Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
The Air You Breathe is the story of Dores and Graça, brought together by their separate roles on a sugar plantation in rural Brazil (Doris a servant and Graça the daughter of the plantation owner) who quickly become inseparable in their shared love for radio and music. Spirited Graça soon finds a way to move both girls from dull plantation life to the infinitely colorful Lapa neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. There the girls become an early part of Brazil's Samba movement, which propels them, specifically Graça to unthought of fame.
This book is so much more than the synopsis, though. The historical context of the book is immersive, and the unhealthy codependency of the pair is the true undercurrent of the entire plot, as the girls who were thick as thieves slowly fall apart, both as a pair and individually. The writing is beautiful and you really feel the emotion as told through both context and song.
This book is so much more than the synopsis, though. The historical context of the book is immersive, and the unhealthy codependency of the pair is the true undercurrent of the entire plot, as the girls who were thick as thieves slowly fall apart, both as a pair and individually. The writing is beautiful and you really feel the emotion as told through both context and song.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Lots to love about this. First the characters. We first meet Dores and Graca when they are young girls . Dores is orphaned and illegitimate and works as a kitchen maid. Graca is the daughter of the plantation owner. The two develop an unlikely friendship, one that is intense and not always healthy. We follow them from the isolated rural plantation, to a Catholic boarding school, to the mean city streets and eventually to Hollywood. these two are fully rounded, believable and we see them faults and all. Their relatiinship is a complex case of love-hate, both trying to measure themselves against the other, not always liking the other, but feeling they couldn't survive alone.The settings felt rich, evocative and well-drawn. I love being taken into worlds I'd never otherwise experience and I especially loved the insights into the Brazilian samba scene. The political history was lightly and deftly drawn in. I also liked the structure - the main chapters follow Dores and Graca from childhood to adulthood but these are interspersed with shorter sections narrated by Dores as an older woman. Eventually past and present come together. A satisfying read on every level.
The Air You Breathe is a love story of the friendship between Dores and Graca, who first meet as children on the plantation of Graca's family. The story is told by Dores, an orphaned kitchen girl who is somewhere between slave and servant, and who adores the selfish, privileged, self-centered Graca who takes insatiably. The story follows them to a boarding school then Rio, where they make their way into the world of music. Their friendship is complex and evolves through the book though their bond never breaks. Graca is an infuriating character, but works well in the book, as de Pontes Peebles carefully weaves toward and away from her so she never becomes too overwhelming a presence. I found this book to be a remarkable work and felt I learned a bit about 1930s-40s Brazil while being completely drawn into the story of these two friends. I'm already looking for de Pontes Peebles' backlist, as I think her writing is marvelous. I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I won a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I really enjoyed the book. I was completely swept into the story of Dores and Graça. There’s is a story of friendship, love, betrayal, and stardom that comes with a cost. Also, I like to learn when I read, and I learned a lot about Brazil and the history of samba music, which I found really interesting. I’ve heard this book compared to My Brilliant Friend, and I think it’s a fair comparison. If you liked that series, I think you’ll enjoy this book too.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I did such a bad job of reading it last year! 🙈 I usually stick to books set during WWII, so The Air You Breathe was...well. It was literally a breath of fresh air. Yes, I went there.
I’ve never read a book set in Brazil and my goodness. I could see everything I was reading! We begin in the 1930’s and witness an unlikely friendship develop between Graça, the daughter of a sugar baron, and Dores, an orphan working on the sugar plantation. Together, they discover samba and run away to Rio de Janiero. While their friendship is tumultuous at times, the two girls inevitably find themselves drawn back to each other.
The lyrics of the songs the women wrote were thoughtfully placed between chapters, giving a bit of emotional insight. The writing itself was rather lyrical as well - at nearly 500 pages, the size was intimidating but the story never felt too long or drawn out.
I read this book using the trifecta: physical copy, ebook, and audio. I just couldn’t put it down! The audio was SO beneficial, as I would have completely butchered many names and words throughout the book. Portuguese is NOT Spanish, y’all.
I would love to see this made into a movie. It would be gorgeous and so moving! And special thanks to @sixminutesforme for letting me borrow the book!
I’ve never read a book set in Brazil and my goodness. I could see everything I was reading! We begin in the 1930’s and witness an unlikely friendship develop between Graça, the daughter of a sugar baron, and Dores, an orphan working on the sugar plantation. Together, they discover samba and run away to Rio de Janiero. While their friendship is tumultuous at times, the two girls inevitably find themselves drawn back to each other.
The lyrics of the songs the women wrote were thoughtfully placed between chapters, giving a bit of emotional insight. The writing itself was rather lyrical as well - at nearly 500 pages, the size was intimidating but the story never felt too long or drawn out.
I read this book using the trifecta: physical copy, ebook, and audio. I just couldn’t put it down! The audio was SO beneficial, as I would have completely butchered many names and words throughout the book. Portuguese is NOT Spanish, y’all.
I would love to see this made into a movie. It would be gorgeous and so moving! And special thanks to @sixminutesforme for letting me borrow the book!
Probably closer to a 4.5, really.
I am very surprised at how swept up in this book I ended up being! It's kind of a hefty book, and it doesn't feel like much is happening, but the whole time you feel like you're there with Dores and Graca. My plan was to try and finish this book this weekend, but that subway commute and my desire to keep going meant that I finished it today. Wild. I think it's kind of common now to explore female friendships or whatever, but I thought that Graca and Dores were so electric and dynamic and fascinating. It kind of reminds me of My Brilliant Friend, but not totally. I feel like this one is gonna stay with me for a while.
Truly, I worship at the altar of Riverhead, their editors have incredible taste in books.
I am very surprised at how swept up in this book I ended up being! It's kind of a hefty book, and it doesn't feel like much is happening, but the whole time you feel like you're there with Dores and Graca. My plan was to try and finish this book this weekend, but that subway commute and my desire to keep going meant that I finished it today. Wild. I think it's kind of common now to explore female friendships or whatever, but I thought that Graca and Dores were so electric and dynamic and fascinating. It kind of reminds me of My Brilliant Friend, but not totally. I feel like this one is gonna stay with me for a while.
Truly, I worship at the altar of Riverhead, their editors have incredible taste in books.
“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.”
For some reason I was under the impression that this book was about a beautiful and healthy friendship between women. I was so wrong. It’s about a toxic relationship between friends. For once my refusal to look at reviews before reading a book has worked against me.
I have mixed feelings about this book. If I had known what it was truly about I would have never picked it up. I don’t enjoy books that are nothing but heartache and misery. And my like or dislike of a book is strongly tied to how I feel about the characters. I saw where this story was going early on and so it took me longer than it should to read it because I kept putting it aside because the characters actions frustrated me to no end. If you’re a fan of emotional rollercoasters then this is the book for you. I no longer have the patience for all the drama.
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.”
For some reason I was under the impression that this book was about a beautiful and healthy friendship between women. I was so wrong. It’s about a toxic relationship between friends. For once my refusal to look at reviews before reading a book has worked against me.
I have mixed feelings about this book. If I had known what it was truly about I would have never picked it up. I don’t enjoy books that are nothing but heartache and misery. And my like or dislike of a book is strongly tied to how I feel about the characters. I saw where this story was going early on and so it took me longer than it should to read it because I kept putting it aside because the characters actions frustrated me to no end. If you’re a fan of emotional rollercoasters then this is the book for you. I no longer have the patience for all the drama.
Ay Dores! Your pain and endurance were etched in every word you shared in this enthralling tale. I know that this was written by Frances de Pontes Peebles but it felt like Dores was so real. I hated having to pause the book and miss out on the tale that Dores was sharing. It felt so important to capture every word of her enigmatic life. I will admit that in the beginning, I felt the story was going slowly, I wanted it to pick up its pace but once it did it never lost its momentum. The beginning was crucial in understanding the foundation that made up Dores and Graça, the experiences that united them and the differences that truly put them on separate paths in how they understood life. This is a book about friendship, put through so many challenges and obstacles. It is a love story, unlike anything I’ve read before because of how entangled it was with a deep and toxic friendship. I had never read a book set in Brazil and I loved that as I followed Dores and Graça's journey I was also able to glimpse important historical events that were sprinkled in the background. To my curious mind, this sprinkling led to searches as to what was going on in that time period.
Dores comes from nothing, all her life she has been made aware of how unwanted she is, while Graça is a spoiled brat, the daughter of a despondent sugar baron. They both seek to escape a life that pigeonholes them when all they want is to make music. While Dores is able to find escape with Graça, she is also overshadowed by her enormous ego. There are instances where we are shown that Graça has low self-esteem that she hides behind her vanity but it’s truly not enough to engender sympathy, especially when we follow Dores’ trajectory. Time again we see Dores having to take a step back to allow the spotlight to fall of her friend. I’m saying a lot but there’s so much that comes bursting from my heart when it comes to this amazing book. I fell in love with the words that Peebles shared. This story swooped me up and has had a claim on me ever since I read it. Dores is the storyteller of this book, she is a wonderful guide that takes us to her childhood, through her struggles trying to make it with her band, through Hollywood, to an event that changed the course of her life, tinged the rest of it and how she coped after this. The songs that interspersed this story felt so real and I could feel them vibrating within my heart. It’s magic that an author is able to do this. It’s not just a transportation of your mind but of your whole body. Your body feels the beat, while the songs reverberate in your ears. I highly recommend you read this!
Dores comes from nothing, all her life she has been made aware of how unwanted she is, while Graça is a spoiled brat, the daughter of a despondent sugar baron. They both seek to escape a life that pigeonholes them when all they want is to make music. While Dores is able to find escape with Graça, she is also overshadowed by her enormous ego. There are instances where we are shown that Graça has low self-esteem that she hides behind her vanity but it’s truly not enough to engender sympathy, especially when we follow Dores’ trajectory. Time again we see Dores having to take a step back to allow the spotlight to fall of her friend. I’m saying a lot but there’s so much that comes bursting from my heart when it comes to this amazing book. I fell in love with the words that Peebles shared. This story swooped me up and has had a claim on me ever since I read it. Dores is the storyteller of this book, she is a wonderful guide that takes us to her childhood, through her struggles trying to make it with her band, through Hollywood, to an event that changed the course of her life, tinged the rest of it and how she coped after this. The songs that interspersed this story felt so real and I could feel them vibrating within my heart. It’s magic that an author is able to do this. It’s not just a transportation of your mind but of your whole body. Your body feels the beat, while the songs reverberate in your ears. I highly recommend you read this!
Music weaves itself throughout this book and settles into your bones as you read. I think it’s really the star. But the plot is about two girls, one an orphan, and the other a rich girl who grow up together on a plantation in Brazil. They both love to sing, Dores is the practical, smart one and Graça, the impulsive dreamer. The book is told from the present Dores and in flashbacks of their childhood and fame. I really liked the ambience of the story more than the characters per say. Good read!