judge you and forgive you quite like this person. This book was a beautiful portrayal of this powerful relationship both painful and empowering.
I won this in a giveaway and was really excited to read it. The story started slow for me but once the girls grew up, I got more interested in it and started to enjoy the book. It’s a story of an intense, long lasting friendship remembered by one of the characters as an older woman. Neither of the characters are perfect people and can be unlikable at times but I could appreciate how they stayed friends. The book is beautifully written with song lyrics in between chapters. I highlighted a lot of passages just because they were so well written and almost poetic. While slow in parts, it was an enjoyable read and I’d recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction.
I was drawn to this book because I'm an historical fiction fan and it is set in a place I had never read about: early 20th century Brazil. Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to be one of the first to read.
This is a story of a sometimes turbulent friendship through good times and bad. Orphaned Dores is raised in the plantation kitchen by the cook. She knows how to work, how to avoid going hungry: how to survive. Graca is the only child of the plantation owner who knows how to get whatever she wants. Being the same age, an unlikely friendship between the girls is struck. Graca's mother introduces them to music and the girls are bonded for life through music. Leaving home to follow Graca's dream of getting on stage, they discover the samba, a Brazilian musical genre and dance style, and the people and culture that embrace it.
What I most liked about the book was the music. (No, there is not a CD included, but there should at least be a link to online music.) Each chapter begins with the lyrics to an original samba song which beautifully introduce the events to come. Sit back, stream some samba music, grab a caipirinha beverage. and enjoy reading "The Air You Breathe."
This is a story of a sometimes turbulent friendship through good times and bad. Orphaned Dores is raised in the plantation kitchen by the cook. She knows how to work, how to avoid going hungry: how to survive. Graca is the only child of the plantation owner who knows how to get whatever she wants. Being the same age, an unlikely friendship between the girls is struck. Graca's mother introduces them to music and the girls are bonded for life through music. Leaving home to follow Graca's dream of getting on stage, they discover the samba, a Brazilian musical genre and dance style, and the people and culture that embrace it.
What I most liked about the book was the music. (No, there is not a CD included, but there should at least be a link to online music.) Each chapter begins with the lyrics to an original samba song which beautifully introduce the events to come. Sit back, stream some samba music, grab a caipirinha beverage. and enjoy reading "The Air You Breathe."
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another book that got lost in the chaos and I finally found it again. The characters pissed me off more often than not, and yet I was so completely invested in their journey. My copy has so many passages marked up. I really loved it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Racism, Vomit
This book is about a friendship, yes. But the beauty of it goes beyond what is said between the two female protagonists. I found myself comparing this to a more mature and less high school update of "A Separate Peace"--a story of two friends navigating friendships that were easy at first, but increased in complexity not just because the characters grow with time, but who they were from the beginning but failed to notice. It's was a great read to start my 2019 reading life.
This is a lovely and enthralling tale of friendship, love, envy and loss that starts in Brazil in the 1920's. It is narrated by Dores, an orphan in service to the family of Graca, on a sugar plantation. The girls are thrown together due to their isolation and age, and an intense friendship evolves. Their ties are cemented when they discover music, both girls are enraptured and determined to become singers. Graca is the traditional beauty, and her voice the more coveted. The book follows their lives as they escape a boarding school and struggle to earn a living. It explores beauty, (perceptions), music (samba in particular) and bonds of love and friendship. Enjoyed it all the way through.
4 Star Review!
The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles is the story of female friendship over a lifetime. Graca and Dores meet as children. One the spoiled daughter of a plantation owner and the other a orphan working in the kitchen of the plantation. As the years pass by they develop a friendship with one another. Though in many ways it is often a flawed and one-sided friendship, fraught with competition and rivalry.
I would compare this story to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Samba. I was swept into the story, and the world of these two young women as the navigated Brazil together and the world of music. Their friendship is by no means perfect. At several points I actually wished that Dores would let go of what she tried so hard to keep. Regardless, this story was a beautiful character study of these two women and the opportunities that came their way. I loved the format of the book, as Dores told their story both in present day and in through their past.
Read this book if you love history, music, and stories with strong female characters.
The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles is the story of female friendship over a lifetime. Graca and Dores meet as children. One the spoiled daughter of a plantation owner and the other a orphan working in the kitchen of the plantation. As the years pass by they develop a friendship with one another. Though in many ways it is often a flawed and one-sided friendship, fraught with competition and rivalry.
I would compare this story to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Samba. I was swept into the story, and the world of these two young women as the navigated Brazil together and the world of music. Their friendship is by no means perfect. At several points I actually wished that Dores would let go of what she tried so hard to keep. Regardless, this story was a beautiful character study of these two women and the opportunities that came their way. I loved the format of the book, as Dores told their story both in present day and in through their past.
Read this book if you love history, music, and stories with strong female characters.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes