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sareidle's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, and Vomit
jbridges99's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book as a GoodReads giveaway to review an advanced release copy. Thank you to Riverhead books for a chance to read and review this book. I loved this book -the setting, the characters, the story-telling were all excellent. The characters and story were very well-developed and I was engaged with them from start to finish. I enjoyed how the author gave us glimpses into the future as Dores narrated the story of her and Gracas life. Highly recommend this book! I'll be checking out more from this author.
namsmommy09's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a beautiful story of how music changed the lives of two girls (among others.) You follow them to boarding school and then after, the girls making a decision to follow their love of music. One of them becomes an icon, the other the "wind beneath her wings" to keep her going. Parts of it were heartbreaking, others were amusing and lighthearted. Loved it!
laurenslutsky's review against another edition
5.0
between 4-5 stars, read this while in Japan, loved parts of this story and writing.
jhallett's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
wiblitz's review
5.0
It would be impossible to discuss this book without mentioning that the character Sofia is loosely based on the life and career of Carmen Miranda. But don’t let that dissuade you as it being sensationalist historical fiction. This is quite a serious and an in-depth take that centralizes the relationship of two girls and childhood confidants who navigate show business and fame together. I always like to do more research after reading historical fiction to separate fact from fiction, but couldn’t find if Dores was was a real figure, although I’m guessing she was fictional.
It’s a fascinating story of coming up in the 1930s Rio samba scene. The author has so much context of the political scene, the hierarchy and social structure of the Lapa neighborhood where they build their music career and eventually of the Hollywood movie process and scene especially relating to non-American performers. She paints all of the details skillfully and manages to bounce around between years without it being confusing or causing whiplash.
This is such an interesting portrayal of fame and show business. As someone who has dabbled in acting, I love when pieces pull the curtain back and show the reality of set and especially the pitfalls of old Hollywood that often gets glamorized and painted with a brush of nostalgia. This portrayal pulls no punches and shows the racism, xenophobia and lack of real understanding of Latin America (blurring all the countries and cultures together by using a South American star to portray Latinas from different countries). It also shows the abuse of its stars and the way stars of that time were misunderstood, lonely and revered and worshipped but not appreciated. There was a cruelty and tragedy to that spotlight that can often get overlooked, as if once they became stars they were no longer people and could be treated as the public wished and discarded at a moments notice. There is a tragedy with triumph in this telling of Sofia Salvador’s story.
It’s definitely an involved read, which is why I think it sat in my shelf for years only partially read. It was difficult to get into, not because of the writing, but because it requires you to fully immerse yourself in the world. It is not one I recommend rotating between multiple other reads, as I used to do quite often, but rather one you have to commit to finishing, and commitment it is clocking in at 450 pages.
But the prose is beautiful and it’s a fully engrossing and vivid feat of storytelling. I have a feeling this story will stay with me for quite a bit.
*spoilers*
I warned you!!
This story also shows that sometimes the biggest stars were/are not the greatest people. I found Sofia/Graca to be very unlikable and it makes it hard to root for her. Yes, she is young when all of this happens (her death is at age 26). But she is portrayed as selfish, impulsive, rude, insecure, desperate, spiteful, and cruel. The final concert where she stole Vinicius and Dores’s songs and act felt unforgivable. Her only redeeming quality seems to be her talent, which led me to think, why her? Why is she the one deserving of fame? And is fame even something to be deserving of? Did she actually get what she deserved in the end? It’s also a reminder that some of the most enduring figures are not remembered for who they were as people but rather the few pieces of art they made and for the fact that they were famous. It’s some interesting things to think about.
I was a bit confused about the symbolism of the trees Dores mentioned towards the end. If the one growing and strangling the other tree until all was left was a husk. Was she saying that she was strangled by the enduring legacy of Graca? Or that she had strangled and suffocated Graca until she overtook her? I interpretated it as the latter which felt untrue for the events as I had seen them written. Perhaps the point is that Dores has a skewed perspective of the events? But that bit left more questions than answers and felt unnecessarily confusing.
It’s a fascinating story of coming up in the 1930s Rio samba scene. The author has so much context of the political scene, the hierarchy and social structure of the Lapa neighborhood where they build their music career and eventually of the Hollywood movie process and scene especially relating to non-American performers. She paints all of the details skillfully and manages to bounce around between years without it being confusing or causing whiplash.
This is such an interesting portrayal of fame and show business. As someone who has dabbled in acting, I love when pieces pull the curtain back and show the reality of set and especially the pitfalls of old Hollywood that often gets glamorized and painted with a brush of nostalgia. This portrayal pulls no punches and shows the racism, xenophobia and lack of real understanding of Latin America (blurring all the countries and cultures together by using a South American star to portray Latinas from different countries). It also shows the abuse of its stars and the way stars of that time were misunderstood, lonely and revered and worshipped but not appreciated. There was a cruelty and tragedy to that spotlight that can often get overlooked, as if once they became stars they were no longer people and could be treated as the public wished and discarded at a moments notice. There is a tragedy with triumph in this telling of Sofia Salvador’s story.
It’s definitely an involved read, which is why I think it sat in my shelf for years only partially read. It was difficult to get into, not because of the writing, but because it requires you to fully immerse yourself in the world. It is not one I recommend rotating between multiple other reads, as I used to do quite often, but rather one you have to commit to finishing, and commitment it is clocking in at 450 pages.
But the prose is beautiful and it’s a fully engrossing and vivid feat of storytelling. I have a feeling this story will stay with me for quite a bit.
*spoilers*
I warned you!!
This story also shows that sometimes the biggest stars were/are not the greatest people. I found Sofia/Graca to be very unlikable and it makes it hard to root for her. Yes, she is young when all of this happens (her death is at age 26). But she is portrayed as selfish, impulsive, rude, insecure, desperate, spiteful, and cruel. The final concert where she stole Vinicius and Dores’s songs and act felt unforgivable. Her only redeeming quality seems to be her talent, which led me to think, why her? Why is she the one deserving of fame? And is fame even something to be deserving of? Did she actually get what she deserved in the end? It’s also a reminder that some of the most enduring figures are not remembered for who they were as people but rather the few pieces of art they made and for the fact that they were famous. It’s some interesting things to think about.
I was a bit confused about the symbolism of the trees Dores mentioned towards the end. If the one growing and strangling the other tree until all was left was a husk. Was she saying that she was strangled by the enduring legacy of Graca? Or that she had strangled and suffocated Graca until she overtook her? I interpretated it as the latter which felt untrue for the events as I had seen them written. Perhaps the point is that Dores has a skewed perspective of the events? But that bit left more questions than answers and felt unnecessarily confusing.
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.75
This follows two Brazilian girls with two diverse minds/lives who somehow bond for life. Graça is spoiled rich plantation owner’s daughter who basically has never heard the word no. Dor is a kitchen girl who is “adopted” by the kitchen staff since she doesn’t have a permanent family to speak of. These girls discover they have a shot at making it with their singing and we follow them through their rise and fall. I know characters aren’t always meant to be likable but I truly couldn’t find anything redeeming about Graça. Dor was pitiful in the doormat behavior that festered on even as an adult. Yet despite the character flaws, the author does a wonderful job at highlighting parts of Brazilian history you don’t see pointed out in historical fiction so I appreciate this immensely. Speaking of the lgbtqi rep - I think Dor was possibly bisexual and I think Graça wasn’t but knew that Dor had feelings for her so used that to manipulate her a lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Homophobia and War
lydiam1003's review against another edition
4.0
This book takes you on a rags to riches journey but doesn't allow you to revel in its wealth. A heartbreaking story that forces you to examine what makes your existence a life well lived.
geisttull's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book. Took a while to get through it though.