“[A] glorious, glittery saga of friendship and loss… I read The Air You Breathe in two nights. (One might say I inhaled it.).” –NPR“Echoes of Elena Ferrante resound in this sumptuous saga.”–O, The Oprah Magazine“Enveloping…Peebles understands the shifting currents of female friendship, and she writes so vividly about samba that you close the book certain its heroine’s voices must exist … its heroine’s voices must exist beyond the page.” –People
The story of an intense female friendship fueled by affection, envy and pride–and each woman’s fear that she would be nothing without the other.
Some friendships, like romance, have the feeling of fate.
Skinny, nine-year-old orphaned Dores is working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil when in walks a girl who changes everything. Graça, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy sugar baron, is clever, well fed, pretty, and thrillingly ill behaved. Born to wildly different worlds, Dores and Graça quickly bond over shared mischief, and then, on a deeper level, over music.
One has a voice like a songbird; the other feels melodies in her soul and composes lyrics to match. Music will become their shared passion, the source of their partnership and their rivalry, and for each, the only way out of the life to which each was born. But only one of the two is destined to be a star. Their intimate, volatile bond will determine each of their fortunes–and haunt their memories.
Traveling from Brazil’s inland sugar plantations to the rowdy streets of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Lapa neighborhood, from Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood back to the irresistible drumbeat of home, The Air You Breathe unfurls a moving portrait of a lifelong friendship–its unparalleled rewards and lasting losses–and considers what we owe to the relationships that shape our lives.
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A passionate saga of friendship and love. I enjoyed the historic elements of the samba, the sugar cane plantation, and Brazil during 1930s. I highly recommend this novel. You won’t soon forget Dores, Graca, or the Blue Moon boys.
I loved getting to know Graça and Dores, two brave young women who leave the lives they were given behind in pursuit of the lives they desire. This novel has countless nuggets of wisdom that sneak up on you at the perfect moment… You’ll love this story of a lifelong friendship — and like me, you might find yourself looking back at the songs or people that first shaped you.
I was captivated by this narrator’s voice — wise with years of secrets, disappointments, and burning proximity to so much heat and light. And what a story she has to tell: an aching reminiscence of lives entwined by music, friendship, and longing. Vivid and unforgettable.
A luxuriant, lovely, utterly delicious book. It will transport you to a world that is half-magical, half-historical, deeply familiar, and wholly new. I couldn’t put it down.
My book club recenty read The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles and had a great discussion of its characters, setting, and themes.
This sweeping saga is filled with complicated characters in complicated relationships. It begins in the early 1930s sugar cane fields in Brazil and follows Gracia and Dores from childhood through the maturing of their personal and performing lives into late 1940s Hollywood. The plot was inspired by the life of Carmen Miranda and the history of samba music.
At 500+ pages, the novel immersed me in the Brazilian settings but was sometimes bogged down in excessive descriptions. Some of the most poignant writing was the song lyrics. The audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Mozo, is outstanding and I truly appreciated her expert pronunciation of several Portuguese names and words.
This was perfect to read on hot summer days with samba music playing in the background. Thanks to Omaha Public Library for having this title available to our group.
What a great story of two individuals who grew up together and the challenges + adventures they faced! I loved how it was written and fell in love with every character on some level.
I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and have been ruminating on it since, but ultimately, I’m just not a fan.
Dores is a 95-year-old woman, samba royalty of sorts, and the book opens with her reflecting on her life and especially the shadow of her greatest friend and also her rival (in music, love, and life), Graça. Graça, the readers learns (early and often) has been dead going on 70 years. The rest of the book fills in the pieces.
The two women met as girls, when Dores was a kitchen girl and Graça the spoiled only child of a wealthy sugar baron in early 20th century Brazil. Their friendship deepens through a series of shared misadventures and a love for music. Running away to Rio, they build new lives in Lapa, surrounded by a cast of likely (though, I’m sure, only too true to life) characters. Here, their fame grows and their rivalry deepens, as only one of them can fully become a star in the volatile years of dictatorship leading up to World War II.
The Air You Breathe is well-written, and Frances de Pontes Peebles does a remarkable job of capturing the zeitgeist of the era. Unfortunately, I didn’t like either Dores or Graça (I actually really, really disliked both of them). While it’s a credit to de Pontes Peebles that she created characters who evoked such strong feelings, it meant that reading was a bit of a slog, and I only finished it because, as much as the characters grated on me, I did enjoy reading about the time and place, which nearly jumped off the pages.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2019/04/the-air-you-breathe.html)
I had a hard time getting into this book and almost put it down. I did finish it and somewhat enjoyed the book. I found it depressing in parts and tedious in parts, yet something did keep me reading.
A young orphan working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation develops a friendship with the new owner’s daughter. This is the story of their too brief relationship as they share a life of music and samba in an often tumultuous atmosphere. I enjoyed the poetic expression in the storytelling that emanated from the emotion of the narrator/protagonist. An enjoyable book for those interested in the world of musical entertainment.
Too long. Needed a good editor.
It was a world I had not previously experienced. A fun journey despite the tears.
This is a hard story line that jumps from present to past. I thought it would be much more interesting and perhaps give insight to the culture of the time. I guess it may but it takes a turn into one girls obsession with the other that was disturbing to me. I didn’t make it 1/2 through the book and I put it down.
Kept my interest all the way through. Samba is felt, not just danced.
A subject that wasn’t familiar to me. Interesting characters.
Really enjoyed how the characters and story evolved.
Loved this book! A must read! I felt transported to Brazil and feeling what each of these characters were going through. Thank you!
Well written and insightful.
A glittering, beautiful story full of romance and intrigue and tragedy… hard to put down.
Sweeps you up like a fairytale, and although the characters are deep and real, the story keeps its breathless magic to the end, with transformations and journeys and bonds as entrancing as Graça and Dores themselves. An ambitious and consuming novel.
A masterfully choreographed saga of friendship, envy, sacrifice and love — as soulful, layered, and intoxicating as the samba that reverberates from the page.