The Air We Breathe

This novel, written by Andrea Barrett, was selected as the One Read for Columbia this year. The story is written about a isolated community in the Adirondacks in northeastern New York state as the nation prepared to enter the theatre of the first World War. Individuals, suffering from tuberculosis, come to this town to breathe the crisp, clean air, hoping for a cure; virtually all the inhabitants of the town itself work either directly or indirectly for private cure cottages or the state-run sanatorium.

Most of the patients at the sanatorium are poor, working class immigrants, while those living in the cure cottages come from wealthier backgrounds and higher socio-economic status, as they are able to afford the more expensive care. In this quiet and seemingly unassuming novel, the patients at Tamarack Lake learn a new way of life: rest as much as possible, eat well, and breathe the healing air, in order that they might defeat the tuberculosis in their lungs. Because most of these individuals transitioned from a life of intense manual labor, crowded living conditions, and poor health care to this life of forced rest and relaxation, a intriguing lifestyle begins and cautious friendships form among those patients who are able to survive the persistent illness.

A new patient, Leo Marburg, arrives and begins to settle into the strictly enforced scheduled life at the sanatorium. Nearby, Miles Fairchild, a wealthy and somewhat self-indulgent patient at Mrs. Martin's cure cottage decides to begin interacting with those at the sanatorium by forming a Wednesday discussion group. Through the course of the group and after a tragic accident at the sanatorium, the changing relationships between patients, staff, and friends will affect the course of their lives more than they realize.

This novel is an excellent example of human nature- how we see our differences, how we connect through our similarities, and how our reactions are not always something of which we are proud and willing to admit. Specifically, the interaction and assumptions of the character of Miles Fairchild relating to other patients at the sanatorium reminded me of our suspicion, fear, and even utter dislike from those who are different than us. Miles' fear of the unknown and assumption of knowledge led to his judgement of innocent people. Their crime: being different. He considered the other patients beneath him and any foreign-born individual as a potential spy for the German and Russian forces, many times leading others on witch hunt-like searches for guilty parties based on the smallest of evidence. This novel at first may seem like a quiet, simple read, but the reader soon discovers the truths written throughout the pages.