The Air You Breathe: A Novel

Using a common thread to tie the two little girls, Dores, an orphan working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation and Graça, the daughter of the house. But both have much in common: their nine-year old selves become fast friends despite it all: the plantation is remote and there aren’t many children around – so being the same age and enjoying many of the same things (even as Graça’s got far more exposure to the better life) are instantly a common ground to bond them. Soon however, they discover the music that winds itself through much of Brasilian life: the Samba. It is much like a ‘heartbeat’ of the people, one commonality in a world that epitomizes diversity from rich to poor, natives to newly arrived. Graça has a lovely voice, Dores is more connected to the rhythms and feelings the music brings to her heart, but the two are inexorably drawn to the Samba and their dreams to make their mark in Rio – the place to be noticed and gain fame. When Graça’s parents decide that she is to head off to boarding school, and takes Dores as her maid (as well-born girls do) they jump at the opportunity to make their own dreams come true, and run away without any solid plans or even a sense of where beyond Rio. From here the story becomes one of triumph and tragedy, dreams won and lost even as their friendship shows itself to be more codependent and competitive than one would expect from their earlier days together. But as people grow older, perhaps it is the positions adopted and learned at birth that inform your behaviors and relationships later on. And they did achieve and find success, and tumult on their path – even as they gained fame, accolades and even love along the way. The writing in this book is lyrical, there is a beat evident in the words, almost an omnipresent shimmer as the story unfolds: from quiet moments of joyous little girls abandoning themselves to friendship and fun to the more calculated and ‘task specific’ music that they create together throughout their long association. Narrated in Dores’ voice, we see the conflicts as they unfold, from segregation of dark and lighter members of the band into separate hotels in their venture to Hollywood, with the desire that Dores has to be recognized as an integral member, even as her position from all one may see is in the background, as the composer, most don’t see the hours and inspirations that bring the music, only those who bring it to them for their dance and enjoyment. Truly a struggle of loyalty and honoring what they had together, the story is engaging, engrossing and unlike anything I’ve ever read before: allowing understanding and perhaps a sense of the people born to the music of Samba. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I was engrossed with this book from beginning to end. As a musician, I rarely have patience for the way that people write about music, but I felt that this narrative really got it right. The joys and hardships that come from devoting your life to music, the soulful connections and petty jealousies, the compromises you make to advance your career, the sometimes crippling dependence on the opinions of others. Through it all, the characters are propelled through a politically complex landscape, trying to remain aloof but nonetheless affected by cultural stereotypes, racism, and subject to the meat grinder that is the entertainment business. I loved the poetry of the writing, the apt metaphors, the frank and non-judgemental sexuality, and the lyrical passages that draw you into the world of samba and let you feel that you mighty even join the roda.