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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
DNF after 250 pages. It was just too slow for me.
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
My Takeaway
"Her beauty was not a physical trait. Her beauty was an influence you fell under . . . infusing you with bravery and wit and affability that you never knew existed inside yourself until she coaxed it out."
Frances de Pontes Peebles, The Air You Breathe
The Air You Breathe was a burst of fresh air, lots of samba, vivid scenes, and strong female characters. After the first couple of chapters, the extraordinary lives of Dores and Graça took off! Though from extremely different backgrounds (one poor, the other rich), Dores and Graça forged a remarkable friendship. As a reader, and through Dores's perspective, I experienced the numerous ups and downs of their fierce friendship. There were truly some memorable parts and characters (loved Madame Lucifer). At one point or another, I was disappointed by Graça's behavior and actions, but the same goes for Dores (they both tested my patience!). This was a lovely historical novel kind of based on the lives of Chavela Vargas and Carmen Miranda. Peebles's writing and music made me feel I was in Brazil dancing samba. I would absolutely love for The Air You Breathe to be adapted into a film (enviando sinais para Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington). This book was the December selection from the wonderful and diverse book club @LitonHSt. I was fortunate to meet Peebles at our book club and yes, it was amazing. :-)
Thank you to Edelweiss and Riverhead Books for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.
My Takeaway
"Her beauty was not a physical trait. Her beauty was an influence you fell under . . . infusing you with bravery and wit and affability that you never knew existed inside yourself until she coaxed it out."
Frances de Pontes Peebles, The Air You Breathe
The Air You Breathe was a burst of fresh air, lots of samba, vivid scenes, and strong female characters. After the first couple of chapters, the extraordinary lives of Dores and Graça took off! Though from extremely different backgrounds (one poor, the other rich), Dores and Graça forged a remarkable friendship. As a reader, and through Dores's perspective, I experienced the numerous ups and downs of their fierce friendship. There were truly some memorable parts and characters (loved Madame Lucifer). At one point or another, I was disappointed by Graça's behavior and actions, but the same goes for Dores (they both tested my patience!). This was a lovely historical novel kind of based on the lives of Chavela Vargas and Carmen Miranda. Peebles's writing and music made me feel I was in Brazil dancing samba. I would absolutely love for The Air You Breathe to be adapted into a film (enviando sinais para Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington). This book was the December selection from the wonderful and diverse book club @LitonHSt. I was fortunate to meet Peebles at our book club and yes, it was amazing. :-)
Thank you to Edelweiss and Riverhead Books for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed this - bitter, addictive characters and seemingly impossible circumstances? Sign me up! I can’t remember the last book I read that was set (mostly) in Brazil, so that was really cool! I got major Evelyn Hugo vibes, definitely a read-alike for those looking for a similar tone and plot line.
I liked the parallel structure with the songs paired by chapter; I just wish the chapters were a bit shorter. Overall, a great read!
I liked the parallel structure with the songs paired by chapter; I just wish the chapters were a bit shorter. Overall, a great read!
4.25/5 Stars.
It's only fitting that a book that centers around music, around sambas and rodas, the drive to create and perform and the feeling it leaves you with, has such a beautiful lyrical quality to it. I loved watching Dores and Graca grow up together, to see the intertwined, dependent, and frustrating relationship the two had. I don't think I actually liked any of the characters, but the flaws weren't there for the sake of having flawed characters -- they were there because that's what the story is about.
It's only fitting that a book that centers around music, around sambas and rodas, the drive to create and perform and the feeling it leaves you with, has such a beautiful lyrical quality to it. I loved watching Dores and Graca grow up together, to see the intertwined, dependent, and frustrating relationship the two had. I don't think I actually liked any of the characters, but the flaws weren't there for the sake of having flawed characters -- they were there because that's what the story is about.
Holy crap, this book WRECKED me. When I started, I didn't like this book, I found it dry and not interesting but once the book got going (no spoilers but once they reached about 15 years old), I fell in love.
This is the story of a close female friendship, two young women tied together by their love for music. Graza and Dores have a unique relationship that borders on romance, friendship, and hatred. We watch them grow up throughout their young adulthood. The story is just remarkable, told from Dores in old age. The reader learns that Graza has died but not how, only that it wrecked Dores.
This is an epic story and I was here for it.
This is the story of a close female friendship, two young women tied together by their love for music. Graza and Dores have a unique relationship that borders on romance, friendship, and hatred. We watch them grow up throughout their young adulthood. The story is just remarkable, told from Dores in old age. The reader learns that Graza has died but not how, only that it wrecked Dores.
This is an epic story and I was here for it.
This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.
Confession: I received a copy of this book back in July, before it was even published (through First to Read), and JUST NOW read it. Embarrassing. I mean, I realize you can’t always keep up with what you plan. But I really have no excuse for it other than just not picking it up sooner. Ah well, you win some, you lose some. And I figure better late than never, right?
The Air You Breathe follow Dores, an orphaned girl working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil, and Graça, the daughter of a sugar baron who moves to the plantation. Despite the fact that the girls are wildly different, and from wildly different backgrounds, they bond over a shared discovery and love of music. Graça has a naturally better voice, while Dores is the one that can hear words in the melodies and writes the lyrics that match. But what objectively should be a natural pairing is often not as smooth as it would seem. And although throughout their lives the intimacy of their relationship is what pushes each of them forwards, it also remains competitive and volatile in a way that could, and sometimes does, hold them back.
To be honest, this book started in a way that makes me very nervous. The “old woman looking back from current day into the past” is an opening/structure that, at least for me, feels overused. It also usually injects an intense level of foreshadowing (past-shadowing?) into the story-telling that, since it usually takes all book to build to that twist/shock in the past, ends up feeling overdone for what that eventual “big event” actually is. In this case, the present-day elderly lady POV sections learned more introspective and philosophical than anything else, which helped mitigate that effect. But overall I still felt like the build-up leading into Graça’s tragedy made it seem too predictable. On the flip side, I did love that each time we moved into a new “section” of the story, with a reflection from current day to start before jumping back into the meat of the story in the past, it began with a set of sing lyrics that Dores wrote. It was really cool to see what samba lyrics actually look/flow like. And I enjoyed that each set of lyrics premeditated and reflected, topically and emotionally, the part of the story we were about to get. As for the writing in general, it was very smooth and smart. And though, at times, I felt like the pacing was a little too slow (and the story dragged a bit at times because of this), and didn’t seem to speed up no matter how invested in the story I got (which was a strange experience for me), I didn’t hate the extra time spent reading the author’s writing.
As far as the history and music are concerned, I found this book fascinating. I knew literally nothing about samba going into the book, but I feel like I’m coming out of it with real knowledge about its importance and place in Brazilian culture. I also learned quite a bit about the more general traditional and cultural landscape in Brazil before, during and after WWII. Although there is actually little to nothing in the book about the war itself, as far as the plot or our characters are concerned, it’s affects on the atmosphere of the country (and in the way it reacts to our characters after they spend time in America) are more central themes. I felt similarly about the political aspects of Brazil. I didn’t come away with a clear timeline or ideological understanding of Brazilian politics during the time, I do have a better feel for things based on the way our characters were affected/treated. It was actually a really unique person-based way to demonstrate the day-to-day reality of things. It’s also very self-centered, but I think that fits the overall larger themes and personalities perfectly, so I liked that choice.
Finally, and naturally most importantly, the relationship between Dores and Graça. It was the center stage of this novel from beginning to end and, as is natural and expected for a book of this length, was wonderfully intricate. From the very beginning they are on uneven footing, with Dores being an orphan and house servant, while Graça is the spoiled daughter of the family Dores works for. The tension is there from day one, but also the fascination and, as the only two girls/children of that age around the house, a natural companionship. Graça pushes boundaries and breaks rules from the beginning, and Dores, many times, has no choice but to support her (though is not shy about voiceing her concerns). It’s a dynamic that continues into adulthood. Graça is the one with the big hopes and dreams, always wanting more, while Dores would be content to be content. But Dores’ admiration, loyalty and love for Graça end up meaning she stands behind her, quietly cleaning up messes and keeping them both afloat (sometimes with extreme measures). The interdependence that develops between them advances to an absurd, unhealthy degree. Graça wouldn’t actually survive without Dores, while Dores would never have even come close to the kind of freedoms and success (and joy) that she experienced in her life without Graça. Both think they are single-handedly propping up the other without any recognition/gratitude from the other. And both are incredibly, and not subtly (except perhaps to themselves), jealous of what the other has. Honestly, it was mesmerizing to read how deep into this intertwined hole they fell together, to the exclusion, really, of all other people and, at times, of reality. And yet, through it all, they created an icon, brought samba to the world, and lived a bigger life than Dores ever would have thought possible. A life that neither truly appreciated until it was too late to really do so.
This is a story of a gloriously complex relationship between two women who both need each other more than anything, yet simultaneously wish it wasn’t so. And it’s an ode to music, to samba, the music of a culture, of a nation. It’s deep and sweeping, while remaining close and personal. If you like books that you can sink your teeth into, that you can lose yourself in the pages of, then put this one on your list.
“How incredible then that, despite the precariousness of my existence, despite the coarseness and violence that always threatened to suffocate me, there was this beauty, this grace, that had found me through music, and that no on could take from me.”
“When we are young, we give ourselves completely. We allow our first friends or first lovers or first songs inside us, to become part of our unformed being, without ever thinking of the consequences, or of their permanence within us. This is one of the beauties of youth, and one of its burdens.”
“Can something be called a memory if it is untrue?”
“We all take for granted / things that come too easily. / That’s why I can’t let you go - / you’re always a challenge to me. / Here’s my vow to you, here’s all I believe: / For you I’ll stay invisible. I’ll be the air you breathe.”
“Being a woman is always a performance; only the very old and very young are allowed to bow out of it. The rest must play our parts with vigor but seemingly without effort. Our bodies must be forms molded to fit the requirements of our times: pinched, dyed, squeezed, injected, powdered, snipped, sloughed, moisturized, fed or unfed, and on and on, until such costumes seem innate. Everywhere, you are observed and assessed: walking down the street, riding the bus, driving a car, eating in a café. You must smile, but not too widely. You must be pleasant, but not forward. You must accommodate and ingratiate but never offer too much of yourself, and never for your own pleasure. If you do this, it must be secret. Any deviance from this role has the potential for disaster […] If you think I am exaggerating, or that I am trapped in a harsh past and times have changed, then listen carefukly to what I am telling you now: when you have no power in this world you must create your own, you must adapt to your environment and try to foil the many dangers around you […] The performance may cripple us, but it keeps us alive.”
“You can’t disappear if you’ve never existed.”
“Samba in the roda had mirth but it wasn’t a party; it was a lament. When you play samba in the roda you laugh at your own misery. You and your loneliness hold hands and traipse through the music, in awe of how pathetic and glorious you both are.”
“Try to trace samba back and you will find no on origin. Try to inventory its key players, and you will never have enough room on your list. Samba came from masters and slaves, from parlors and slums, from cities and plantations, from men and women. […] Samba does not abide simplification and neither should people.”
“A star is nothing more, nothing less, than the public face of private desire.”
“For some it’s easier to imagine death than to face the person who the choices and burdens of life have forced you to become. But death robs us of many things, including the chance to redeem ourselves.”
“We are all beautiful in our youth. And we are all forgiven. In the roda, there are no grudges that can’t be put aside, no wounds that can’t be healed. Music is the greatest kind of reciprocity. For a taut string to make sound, it must be pulled from its stillness. The musician plucks the string, and the string expands as it strives to return to its original place. And in this return is vibration, and in this vibration is sound. A song couldn’t exist without first having stillness. Music couldn’t exist without a steady disruption, and a continuous return to what was, and what can be.”
Confession: I received a copy of this book back in July, before it was even published (through First to Read), and JUST NOW read it. Embarrassing. I mean, I realize you can’t always keep up with what you plan. But I really have no excuse for it other than just not picking it up sooner. Ah well, you win some, you lose some. And I figure better late than never, right?
The Air You Breathe follow Dores, an orphaned girl working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil, and Graça, the daughter of a sugar baron who moves to the plantation. Despite the fact that the girls are wildly different, and from wildly different backgrounds, they bond over a shared discovery and love of music. Graça has a naturally better voice, while Dores is the one that can hear words in the melodies and writes the lyrics that match. But what objectively should be a natural pairing is often not as smooth as it would seem. And although throughout their lives the intimacy of their relationship is what pushes each of them forwards, it also remains competitive and volatile in a way that could, and sometimes does, hold them back.
To be honest, this book started in a way that makes me very nervous. The “old woman looking back from current day into the past” is an opening/structure that, at least for me, feels overused. It also usually injects an intense level of foreshadowing (past-shadowing?) into the story-telling that, since it usually takes all book to build to that twist/shock in the past, ends up feeling overdone for what that eventual “big event” actually is. In this case, the present-day elderly lady POV sections learned more introspective and philosophical than anything else, which helped mitigate that effect. But overall I still felt like the build-up leading into Graça’s tragedy made it seem too predictable. On the flip side, I did love that each time we moved into a new “section” of the story, with a reflection from current day to start before jumping back into the meat of the story in the past, it began with a set of sing lyrics that Dores wrote. It was really cool to see what samba lyrics actually look/flow like. And I enjoyed that each set of lyrics premeditated and reflected, topically and emotionally, the part of the story we were about to get. As for the writing in general, it was very smooth and smart. And though, at times, I felt like the pacing was a little too slow (and the story dragged a bit at times because of this), and didn’t seem to speed up no matter how invested in the story I got (which was a strange experience for me), I didn’t hate the extra time spent reading the author’s writing.
As far as the history and music are concerned, I found this book fascinating. I knew literally nothing about samba going into the book, but I feel like I’m coming out of it with real knowledge about its importance and place in Brazilian culture. I also learned quite a bit about the more general traditional and cultural landscape in Brazil before, during and after WWII. Although there is actually little to nothing in the book about the war itself, as far as the plot or our characters are concerned, it’s affects on the atmosphere of the country (and in the way it reacts to our characters after they spend time in America) are more central themes. I felt similarly about the political aspects of Brazil. I didn’t come away with a clear timeline or ideological understanding of Brazilian politics during the time, I do have a better feel for things based on the way our characters were affected/treated. It was actually a really unique person-based way to demonstrate the day-to-day reality of things. It’s also very self-centered, but I think that fits the overall larger themes and personalities perfectly, so I liked that choice.
Finally, and naturally most importantly, the relationship between Dores and Graça. It was the center stage of this novel from beginning to end and, as is natural and expected for a book of this length, was wonderfully intricate. From the very beginning they are on uneven footing, with Dores being an orphan and house servant, while Graça is the spoiled daughter of the family Dores works for. The tension is there from day one, but also the fascination and, as the only two girls/children of that age around the house, a natural companionship. Graça pushes boundaries and breaks rules from the beginning, and Dores, many times, has no choice but to support her (though is not shy about voiceing her concerns). It’s a dynamic that continues into adulthood. Graça is the one with the big hopes and dreams, always wanting more, while Dores would be content to be content. But Dores’ admiration, loyalty and love for Graça end up meaning she stands behind her, quietly cleaning up messes and keeping them both afloat (sometimes with extreme measures). The interdependence that develops between them advances to an absurd, unhealthy degree. Graça wouldn’t actually survive without Dores, while Dores would never have even come close to the kind of freedoms and success (and joy) that she experienced in her life without Graça. Both think they are single-handedly propping up the other without any recognition/gratitude from the other. And both are incredibly, and not subtly (except perhaps to themselves), jealous of what the other has. Honestly, it was mesmerizing to read how deep into this intertwined hole they fell together, to the exclusion, really, of all other people and, at times, of reality. And yet, through it all, they created an icon, brought samba to the world, and lived a bigger life than Dores ever would have thought possible. A life that neither truly appreciated until it was too late to really do so.
This is a story of a gloriously complex relationship between two women who both need each other more than anything, yet simultaneously wish it wasn’t so. And it’s an ode to music, to samba, the music of a culture, of a nation. It’s deep and sweeping, while remaining close and personal. If you like books that you can sink your teeth into, that you can lose yourself in the pages of, then put this one on your list.
“How incredible then that, despite the precariousness of my existence, despite the coarseness and violence that always threatened to suffocate me, there was this beauty, this grace, that had found me through music, and that no on could take from me.”
“When we are young, we give ourselves completely. We allow our first friends or first lovers or first songs inside us, to become part of our unformed being, without ever thinking of the consequences, or of their permanence within us. This is one of the beauties of youth, and one of its burdens.”
“Can something be called a memory if it is untrue?”
“We all take for granted / things that come too easily. / That’s why I can’t let you go - / you’re always a challenge to me. / Here’s my vow to you, here’s all I believe: / For you I’ll stay invisible. I’ll be the air you breathe.”
“Being a woman is always a performance; only the very old and very young are allowed to bow out of it. The rest must play our parts with vigor but seemingly without effort. Our bodies must be forms molded to fit the requirements of our times: pinched, dyed, squeezed, injected, powdered, snipped, sloughed, moisturized, fed or unfed, and on and on, until such costumes seem innate. Everywhere, you are observed and assessed: walking down the street, riding the bus, driving a car, eating in a café. You must smile, but not too widely. You must be pleasant, but not forward. You must accommodate and ingratiate but never offer too much of yourself, and never for your own pleasure. If you do this, it must be secret. Any deviance from this role has the potential for disaster […] If you think I am exaggerating, or that I am trapped in a harsh past and times have changed, then listen carefukly to what I am telling you now: when you have no power in this world you must create your own, you must adapt to your environment and try to foil the many dangers around you […] The performance may cripple us, but it keeps us alive.”
“You can’t disappear if you’ve never existed.”
“Samba in the roda had mirth but it wasn’t a party; it was a lament. When you play samba in the roda you laugh at your own misery. You and your loneliness hold hands and traipse through the music, in awe of how pathetic and glorious you both are.”
“Try to trace samba back and you will find no on origin. Try to inventory its key players, and you will never have enough room on your list. Samba came from masters and slaves, from parlors and slums, from cities and plantations, from men and women. […] Samba does not abide simplification and neither should people.”
“A star is nothing more, nothing less, than the public face of private desire.”
“For some it’s easier to imagine death than to face the person who the choices and burdens of life have forced you to become. But death robs us of many things, including the chance to redeem ourselves.”
“We are all beautiful in our youth. And we are all forgiven. In the roda, there are no grudges that can’t be put aside, no wounds that can’t be healed. Music is the greatest kind of reciprocity. For a taut string to make sound, it must be pulled from its stillness. The musician plucks the string, and the string expands as it strives to return to its original place. And in this return is vibration, and in this vibration is sound. A song couldn’t exist without first having stillness. Music couldn’t exist without a steady disruption, and a continuous return to what was, and what can be.”
In the genre of Elena Ferrantes Neapolitan novels but much better. Wonderful characters, beautiful writing. Musical in many ways. Highly recommend!
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.
3.5 stars
It is hard to write a review for this book. It is rich and beautiful and evocative. The atmosphere is lush and lyrical. I smelled and tasted and heard Brazil. I wanted to adore this book. But for all that is very good about this book, it also felt like it needed a tighter storyline. I don't mind slow story building but there were times when I wanted to tell this book to, GET THERE ALREADY. The ruminations began to bog the plot down and felt tedious. There isn't so much need to spell out each and every internal dialogue when the story is well done - and this one is. By adding so much narrative aside, I felt the characters were restricted, as though the reader is being directed how and what to think about them instead of letting the reader have the freedom to imagine and engage the characters on our own. Simply put, I wanted to get lost in the story and instead I was continually jerked out of it for editorial asides.
That said, the writing is so beautiful that will not hesitate to read more from Francis de Pontes Peebles. In fact, I look forward to her honing her skill and sharing more with the world. This book is a diamond in the rough for sure, but it still sparkles and shines.
It is hard to write a review for this book. It is rich and beautiful and evocative. The atmosphere is lush and lyrical. I smelled and tasted and heard Brazil. I wanted to adore this book. But for all that is very good about this book, it also felt like it needed a tighter storyline. I don't mind slow story building but there were times when I wanted to tell this book to, GET THERE ALREADY. The ruminations began to bog the plot down and felt tedious. There isn't so much need to spell out each and every internal dialogue when the story is well done - and this one is. By adding so much narrative aside, I felt the characters were restricted, as though the reader is being directed how and what to think about them instead of letting the reader have the freedom to imagine and engage the characters on our own. Simply put, I wanted to get lost in the story and instead I was continually jerked out of it for editorial asides.
That said, the writing is so beautiful that will not hesitate to read more from Francis de Pontes Peebles. In fact, I look forward to her honing her skill and sharing more with the world. This book is a diamond in the rough for sure, but it still sparkles and shines.
"When we are young, we give ourselves completely. We allow our first friends or first lovers or first songs inside us, to become a part of our unformed being, without ever thinking of the consequences, or of their permanence within us. This is one of the beauties of youth, and one of its burdens."
A rapturous, heartbreaking book that captivated me as soon as I began. THE AIR YOU BREATHE is the story of Dor and Graca, two girls who forge a friendship on a sugar cane plantation in 1930s Brazil—one an orphan who works in the kitchen, the other the daughter of the new plantation owner that moves in. Theirs is a complicated friendship, a complex love as they explore life, music, and fame together.
I love books about intense friendships between women, and this one enthralled me. I had a lot of intense friendships when I was younger, but I also kept having to move due to being a military kid. Perhaps my love for these storylines is because I never saw these friendships age, though there are always pieces that stayed with me. It's funny that my closest friend now is the one I met my senior year of high school, the last time the military dictated where I lived.
Peebles' prose shines as she regales the reader about the birth of samba music in Lapa, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. The lyrical writing matches the heartbeat that music provides to the proceedings. The story is told through Dor, the quiet songwriter to Graca's attention-seeking singer. She provides a wistful, melancholy narrator looking back at her life as an old woman. Through her I learned so much about Brazilian history, samba music, and the range of forms that love can take. The end devastated.
A rapturous, heartbreaking book that captivated me as soon as I began. THE AIR YOU BREATHE is the story of Dor and Graca, two girls who forge a friendship on a sugar cane plantation in 1930s Brazil—one an orphan who works in the kitchen, the other the daughter of the new plantation owner that moves in. Theirs is a complicated friendship, a complex love as they explore life, music, and fame together.
I love books about intense friendships between women, and this one enthralled me. I had a lot of intense friendships when I was younger, but I also kept having to move due to being a military kid. Perhaps my love for these storylines is because I never saw these friendships age, though there are always pieces that stayed with me. It's funny that my closest friend now is the one I met my senior year of high school, the last time the military dictated where I lived.
Peebles' prose shines as she regales the reader about the birth of samba music in Lapa, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. The lyrical writing matches the heartbeat that music provides to the proceedings. The story is told through Dor, the quiet songwriter to Graca's attention-seeking singer. She provides a wistful, melancholy narrator looking back at her life as an old woman. Through her I learned so much about Brazilian history, samba music, and the range of forms that love can take. The end devastated.