So excited to share this review just in from NPR! Reviewer Lily Meyer declares that the “historical epic” is a “glorious, glittery saga of friendship and loss” and admits that it may have ousted her former favorite beach read from its top spot, as it offers “murder, extortion, Hollywood glamor, the entire story of samba, and, of course, sexual longing and an exceptional cast of characters.” She agrees with previous critics, noting the plot’s “total interconnectedness, the likes of which I last found in Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend.”
She has a complaint, and I understand where she is coming from, saying how “the writing, often perfect, can get a bit too glittery,” maybe even corny at times. But what I love about this criticism is that she understands that, ultimately, this stems from the narrator’s sincerity and her deep vulnerability. (And my own flaw as a writer, too, but I’m working to be better. Always striving to be a better writer, and critiques like this help me.)
The reviewer concludes: “who wants to read a restrained novel about a fictional Carmen Miranda? For what possible reason would somebody write a spare, symbolic tale about a woman who wears neck-grazing rhinestone earrings shaped like planes? I wouldn't read that book. I read The Air You Breathe in two nights. (One might say I inhaled it.) Not only does it suit the novel to be corny, its corniness makes it complete…More novels should be sincere. More novels should risk too-big claims, or take one plot turn too many. The Air You Breathe is genuinely exciting to watch.” She concludes that the novel is her “new gold standard now.”
