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jainabee's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I enjoyed this dazzling dive into a San Francisco of 100 years ago. The timeless beauty of The City comes alive through the dramas experienced by a fictionalized yet thoroughly convincing Dorothea Lange. Richly detailed and lively storytelling rekindles my passion for this fabled fogtown, and curious to seek out the dwindling relics of the times when artists, poets, and assorted oddballs could afford to live the Bohemian lifestyle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Racism, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Deportation, Trafficking, and Alcohol
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, War, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Ableism, Pedophilia, and Domestic abuse
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This is the story of photographer Dorothea Lange and her arrival in San Fransisco in 1918. She is robbed upon arrival and begins with nothing. In this story (the part fictionalized), she meets a bohemian named Caroline Lee who is half American half Chinese and hasn’t fit in anywhere. They become fast friends and create a fashionable life in Monkey Block. This book covers her life with artist Maynard Dixon and moments with artists like Frida Kahlo and Ansel Adams.
I feel like I have heard her name but I don’t know if I could have told someone much about her. I googled her while reading and am impressed by her photographs. So much history happens within these pages: descriptions of the San Fransisco fire, the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, the Jazz Age. I enjoyed learning about this history in San Fransisco as well as her (fictional) friendship with Caroline. Moments with Dixon were difficult because of his alcoholism and abuse. I was glad more of it seemed to focus on her friendships. In the back, there is a list of the characters that were real people and more about their lives. I might have liked to know more about her photography work that did become famous. There were parts I loved and couldn’t put down and other moments that dragged for me (but maybe because in October, I really prefer reading thrillers and spooky reads).
But I am glad I got to read this book with The Gloss and participate in her interview with them. I had not heard of this book and enjoyed it (and the cover is stunning).
“To take a truly good picture you have to learn to see, not just look. I once said a camera can teach you that, but the truth is that sometimes it only gets in the way.” P4
“I’ll sew you ten more of these skirts if you like, but you’d still be stuck with your idea of yourself. That’s what you’ve got to get rid of, wouldn’t you say?” P170
“I’d stop and gaze at the door, let myself feel the pain of never being able to go back, and I’d think of how it takes one kind of bravery to leave a place, and another kind to stay.” P289
“Strange how long you can stand a thing, only to reach a point where you know it has to end.” P290
“Stories are everywhere…Wherever there are people, there are stories to tell and pictures to make.” P292
“A portrait is many things: a document, a moment in time, a refuge for memory. But above all, it is the meeting of two people, the seer and the seen.” P294
I feel like I have heard her name but I don’t know if I could have told someone much about her. I googled her while reading and am impressed by her photographs. So much history happens within these pages: descriptions of the San Fransisco fire, the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, the Jazz Age. I enjoyed learning about this history in San Fransisco as well as her (fictional) friendship with Caroline. Moments with Dixon were difficult because of his alcoholism and abuse. I was glad more of it seemed to focus on her friendships. In the back, there is a list of the characters that were real people and more about their lives. I might have liked to know more about her photography work that did become famous. There were parts I loved and couldn’t put down and other moments that dragged for me (but maybe because in October, I really prefer reading thrillers and spooky reads).
But I am glad I got to read this book with The Gloss and participate in her interview with them. I had not heard of this book and enjoyed it (and the cover is stunning).
“To take a truly good picture you have to learn to see, not just look. I once said a camera can teach you that, but the truth is that sometimes it only gets in the way.” P4
“I’ll sew you ten more of these skirts if you like, but you’d still be stuck with your idea of yourself. That’s what you’ve got to get rid of, wouldn’t you say?” P170
“I’d stop and gaze at the door, let myself feel the pain of never being able to go back, and I’d think of how it takes one kind of bravery to leave a place, and another kind to stay.” P289
“Strange how long you can stand a thing, only to reach a point where you know it has to end.” P290
“Stories are everywhere…Wherever there are people, there are stories to tell and pictures to make.” P292
“A portrait is many things: a document, a moment in time, a refuge for memory. But above all, it is the meeting of two people, the seer and the seen.” P294
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape and Racial slurs
wrestleacademic's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcoholism
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