Product Description
"An evocative panorama of America...on the cusp of enormous change" (Newsday) by the National Book Award-winning author of Ship Fever.

In the fall of 1916, America prepares for war—but in the community of Tamarack Lake, the focus is on the sick. Wealthy tubercular patients live in private cure cottages; charity patients, mainly immigrants, fill the large public sanatorium. Prisoners of routine, they take solace in gossip, rumor, and—sometimes—secret attachments. But when the well-meaning efforts of one enterprising patient lead to a tragic accident and a terrible betrayal, the war comes home, bringing with it a surge of anti-immigrant prejudice and vigilante sentiment. Reading group guide included.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 13 reviews)

Skillful and enticing work

Andrea Barrett is a new writer for me, but not for thousands of others. Her book, Ship Fever, won the National Book Award. She has a wonderful ability to combine fascinating scientific facts with an intriguing story line.

The Air We Breathe takes place in 1916, just before our entry into WWI. The protagonist, Leo Marburg, is a guest of the state of New York in a tuberculosis sanatorium on the hill overlooking the village of Tamarack Lake. We are reminded that the cure for TB at that time was rest and fresh, brisk air and that X-rays were new medical miracles.

The area is one where the wealthy guest lived in private "cure cottages," and the poor, many of the recent immigrants, in the sanatorium. In an effort to enlighten the ignorant poor, one of the wealthy guests begins a weekly discussion group which ultimately draws not only patients, but staff and doctors as well.

As the country moves inexorably towards war, there is a general paranoia about foreign spies and trade unions. Those who are ill, staff, especially two young and bright women, and doctors weave entangled relationships built on fact and fantasy. Within the tale, we learn of the development of radiology, including dangers unknown at the inception of the science.

Barrett is a fine writer who creates sympathetic characters and draws us into their lives and their times. I will look for more of her skillful and enticing work

by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
September 30, 2008

Whose voice is this anyway?

Refreshing to step out of the modern world and into a sanitorium for indigent TB patients in upstate New York at the start of World War I. Forced into inactivity by the prevailing wisdom on TB treatments --keep 'em 1) flat on their backs to promote blood flow to the infected lungs, 2) calm, and 3) outdoors as much as possible-- this diverse group of immigrants turns to the world of their minds to pass the long hours. No surprise that their human relationships are equally diverting and ultimately destructive to the residents and staff.

The story, unfortunately, becomes tedious and confusing at times. I kept hoping that the narrator --a female patient perhaps?-- would soon step out of the background and bring the plot back to clarity and interest. Alas, this never happened, and once again I was left wondering why I don't just borrow books from the library instead of buying them.
March 08, 2008

"We" loved this book!

I've always been curious about the TB sanatorium of the early 20th century. The legality of government enforced quarantine and the effectiveness of the treatment on the individual and the rest of the country all came to my mind when the Aids epidemic first hit in the 1980's. Barrett gives us all a wonderfully realized look inside such a place. The scientific detail was fascinating and the characters were, for the most part, admirable and very sympathetic, in spite of their human failings in the end.

The book is written in the collective "we" representing the entire community. The reader observes the action as one of the group without being one of the main characters. This unusual point of view is reason alone to read this original novel. Altogether a "don't miss this" book.
March 01, 2008

Great character development and a logical story.

I purchased this book during the week after its release in October and put it on a shelf so that I could read other books first. The Air We Breath by Andrea Barrett was worth the wait.

Set during the years immediately before WWI, The Air We Breath is a wonderful example of a plot that builds slowly and pays great attention to the characters that live in the story. In places the story crawls and in others you can barely hold on. The fire that destroys one of the sanatoriums is a case in point. Friction between Naomi and Miles, and the crush she has on Leo also adds to the tension in the book.

The book is also an interesting study into class relations. Seeing how the less fortunate patients see the world through eyes that are a bit fatalistic is a wonderful contrast to the way Miles sees the world and how he chooses to interact. Miles development of the Wednesday afternoon gatherings at another house is a case in point.

If you've read Barretts earlier works Voyage of the Narwhal, Ship Fever, Servants of the Map then you know what a strong writer she is. The Air We Breath, while set differently and a little less adventurous is a fitting addition to her body of work.

Barrett is a terrific spinner of tales that demand the attention of the reader.

February 01, 2008

What a disappointment

I was so excited to begin reading this book. I was equally excited to finish it. It began nowhere, and it ended nowhere with many pages in between. I love the Adirondacks. I love reading about history. I love a good novel. Unfortunately this book did nothing to help me enjoy any of the above. I didn't care about any of the characters. The story was so loosely woven that I had to struggle to pick up the book to finish it.
It is as though the author was trying desperately to write using a new literary device and she didn't care if the book "worked" or not. I felt like I was back in school and I was being forced to read a bad piece of poetry. I wanted so much to like it.
January 15, 2008

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