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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles is such a wonderful book. It mainly centers around the friendship between two young girls who grow up on a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil, and it follows them as they grow and pursue their shared dream of becoming musicians. Everything about this book is simply beautiful: the writing, the character development, the complex relationships, the settings…and of course, as a Brazilian woman myself, I loved that it mostly takes place in my home country (I don’t usually find many books set in Brazil, so this book was particularly special to me). It’s a lovely novel—I highly, highly recommend it.
It is quite a beautiful story told slowly. It skips back and forth through the timeline and gives hints of what will happen next. The main character, Dores, is bisexual and starts out poor and a servant. She loves her best friend, Graça, who is the Little Miss of the plantation. Jealousy runs both ways as either girl has what the other wants. Their journey takes us from place to place and from one extreme to the other; but, always reminds us where they came from.
It was not fast moving but for some reason I did get in to it and wanted to keep moving ahead in their story.
Dolores and Graca are growing up in Brazil - one a poor girl working on a sugar plantation and the other a "Little Miss" (daughter of the plantation owner). When they become friends, Dolores is plucked from her responsibilities in the kitchen to be a companion to Graca, where she experiences things she never dreamed of. They hatch a plan to run away together and become famous singers. Spanning several decades, The Air You Breathe jumps back and forth from the story of Dolores & Graca to Dolores as an old woman reflecting on her life.
I loved this book! I was so invested in their story and I loved reading about a time period and location that I don't typically find in the historical fiction novels I pick up. Their life on the sugar plantation, and of course their life as they try to become famous singers, was so interesting. I found the characters to be rich and complex. I kept trying to picture who I would cast in a movie or miniseries about the story. All in all, a great read that I would recommend for any lovers of historical fiction!
I loved this book! I was so invested in their story and I loved reading about a time period and location that I don't typically find in the historical fiction novels I pick up. Their life on the sugar plantation, and of course their life as they try to become famous singers, was so interesting. I found the characters to be rich and complex. I kept trying to picture who I would cast in a movie or miniseries about the story. All in all, a great read that I would recommend for any lovers of historical fiction!
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide
Minor: Racism
This book was glorious. It was a beautiful read, that made you feel the hopefulness and melancholy of the story. I couldn’t stop reading it, and wish I still had more to read.
I enjoyed some of the historical and cultural elements of this novel, but the plot got tedious and boring. I struggled through the last 200 pages, basically skim reading the last 100 pages.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
What an incredible book! It spoke to me, deeply and viscerally. A beautiful, complicated story of friendship, love and loss. Aww shucks I’m going to go and cry my heart out.
It was an enjoyable book, I especially like the part before Senhora Pimentel died!