What do you think?
Rate this book
Learning to See
At a time when women were supposed to keep the home fires burning, Dorothea Lange, creator of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, dares to be different. Now, in this riveting new novel by the author of The Other Alcott, we see the world through her eyes…
In 1918, a fearless twenty-two-year old arrives in bohemian San Francisco from the Northeast, determined to make her own way as an independent woman. Renaming herself Dorothea Lange she is soon the celebrated owner of the city’s most prestigious and stylish portrait studio and wife of the talented but volatile painter, Maynard Dixon.
By the early 1930s, as America’s economy collapses, her marriage founders and Dorothea must find ways to support her two young sons single-handedly. Determined to expose the horrific conditions of the nation’s poor, she takes to the road with her camera, creating images that inspire, reform, and define the era. And when the United States enters World War II, Dorothea chooses to confront another injustice—the incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans.
Learning to See is a gripping account of the ambitious woman behind the camera who risked everything for art, activism, and love. But her choices came at a steep price…
384 pages, ebook
First published January 22, 2019
431 people are currently reading
9391 people want to read
About the author
Elise Hooper
5 books890 followersA native New Englander, Elise spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting a MA and teaching high-school literature and history. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
Follow Elise on Instagram to see more of what she's reading: @elisehooper
Follow Elise on Instagram to see more of what she's reading: @elisehooper
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 448 reviews
May 1, 2020
“Whoever said curiosity killed the cat had it all wrong. Curiosity is what gives that cat nine lives. Curiosity is the key to living creatively.”
Curiosity, I would think, is the very makeup of a photojournalist’s being. Seeing something and being able to communicate it’s basest meaning to the masses through a picture is very powerful. LEARNING TO SEE, by Elise Hooper, is a call-to-action to those who feel moved by injustice.
This novel tells the story of Dorothea Lange, a former San Francisco portrait photographer turned photojournalist and activist. Her mission to tell others’ stories through photos began in the late 1920s and really took off with being a witness to the Great Depression, the great American migration West caused by the Dust Bowl and the Japanese internment camps from 1942-1945. Lange’s commitment to those souls and the telling of their stories exacted quite a personal price from her and her loved ones.
I admired the grit of Lange—a woman with no role model or mentor, but imbued with the determination to never quit no matter the cost. I learned a lot from this particular historical fiction, especially about the people with whom she was acquainted and friendly.
After finishing this book, I’m struck by the notion that today’s social media influencers have the opportunity to use their individual followings much in the way Lange used her photography to document injustice and affect powerful change to help those in need.
I definitely RECOMMEND this book with 5⭐️s. Hooper meticulously researched Lange; the ease of read and pacing of the story were just right. The last few pages included some of Lange’s photos which I am sure 1 or 2 will be most definitely recognized by the reader. This was such a treat!
My thanks to Elise Hooper, William Morrow and HarperCollins for my “Giveaway” copy to read in exchange for a shared review.
Curiosity, I would think, is the very makeup of a photojournalist’s being. Seeing something and being able to communicate it’s basest meaning to the masses through a picture is very powerful. LEARNING TO SEE, by Elise Hooper, is a call-to-action to those who feel moved by injustice.
This novel tells the story of Dorothea Lange, a former San Francisco portrait photographer turned photojournalist and activist. Her mission to tell others’ stories through photos began in the late 1920s and really took off with being a witness to the Great Depression, the great American migration West caused by the Dust Bowl and the Japanese internment camps from 1942-1945. Lange’s commitment to those souls and the telling of their stories exacted quite a personal price from her and her loved ones.
I admired the grit of Lange—a woman with no role model or mentor, but imbued with the determination to never quit no matter the cost. I learned a lot from this particular historical fiction, especially about the people with whom she was acquainted and friendly.
After finishing this book, I’m struck by the notion that today’s social media influencers have the opportunity to use their individual followings much in the way Lange used her photography to document injustice and affect powerful change to help those in need.
I definitely RECOMMEND this book with 5⭐️s. Hooper meticulously researched Lange; the ease of read and pacing of the story were just right. The last few pages included some of Lange’s photos which I am sure 1 or 2 will be most definitely recognized by the reader. This was such a treat!
My thanks to Elise Hooper, William Morrow and HarperCollins for my “Giveaway” copy to read in exchange for a shared review.
August 1, 2020
Learning to See tells the story of Dorothea Lange’s extraordinary life and her efforts to expose severe social injustices during the 1930s and 1940s. Lange spent the early years of her career in San Francisco as a portrait photographer. After her marriage begins to crumble and the U.S. economy collapses with the onset of the Great Depression, Lange must find a way to support her two young sons. She begins to travel around California capturing images of the Dust Bowl migrants and others who headed west during the 1930s transforming herself into an advocate and activist for the poor. After World War 2 began, Lange focused on the Japanese American internment camps exposing the horrific conditions under which these poor people were placed.
Dorothea Lange’s photographs from the Great Depression era and the Japanese American internment camps are iconic and part of the fabric of our culture. Hooper’s novel brings the woman behind those photos to life including the sacrifices she made personally to bring about social change for those less fortunate. I loved that Hooper includes some of Lange’s photographs at the end of the book. While I was familiar with some of them, there were several I had never seen before, and it was enthralling to pore over the photos and Hooper’s caption for each photo.
Learning to See is a tribute to an important American whose humanitarian efforts shone a spotlight on the poor and later the incarceration of Japanese Americans. The structure of the book is fabulous – Hooper begins in 1964 as Lange has received a letter from MoMA about launching a retrospective of her work and then travels back in time to tell Lange’s tale. I cannot say enough good things about Learning to See; Elise Hooper has written a book that every American should read about an important person and era in the history of the United States.
Listen to my podcast at https://www.thoughtsfromapage.com for fun author interviews. For more book reviews, check out my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/thoughtsfro....
Dorothea Lange’s photographs from the Great Depression era and the Japanese American internment camps are iconic and part of the fabric of our culture. Hooper’s novel brings the woman behind those photos to life including the sacrifices she made personally to bring about social change for those less fortunate. I loved that Hooper includes some of Lange’s photographs at the end of the book. While I was familiar with some of them, there were several I had never seen before, and it was enthralling to pore over the photos and Hooper’s caption for each photo.
Learning to See is a tribute to an important American whose humanitarian efforts shone a spotlight on the poor and later the incarceration of Japanese Americans. The structure of the book is fabulous – Hooper begins in 1964 as Lange has received a letter from MoMA about launching a retrospective of her work and then travels back in time to tell Lange’s tale. I cannot say enough good things about Learning to See; Elise Hooper has written a book that every American should read about an important person and era in the history of the United States.
Listen to my podcast at https://www.thoughtsfromapage.com for fun author interviews. For more book reviews, check out my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/thoughtsfro....
August 31, 2023
Hooper writes this novelization of Dorothea Lange’s life as a memoir, and it really works. She gives us the person, the maverick, the mother, the photographer, the artist, from inside the woman. Making it personal makes it feel very authentic, and from brief web research, it seems to have hit all the right notes of her life and work. As poignant and significant as Lange’s Dust Bowl migrant and Japanese internment camp photographs are, they touch me even more as I browse them after finishing the book. Very nicely done bio.
February 3, 2019
3.5 stars and my thanks to LibraryThing.com for the advanced copy.
Photographer Dorothea Lange's most famous work is probably Migrant Mother taken in 1936 during the Great Depression, but it was her later work in the Japanese internment camps that got my attention. An independent portrait photographer, she hired herself out to the U.S. government when times got rough, to document living conditions for migrants that officials in Washington DC had no way of knowing. They both appreciated her talent and regretted her perseverance. She wanted to show too much of the real truth, while the government thought some things were better left unknown. Once she began working at the internment camps, she discovered illegal practices and deplorable living conditions (people expected to live inside a horse stall, for one); and she would not be quiet or accepting of it like so many others were at that time. She had many of her negatives impounded, destroyed, and even now most exist only in the National Archives.
Her career enveloped her two marriages and made it impossible to care for her two sons at times, not without tremendous cost. Some of her decisions were questionable, but then I wasn't there during those war and poverty years, so cannot judge too harshly. One of her sons was unforgiving for many years.
This was good once it got into the meat of the story about halfway through. The background and the build up were long, perhaps to facilitate the character development of Dorothea and her artist husband Maynard Dixon, of whom I knew nothing. The second half is definitely better than the first, so don't give up on it. The ARC ends with some great supplemental material, including an interview with the author and some of Lange's photos. This added much to my enjoyment.
Photographer Dorothea Lange's most famous work is probably Migrant Mother taken in 1936 during the Great Depression, but it was her later work in the Japanese internment camps that got my attention. An independent portrait photographer, she hired herself out to the U.S. government when times got rough, to document living conditions for migrants that officials in Washington DC had no way of knowing. They both appreciated her talent and regretted her perseverance. She wanted to show too much of the real truth, while the government thought some things were better left unknown. Once she began working at the internment camps, she discovered illegal practices and deplorable living conditions (people expected to live inside a horse stall, for one); and she would not be quiet or accepting of it like so many others were at that time. She had many of her negatives impounded, destroyed, and even now most exist only in the National Archives.
Her career enveloped her two marriages and made it impossible to care for her two sons at times, not without tremendous cost. Some of her decisions were questionable, but then I wasn't there during those war and poverty years, so cannot judge too harshly. One of her sons was unforgiving for many years.
This was good once it got into the meat of the story about halfway through. The background and the build up were long, perhaps to facilitate the character development of Dorothea and her artist husband Maynard Dixon, of whom I knew nothing. The second half is definitely better than the first, so don't give up on it. The ARC ends with some great supplemental material, including an interview with the author and some of Lange's photos. This added much to my enjoyment.
April 16, 2019
Learning to See by Elise Hooper is a book of historical fiction about the Dorothea Lange (1895 – 1965) famed for her photos of migrant workers and the poor taken during the years of the Depression. Later she came to document the plight of Japanese-Americans confined to Resettlement Camps during the Second Word War. You know the saying—a picture speaks a thousand words. Her photos, capturing the humanity of those who have nothing, actually do succeed in doing this. The book chronicles her life from her early twenties through to the year before her death.
It is basically in chronological order but with a few flips to 1964, when she is an elderly woman looking back at her life.
I learned things about her life that I did not know before picking up the book. I was unaware of the fact that she discarded her father’s name (Nutzhorn) and took her mother’s instead, and I learned why. She was the second wife of Maynard Dixon (1875 – 1946), the artist so well known for his paintings of the American West. That she later came to marry an economist who adored her and supported her endeavors is something you might not expect. She came to raise her own two children and his three, and do not forget her job and the health problems she had to cope with! She had difficulty accepting her limp caused by polio at seven, was haunted by her father having deserted her and her family when she was twelve and was responsible for five kids and had a demanding job. Is it so strange that she came to have ulcers? Neither did she and her eldest son, Dan, see eye to eye. She had to make choices in her life that were very difficult. She says to Dan, “I don’t regret my choices, but I am sorry I hurt you.” There is interesting content, but there also remain holes in the information provided.
The second half of the book drew me in much more than the first half. The first half drags and reads as a teenage romance novel. In the second half events fly by at a fast clip, the problem here being that the speed is so fast that one looks for more depth. For example, you never come to understand what made it possible for her and Dan to get over the rift that had arisen between them. The rift is surmounted but we do not see what events led to this change. Interesting questions concerning the moral dilemmas she faced arise in the second half of the book.
The writing is ordinary. There is no special flair whatsoever.
There is an author’s note at the end. It is insufficient. We are told that the author has stuck to the basic truth but that parts have been compressed and some of the characters are composite figures. Why aren’t we told which?
The book has piqued my interest and it has made me want to find another book, a book of non-fiction about Dorothea Lange. I don’t feel I have really come to understand who this woman was; I only have a sketch of portions of her life; I am left wanting more.
Cassandra Campbell narrates the audiobook. Her performance I have given three stars. I don’t think her intonation properly captures Dorothea’s feistiness. She sounds too sweet. Some words are mumbled, but on the whole the book is easy to follow.
*******************
Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits 5 stars
Mary Coin 3 stars
It is basically in chronological order but with a few flips to 1964, when she is an elderly woman looking back at her life.
I learned things about her life that I did not know before picking up the book. I was unaware of the fact that she discarded her father’s name (Nutzhorn) and took her mother’s instead, and I learned why. She was the second wife of Maynard Dixon (1875 – 1946), the artist so well known for his paintings of the American West. That she later came to marry an economist who adored her and supported her endeavors is something you might not expect. She came to raise her own two children and his three, and do not forget her job and the health problems she had to cope with! She had difficulty accepting her limp caused by polio at seven, was haunted by her father having deserted her and her family when she was twelve and was responsible for five kids and had a demanding job. Is it so strange that she came to have ulcers? Neither did she and her eldest son, Dan, see eye to eye. She had to make choices in her life that were very difficult. She says to Dan, “I don’t regret my choices, but I am sorry I hurt you.” There is interesting content, but there also remain holes in the information provided.
The second half of the book drew me in much more than the first half. The first half drags and reads as a teenage romance novel. In the second half events fly by at a fast clip, the problem here being that the speed is so fast that one looks for more depth. For example, you never come to understand what made it possible for her and Dan to get over the rift that had arisen between them. The rift is surmounted but we do not see what events led to this change. Interesting questions concerning the moral dilemmas she faced arise in the second half of the book.
The writing is ordinary. There is no special flair whatsoever.
There is an author’s note at the end. It is insufficient. We are told that the author has stuck to the basic truth but that parts have been compressed and some of the characters are composite figures. Why aren’t we told which?
The book has piqued my interest and it has made me want to find another book, a book of non-fiction about Dorothea Lange. I don’t feel I have really come to understand who this woman was; I only have a sketch of portions of her life; I am left wanting more.
Cassandra Campbell narrates the audiobook. Her performance I have given three stars. I don’t think her intonation properly captures Dorothea’s feistiness. She sounds too sweet. Some words are mumbled, but on the whole the book is easy to follow.
*******************
Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits 5 stars
Mary Coin 3 stars
October 19, 2019
I really loved this book!
4.5/5
It's so, so funny how life works out sometimes. When I was in high school, my AP US History teacher of all time (my favorite teacher of all time) often started class by showing us iconic images and then facilitated critical thinking discussions about what we were seeing, what may have led the photographer to take the photo, etc etc. He used many of Dorothea Lange's photographs and they have been cemented in my brain throughout my life, which led me to do the same thing with my own high school-aged kids in our homeschool. We discuss the importance of images, not only to preserve the real history of the time for us to see for ourselves, but also as potential forms of subversion and protest and speaking out.
I never could have foreseen that years later, a book like Learning To See by Elise Hooper would enter my bookish life! I've been a huge fan of Dorothea Lange's work for years-learning from it, using it to educate my children-so when I got the chance to read and review this book, I leaped upon it, Olympic-style. I have also read and loved Ms. Hooper's previous book, The Last Alcott, so I had all ideas that I would love this one too. And I did.
The book begins when Dorothea Lange moved to San Francisco in the early 1900's. She lived among other artists and photographers, so she was really fortunate to be present in a place where she could blossom as an artist herself. She was ambitious for a woman during that time in America's history, when women were most often still staying at home, married and raising families. She got her beginning as a portrait photographer and was really successful at that, but she was more fulfilled when she was out among the people, roaming around, taking the pictures that told the stories of what life was really like out in America for people that didn't have a voice, particularly the folks trying to find work during the Dust Bowl-era and Japanese Americans that had been relocated during the Second World War. Her work was noticed, and I mean noticed-some of it was actually censored because of the truth she exposes.
Not only do I love the actual historical significance of Lange's work in this narrative, I love what Ms. Hooper has shared with us about her life. Dorothea Lange lived during a time when women had expectations and roles in terms of marriage and motherhood, and even though she was incredibly driven and successful professionally, she still carried the majority of the parenting duties. In Lange's case, marriage and parenting was particularly difficult. I'm not sure whether or not it would have been any easier had she been married to someone other than a famous artist like Maynard Dixon (whose work is also amazing), but these two had an interesting go of it, to say the least.
I feel like it is important to say that this is a work of fiction, but it is well-researched and I feel like I was able to get a good feel not only for Ms. Lange, but for her contemporaries and for the time in which she was living. Speaking of contemporaries, there are so many cool people mentioned in this book. So many people that Ms. Lange crossed paths with and communicated with-I think that's one of the neater parts about her story. There is a part involving John Steinbeck and his incredible novel The Grapes of Wrath that sticks out in my mind LIKE WHOA because it is my top-favorite classic novel. I read this part three times and feel like I want to do a little bit more research on this! Certainly with the subject matter of many of Ms. Lange's photos and also the subject of The Grapes of Wrath being similar in nature, this interests me greatly. But no spoilers here!
I'm just always in awe of women that lived during these times when their roles were so defined with so little wiggle-room and yet are able to be so successful, driven, and productive. Ms. Lange contributed so much to society and history, and we are still able to benefit from her work-perhaps more than ever before-and I'm just a huge, huge fan of her work. And this book.
I highly, highly recommend Learning To See by Elise Hooper for people that enjoy reading stories about women in history, stories about art, stories about the Depression-era or the Dust Bowl-era or even the period of time surrounding the Second World War. Even though this book isn't really about the war itself, Lange's work and what she experienced when she was out working helps to paint a picture of what the landscape of America was like during that time. Dorothea Lange is a flat-out icon and holy batman, this story is just really, really excellent.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, William Morrow Books!
Find this review and more like it on my blog, Into the Hall of Books!
4.5/5
It's so, so funny how life works out sometimes. When I was in high school, my AP US History teacher of all time (my favorite teacher of all time) often started class by showing us iconic images and then facilitated critical thinking discussions about what we were seeing, what may have led the photographer to take the photo, etc etc. He used many of Dorothea Lange's photographs and they have been cemented in my brain throughout my life, which led me to do the same thing with my own high school-aged kids in our homeschool. We discuss the importance of images, not only to preserve the real history of the time for us to see for ourselves, but also as potential forms of subversion and protest and speaking out.
I never could have foreseen that years later, a book like Learning To See by Elise Hooper would enter my bookish life! I've been a huge fan of Dorothea Lange's work for years-learning from it, using it to educate my children-so when I got the chance to read and review this book, I leaped upon it, Olympic-style. I have also read and loved Ms. Hooper's previous book, The Last Alcott, so I had all ideas that I would love this one too. And I did.
The book begins when Dorothea Lange moved to San Francisco in the early 1900's. She lived among other artists and photographers, so she was really fortunate to be present in a place where she could blossom as an artist herself. She was ambitious for a woman during that time in America's history, when women were most often still staying at home, married and raising families. She got her beginning as a portrait photographer and was really successful at that, but she was more fulfilled when she was out among the people, roaming around, taking the pictures that told the stories of what life was really like out in America for people that didn't have a voice, particularly the folks trying to find work during the Dust Bowl-era and Japanese Americans that had been relocated during the Second World War. Her work was noticed, and I mean noticed-some of it was actually censored because of the truth she exposes.
Not only do I love the actual historical significance of Lange's work in this narrative, I love what Ms. Hooper has shared with us about her life. Dorothea Lange lived during a time when women had expectations and roles in terms of marriage and motherhood, and even though she was incredibly driven and successful professionally, she still carried the majority of the parenting duties. In Lange's case, marriage and parenting was particularly difficult. I'm not sure whether or not it would have been any easier had she been married to someone other than a famous artist like Maynard Dixon (whose work is also amazing), but these two had an interesting go of it, to say the least.
I feel like it is important to say that this is a work of fiction, but it is well-researched and I feel like I was able to get a good feel not only for Ms. Lange, but for her contemporaries and for the time in which she was living. Speaking of contemporaries, there are so many cool people mentioned in this book. So many people that Ms. Lange crossed paths with and communicated with-I think that's one of the neater parts about her story. There is a part involving John Steinbeck and his incredible novel The Grapes of Wrath that sticks out in my mind LIKE WHOA because it is my top-favorite classic novel. I read this part three times and feel like I want to do a little bit more research on this! Certainly with the subject matter of many of Ms. Lange's photos and also the subject of The Grapes of Wrath being similar in nature, this interests me greatly. But no spoilers here!
I'm just always in awe of women that lived during these times when their roles were so defined with so little wiggle-room and yet are able to be so successful, driven, and productive. Ms. Lange contributed so much to society and history, and we are still able to benefit from her work-perhaps more than ever before-and I'm just a huge, huge fan of her work. And this book.
I highly, highly recommend Learning To See by Elise Hooper for people that enjoy reading stories about women in history, stories about art, stories about the Depression-era or the Dust Bowl-era or even the period of time surrounding the Second World War. Even though this book isn't really about the war itself, Lange's work and what she experienced when she was out working helps to paint a picture of what the landscape of America was like during that time. Dorothea Lange is a flat-out icon and holy batman, this story is just really, really excellent.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, William Morrow Books!
Find this review and more like it on my blog, Into the Hall of Books!
January 24, 2019
I had never heard about Dorothea Lange before I read this book, but the blurb intrigued me. I love reading about women who were brave enough to follow their dreams and LEARNING TO SEE is definitely a book that is worth reading.
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
December 4, 2018
In 1918, photographer Dorothea Lange leaves NYC and heads to San Francisco, eager to make a name for herself. She soon meets and falls in love with Maynard Dixon, an extremely capacious natured painter. Throughout her time there, she meets fellow artists like Frida Kahlo, writers and numerous talents. Faced with the relenting desire with trying to capture the true picture of the times, she find herself struggling between work, marriage and motherhood. This fascinating tale is for fans of Marie Benedict and Fiona Davis.
August 27, 2020
No. Not worthwhile. The author seems less familiar with her subject than with what she wants to make of her subject. I do not believe the subject is accurately portrayed in her thinking and reasoning, the objects of her fretting and fussing did not ring true. The story is novelized—that is, the author tells a story about real people as if she were inside their head and aware of motivation and emotion. One reader labeled it "historical-fiction." Fiction dressed as history. The portrayal seemed an amalgam of several women photographers of the period, notably Berenice Abbott.
Portraying the interior life of any artist is fraught with risks. The most common mistake I find is writers assuming what the artist would notice. A musician literally notes the key in which a bird sings. A photographer notices light, always light—the direction, the hue, the fall of shadow. None of this is captured. The character thinks about clothing but does not notice the play of sunlight on a beloved's cheek.
Dorothea Lange was a great photographer and a great American. She deserves better. (There are, in fact, other more respectful and accurate bios around.)
I was certain I'd written a review, but it is not here. Perhaps I did not post a review immediately, not wanting to trash someone's hard work?
I thank the publisher for a free, early copy in return for my honest review. But really, no.
Portraying the interior life of any artist is fraught with risks. The most common mistake I find is writers assuming what the artist would notice. A musician literally notes the key in which a bird sings. A photographer notices light, always light—the direction, the hue, the fall of shadow. None of this is captured. The character thinks about clothing but does not notice the play of sunlight on a beloved's cheek.
Dorothea Lange was a great photographer and a great American. She deserves better. (There are, in fact, other more respectful and accurate bios around.)
I was certain I'd written a review, but it is not here. Perhaps I did not post a review immediately, not wanting to trash someone's hard work?
I thank the publisher for a free, early copy in return for my honest review. But really, no.
January 12, 2019
MASTERFUL
I count the author as one of my bookish friends and I’m so grateful she entrusted me with review copies of her novels ❤️
.
Her first title THE OTHER ALCOTT was a natural hit for me given the subject matter ~ Louisa May Alcott’s sister, Amy. However, I had never even HEARD of Dorothea Lange before reading LEARNING TO SEE and now I’m absolutely obsessed with this groundbreaking photographer. Hooper writes historical fiction about fascinating women and does what so many other writers avoid ~ writing the REAL woman. Not a romantic fluffy version. And that is everything to me.
.
I’ll (probably) share a more in-depth review of LEARNING TO SEE closer to the 1.22.19 pub date, but for now just know it’s fabulous, fascinating and an intense look at United States in the 1920s - 1940s. Covering the Great Depression and internment of Japanese Americans, it taught me so much. 5 feminist stars!
.
If you read this genre, pre-order or request from your library now! And you can read THE OTHER ALCOTT while you wait.
I count the author as one of my bookish friends and I’m so grateful she entrusted me with review copies of her novels ❤️
.
Her first title THE OTHER ALCOTT was a natural hit for me given the subject matter ~ Louisa May Alcott’s sister, Amy. However, I had never even HEARD of Dorothea Lange before reading LEARNING TO SEE and now I’m absolutely obsessed with this groundbreaking photographer. Hooper writes historical fiction about fascinating women and does what so many other writers avoid ~ writing the REAL woman. Not a romantic fluffy version. And that is everything to me.
.
I’ll (probably) share a more in-depth review of LEARNING TO SEE closer to the 1.22.19 pub date, but for now just know it’s fabulous, fascinating and an intense look at United States in the 1920s - 1940s. Covering the Great Depression and internment of Japanese Americans, it taught me so much. 5 feminist stars!
.
If you read this genre, pre-order or request from your library now! And you can read THE OTHER ALCOTT while you wait.
August 27, 2020
2.5* I love Dorothea Lange's photos. I also find the great depression and the development of the WPA fascinating, so I was excited to find this audiobook. I was disappointed. The author seemed to be more interested in Lange's romantic life and her relationship to her children than the artist's work. Although it was intimated that Dorothea was difficult I never felt that in the book. Dorothea's character could have been anyone who fell into documentary photography after being a portrait photographer. I wanted more. In fairness I try to avoid the narrator Cassandra Campbell. All of her characters blend together for me across every book she narrates. She struggles with conveying real emotional texture, particularly conflict. That said I'm not sure the print edition would have been better.
January 11, 2019
4.5 stars
Thanks to #WilliamMorrow #HarperCollins for my free copy of #LearningtoSee by Elise Hooper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
"It takes a lot of practice to see things are they are, not as you want them to be." (P 121)
Learning to See is a fictionalized biography inspired by real life photographer, Dorothea Lange. We first meet twenty-two year old Dorothea in 1918 as she arrives in San Francisco with her best friend. Through wit and a determination to create her own life far from her home in the Northeast, Dorothea takes a risk to open a portrait studio and marries an older independent artist, Maynard Dixon. Dorothea's portrait studio is well established and provides a steady and dependable income for their growing family of two children when the economy collapses in the 1930s. This puts tremendous strain on an already fragile marriage and Dorothea desperately seeks out ways to support her two young sons and a drunken, disillusioned, and out-of-work husband. As Dorothea's portrait business suffers in the economy, she begins to take pictures of the poor and desperate people on the streets of San Francisco. In addition, she travels throughout California and the Southwest documenting labor conditions on farms, and she gradually realizes that these pictures are more meaningful than what she produces in her portrait studio because her pictures from the streets and fields are telling a true story of the economic hardships that people are facing. Later, the United States enters WW11 and Dorothea accepts jobs photographing the internment camps into which the Japanese have been placed. Not everyone appreciates seeing the truth of these pictures and she is censored, threatened, and discouraged. This doesn't deter Dorothea from her travels, her photographs, or her purpose. There's a dual timeline running through the story which allows the reader to know Dorothea at the end of her life.
The extensive research that went into the telling of this story is evident. Not only is there an abundance of historical facts and descriptive details which enable readers to feel like they are experiencing life in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, but the author also puts a great deal of effort and thought into building a case for the possible motives that inspire Dorothea to take certain actions. I had a difficult time accepting the decision Dorothea made for the care of her children, but the details in the story left me with a reasonable ability to understand Dorothea's actions.
Certainly, some important themes include the plight of working mothers in that time, the hardships of the depression, marriage to someone that is not a full or dependable partner, loyal friendship and support from other women, making difficult decisions to follow your dreams/passions and accepting the consequences of that decision, taking risks, the effects of childhood experiences on adults, and character traits of pioneers.
Dorothea Lange is remembered today for her photography work and her indomitable spirit. I think you'll enjoy the historical setting and this imagined story of her life behind the facts. Throughout the story, the title of Learning to See takes on multiple meanings. As an artist, Dorothea is not afraid to photograph what she actually sees and not what others want or expect to see. As a mother and wife, Dorothea sees (or intuits) the emotional help her troubled son needs, and she also sees the truth of her marriage to Maynard. Dorothea sees injustice and has a vision for meaningful work, and she is willing to take the risks to follow her passion despite the sacrifices. She is not afraid of hard work or activism, and perseveres in spite of obstacles.
"I was a photographer of people--men, women, and children who worked, suffered, rested, and loved. .... I lived for the moment when time slowed, when I could capture an expression or gesture that communicated everything. I needed more of those moments. If I was going to give up my family, every second needed to count. The sacrifice had to be worth something bigger than me." (p 179)
I love stories of real women, and even though Dorothea might not be the most well liked character, I'm highly recommending Learning to See for fans of well written and extensively researched historical fiction, for readers who are looking for a story of a strong, independent, and pioneering woman, and for those who want an engaging page turner. Learning to See is nicely paced with well drawn characters, and some readers might want to know that it includes some romantic details. It would make a good book club selection because of interesting discussion topics.
Pub Date: January 22, 2019
For more reviews visit my blog readingladies.com
Thanks to #WilliamMorrow #HarperCollins for my free copy of #LearningtoSee by Elise Hooper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
"It takes a lot of practice to see things are they are, not as you want them to be." (P 121)
Learning to See is a fictionalized biography inspired by real life photographer, Dorothea Lange. We first meet twenty-two year old Dorothea in 1918 as she arrives in San Francisco with her best friend. Through wit and a determination to create her own life far from her home in the Northeast, Dorothea takes a risk to open a portrait studio and marries an older independent artist, Maynard Dixon. Dorothea's portrait studio is well established and provides a steady and dependable income for their growing family of two children when the economy collapses in the 1930s. This puts tremendous strain on an already fragile marriage and Dorothea desperately seeks out ways to support her two young sons and a drunken, disillusioned, and out-of-work husband. As Dorothea's portrait business suffers in the economy, she begins to take pictures of the poor and desperate people on the streets of San Francisco. In addition, she travels throughout California and the Southwest documenting labor conditions on farms, and she gradually realizes that these pictures are more meaningful than what she produces in her portrait studio because her pictures from the streets and fields are telling a true story of the economic hardships that people are facing. Later, the United States enters WW11 and Dorothea accepts jobs photographing the internment camps into which the Japanese have been placed. Not everyone appreciates seeing the truth of these pictures and she is censored, threatened, and discouraged. This doesn't deter Dorothea from her travels, her photographs, or her purpose. There's a dual timeline running through the story which allows the reader to know Dorothea at the end of her life.
The extensive research that went into the telling of this story is evident. Not only is there an abundance of historical facts and descriptive details which enable readers to feel like they are experiencing life in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, but the author also puts a great deal of effort and thought into building a case for the possible motives that inspire Dorothea to take certain actions. I had a difficult time accepting the decision Dorothea made for the care of her children, but the details in the story left me with a reasonable ability to understand Dorothea's actions.
Certainly, some important themes include the plight of working mothers in that time, the hardships of the depression, marriage to someone that is not a full or dependable partner, loyal friendship and support from other women, making difficult decisions to follow your dreams/passions and accepting the consequences of that decision, taking risks, the effects of childhood experiences on adults, and character traits of pioneers.
Dorothea Lange is remembered today for her photography work and her indomitable spirit. I think you'll enjoy the historical setting and this imagined story of her life behind the facts. Throughout the story, the title of Learning to See takes on multiple meanings. As an artist, Dorothea is not afraid to photograph what she actually sees and not what others want or expect to see. As a mother and wife, Dorothea sees (or intuits) the emotional help her troubled son needs, and she also sees the truth of her marriage to Maynard. Dorothea sees injustice and has a vision for meaningful work, and she is willing to take the risks to follow her passion despite the sacrifices. She is not afraid of hard work or activism, and perseveres in spite of obstacles.
"I was a photographer of people--men, women, and children who worked, suffered, rested, and loved. .... I lived for the moment when time slowed, when I could capture an expression or gesture that communicated everything. I needed more of those moments. If I was going to give up my family, every second needed to count. The sacrifice had to be worth something bigger than me." (p 179)
I love stories of real women, and even though Dorothea might not be the most well liked character, I'm highly recommending Learning to See for fans of well written and extensively researched historical fiction, for readers who are looking for a story of a strong, independent, and pioneering woman, and for those who want an engaging page turner. Learning to See is nicely paced with well drawn characters, and some readers might want to know that it includes some romantic details. It would make a good book club selection because of interesting discussion topics.
Pub Date: January 22, 2019
For more reviews visit my blog readingladies.com
November 5, 2021
A fictional take on the incredible life of Dorothea Lange and her work capturing America behind the facade of epitome. Facts filtered through, like censored photographs, give a snippet of her life, her loves, her pain, and her devotion to showing the ills of this country. Well done, easy reading with an intensity I was unable to set aside. One of my favorite reads this year.
November 17, 2018
I received a giveaway copy from goodreads for a review. This book is about Dorthea Lange. although it is based on a real life person the author writes a book of fiction about the real Dorthea Lange. she imagines by collecting facts about the photographer what her life may have been like. Dorthea Lange was a prize winning photographer. Her most famous pictures were from the depression era, the dustbowl migrants and in the forties when she visited internment camps that housed the Japenese citizens. Dorthea Lange was famous for her pictures because she managed to catch people in their situations that opened up for conversations. The author includes some of dorthea's more famous pictures. I found the book an interesting one to read.
April 8, 2024
Super interesting look at photography in the United States in the 1930s to 1950s.
January 28, 2019
I knew the photography of Dorothea Lange but little about her personal life so I was glad to be given the opportunity to read
Learning to See by Elise Hooper.
Hooper's novel offers an accessible narrative of Lange's life from her point of view. Lange's childhood polio left her with a limp from a deformed foot. She established a successful portrait photography career until the Depression when her work dwindled. With two children and an artist husband, Lange had to give up her studio to work for the Farm Security Administration.
Using her portrait experience, Lange created iconic photographs that recorded the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the misery of farm migrants. During WWII she was employed by the Office of War Information to document the internment of Japanese Americans.
Through Lange's eyes, readers experience the human suffering of poverty and systemic racism.
Lange's marriage to her first husband, artist Maynard Dixon, was strained. Her extensive traveling meant leaving her sons and the book addresses her son's anger and acting out. While photographing for the OWI she worked with Paul Taylor who became her second husband.
Famous photographers appear in the story's background, including Ansel Adams.
The novel is "inspired" by Lange's life. Hooper offers a woman filled with doubts and remorse while facing up to the authorities who repress the photographs that too honestly recorded atrocities and the forgotten.
Lange's life as an artist and a woman will enthrall readers.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
Learning to See by Elise Hooper.
Hooper's novel offers an accessible narrative of Lange's life from her point of view. Lange's childhood polio left her with a limp from a deformed foot. She established a successful portrait photography career until the Depression when her work dwindled. With two children and an artist husband, Lange had to give up her studio to work for the Farm Security Administration.
Using her portrait experience, Lange created iconic photographs that recorded the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the misery of farm migrants. During WWII she was employed by the Office of War Information to document the internment of Japanese Americans.
Through Lange's eyes, readers experience the human suffering of poverty and systemic racism.
Lange's marriage to her first husband, artist Maynard Dixon, was strained. Her extensive traveling meant leaving her sons and the book addresses her son's anger and acting out. While photographing for the OWI she worked with Paul Taylor who became her second husband.
Famous photographers appear in the story's background, including Ansel Adams.
The novel is "inspired" by Lange's life. Hooper offers a woman filled with doubts and remorse while facing up to the authorities who repress the photographs that too honestly recorded atrocities and the forgotten.
Lange's life as an artist and a woman will enthrall readers.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
May 11, 2020
3.5 -- A biographical novel about Depression era photographer, Dorothea Lange, starting with her arrival in San Francisco at age 23.
The book started slow; Lange was friends with famous photographers such as Imogene Cunningham and Ansel Adams, married the famous painter Western painter Maynard Dixon but she made a good living with a portrait photography studio, specializing in flattering photos of society families.
And then . . . the Great Depression hits. She can no longer make a living with her studio, her husband can't sell paintings, she has to take her 2 boys to a foster family. It is then that she starts taking the photographs she's now famous for (Migrant Mother) . . . first on her own in San Francisco, then with Paul Taylor (a Berkeley economist who she'll later marry), and then in the migrant camps for the various federal agencies. She so obviously feels the subjects as well as sees them. Her last big project was in the Japanese internment camp but those photographs stayed sequestered by the federal government for several decades.
We see her heartache for the poor workers and for her own situation as she tries to balance children and her work. Lots to think about here & the author doesn't go into great detail; this is a quick read, it has left me wanting to know more and see more of Lange's work.
Great title and book cover, too.
The book started slow; Lange was friends with famous photographers such as Imogene Cunningham and Ansel Adams, married the famous painter Western painter Maynard Dixon but she made a good living with a portrait photography studio, specializing in flattering photos of society families.
And then . . . the Great Depression hits. She can no longer make a living with her studio, her husband can't sell paintings, she has to take her 2 boys to a foster family. It is then that she starts taking the photographs she's now famous for (Migrant Mother) . . . first on her own in San Francisco, then with Paul Taylor (a Berkeley economist who she'll later marry), and then in the migrant camps for the various federal agencies. She so obviously feels the subjects as well as sees them. Her last big project was in the Japanese internment camp but those photographs stayed sequestered by the federal government for several decades.
We see her heartache for the poor workers and for her own situation as she tries to balance children and her work. Lots to think about here & the author doesn't go into great detail; this is a quick read, it has left me wanting to know more and see more of Lange's work.
Great title and book cover, too.
February 18, 2019
Elise Hooper is a writer whose talents at clarity and empathy bring out the humanity of her historical subjects. Like her debut novel, THE OTHER ALCOTT, Hooper’s LEARNING TO SEE is an intimate portrait of one of history’s great, shadowed, female artists, photographer Dorothea Lange.
Most readers will be able to draw to mind the iconic Depression-era image of the poor, exhausted mother–gaze toward an uncertain future–flanked by dirty children. LEARNING TO SEE tells the journey of the woman who captured that image and hundreds like it. We see a girl of courage and spunk become a life-hardened woman of integrity and fire. The images Lange captures through her lens inform her growth, her choices, and the American public.
Hooper deftly balances the fascinating historical fabric of the novel with the personal life of its complicated protagonist. What results is a vivid and deep story that will send the reader to the internet seeking more.
Fans of Dawn Tripp’s GEORGIA and Depression to WWII-era historical fiction will be enthralled by Elise Hooper’s LEARNING TO SEE. I give it my highest recommendation.
Most readers will be able to draw to mind the iconic Depression-era image of the poor, exhausted mother–gaze toward an uncertain future–flanked by dirty children. LEARNING TO SEE tells the journey of the woman who captured that image and hundreds like it. We see a girl of courage and spunk become a life-hardened woman of integrity and fire. The images Lange captures through her lens inform her growth, her choices, and the American public.
Hooper deftly balances the fascinating historical fabric of the novel with the personal life of its complicated protagonist. What results is a vivid and deep story that will send the reader to the internet seeking more.
Fans of Dawn Tripp’s GEORGIA and Depression to WWII-era historical fiction will be enthralled by Elise Hooper’s LEARNING TO SEE. I give it my highest recommendation.
June 28, 2020
"Life is a complicated business."
“So, who was I now? I was old enough to wear wrinkles and scars, but young enough to feel stronger and smarter because of them.”
I enjoyed this fictional account of Dorothea Lange's life. Hooper does a great job filling in the blanks and writing the story beautifully. I know that it is very difficult to be successful in all parts of your life. Something has to give somewhere, and for many professional women, their children are the giving point. I don't judge her, my life has the same issues... we all just do the best we can.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
“So, who was I now? I was old enough to wear wrinkles and scars, but young enough to feel stronger and smarter because of them.”
I enjoyed this fictional account of Dorothea Lange's life. Hooper does a great job filling in the blanks and writing the story beautifully. I know that it is very difficult to be successful in all parts of your life. Something has to give somewhere, and for many professional women, their children are the giving point. I don't judge her, my life has the same issues... we all just do the best we can.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
December 22, 2018
A beautiful portrait of the life and activism of Dorothea Lange. San Francisco during Lange's early career in the 1920s is particularly vivid. I learned so much more about Lange and her Depression Era photography than I already knew from the famous portrait Migrant Mother. A wonderful book for fans of historical fiction, strong female protagonists and book clubs. Highly recommended!
September 17, 2019
A novelized version of Dorothea Lange’s life and career. Her photographs, though some were kept from the public by the government, showed what was really happening in America. From the victims of the dust bowl and nightmare of the Depression on middle American farmers, and share croppers we see the human condition as it is pushed to its extremes. One of her last big projects was to show the Japanese interment camps and the hideous treatment to American citizens who happened to be of Japanese decent even as little as 1/16th. The government kept many of her photos because it showed inhumane treatment and cruelty to a people who were its own. Many of Lange’s photos showed mistreatment and reminded the people who committed it of being too similar to German concentration camps so the images were held back.
The book covers Lange’s life from her point of view and many hard decisions and experiences. It’s a fascinating and gripping read.
The book covers Lange’s life from her point of view and many hard decisions and experiences. It’s a fascinating and gripping read.
June 13, 2020
I received this book from Goodreads.
Even if you've never heard of Dorothea Lange you've likely seen her iconic Depression-era photographs.
Like this one.
Learning to See by Elise Hooper is a historical fiction based on her life. Despite the the fiction genre it was a pleasant surprise to find that the book actually did accurately follow the time line of Lange's humble but remarkable life while creating an enriching personal reading experience that intimately empathized her motivations, fears, dreams, and ambitions.
Bravo!
Even if you've never heard of Dorothea Lange you've likely seen her iconic Depression-era photographs.
Like this one.
Learning to See by Elise Hooper is a historical fiction based on her life. Despite the the fiction genre it was a pleasant surprise to find that the book actually did accurately follow the time line of Lange's humble but remarkable life while creating an enriching personal reading experience that intimately empathized her motivations, fears, dreams, and ambitions.
Bravo!
January 14, 2019
I remember years ago seeing Dorothea Lange's famous photograph Migrant Mother.
http://100photos.time.com/photos/doro...
It always brought wonder to me, seeing this image of a woman sitting with her children, hand to her face, looking forlorn, world-weary, bedraggled. I'd not heard much about the photographer until recently.
Learning to See is Elise Hooper's fictionalized account of Dorothea Lange's life, though it seems more like an actual biography. She based her story on documents, diaries, and documentaries. Some of the details were undoubtedly changed, but that is often the case with memoirs and biographies.
Dorothea Lange was an interesting person to write about. She was a woman ahead of her time, who ventured out in a field dominated by men. As a young woman in her early twenties, she traveled with a friend to San Fransisco, only to find herself stranded without money or family , and made a way for herself. She opened her own portrait studio. She married twice, had two children, and traveled to different areas to capture photos of people. Lange wanted above all to expose truth. She saw herself as an activist-Her photos were her way of showing what was really going on in the far corners of the world. And so she snapped candids of migrants, of Japanese families in internment camps, of soldiers, children.
Hooper does a great job of telling Lange's story. It's almost as if she interviewed Lange herself. I liked the way Hooper included imagined dialogues, between Lange and her husband, her friends and her sons. She doesn't insert any moral judgments either.
At the end of this particular edition, an ARC, there is an afterword which summarizes briefly the end of Lange's life. There is also an interview with Hooper, a note on her sources, a reading group guide and some of Lange's photos.
Delightful read. I'm curious to learn more about this remarkable woman and her art.
So far this is very good! Received an ARC from librarything. Looking forward to reading this.
http://100photos.time.com/photos/doro...
It always brought wonder to me, seeing this image of a woman sitting with her children, hand to her face, looking forlorn, world-weary, bedraggled. I'd not heard much about the photographer until recently.
Learning to See is Elise Hooper's fictionalized account of Dorothea Lange's life, though it seems more like an actual biography. She based her story on documents, diaries, and documentaries. Some of the details were undoubtedly changed, but that is often the case with memoirs and biographies.
Dorothea Lange was an interesting person to write about. She was a woman ahead of her time, who ventured out in a field dominated by men. As a young woman in her early twenties, she traveled with a friend to San Fransisco, only to find herself stranded without money or family , and made a way for herself. She opened her own portrait studio. She married twice, had two children, and traveled to different areas to capture photos of people. Lange wanted above all to expose truth. She saw herself as an activist-Her photos were her way of showing what was really going on in the far corners of the world. And so she snapped candids of migrants, of Japanese families in internment camps, of soldiers, children.
Hooper does a great job of telling Lange's story. It's almost as if she interviewed Lange herself. I liked the way Hooper included imagined dialogues, between Lange and her husband, her friends and her sons. She doesn't insert any moral judgments either.
At the end of this particular edition, an ARC, there is an afterword which summarizes briefly the end of Lange's life. There is also an interview with Hooper, a note on her sources, a reading group guide and some of Lange's photos.
Delightful read. I'm curious to learn more about this remarkable woman and her art.
So far this is very good! Received an ARC from librarything. Looking forward to reading this.
January 29, 2019
4.5 stars. "Learning to See" is a fictionalized story of great American photographer Dorothea Lange. Even if you don't think you know her name, you probably know her work. She is best known for some of the work that she did capturing people in difficult circumstances during the early to mid part of the 20th century. This book gives a great picture of what Lange was like behind the scenes.
Well-researched, this book has so much good detail. We get to see how Dorothea goes from a fledgling photographer to a very sought after photographer, well known for her work. As she is starting her career, she meets the volatile artist Maynard Dixon and starts a family. I really appreciated her meditations on the difficulty of having a successful career (especially during a time where this was just not something a woman did) and balancing it with a family. Dorothea feels pulled in a million different directions and wants to find a way to make it all work.
I really liked the writing in this book. The descriptions are wonderful. We get to see the action through Dorothea's eyes, which I thought was super effective in pulling me far into the book. This is a little hard to explain but I thought the author did a really good job of moving us through the highlights (and lowlights) of Dorothea's career and her personal life. Lange feels more like a friend. I loved getting to know the back story behind some of her most iconic work. This book is a great tribute to her!
Well-researched, this book has so much good detail. We get to see how Dorothea goes from a fledgling photographer to a very sought after photographer, well known for her work. As she is starting her career, she meets the volatile artist Maynard Dixon and starts a family. I really appreciated her meditations on the difficulty of having a successful career (especially during a time where this was just not something a woman did) and balancing it with a family. Dorothea feels pulled in a million different directions and wants to find a way to make it all work.
I really liked the writing in this book. The descriptions are wonderful. We get to see the action through Dorothea's eyes, which I thought was super effective in pulling me far into the book. This is a little hard to explain but I thought the author did a really good job of moving us through the highlights (and lowlights) of Dorothea's career and her personal life. Lange feels more like a friend. I loved getting to know the back story behind some of her most iconic work. This book is a great tribute to her!
June 7, 2020
A part of history I have seen often, but never knew the story behind it. Love books that encourage me to learn, spent hours googling the artist and her friends work. In these strife times the reminder of the internment camps brought tears to my eyes, forcing families to live in horse stalls at race parks. I am raw with emotion these days, doesn’t take much to have me sob at humanity, acts of cruelty or kindness, I seem to feel it all to the umpteenth degree...
May 8, 2021
I didn't know anything about photographer Dorothea Lange before reading this fictionalized account. She was an exceptional photographer in her own right and went from shooting family portraits to migrant camps.
I enjoyed her early years when she traveled to CA in 1918 and ended up staying and established herself as a photographer with her own studio. Life with her husband Maynard Dixon (an artist) was not an easy one nor was her time spent away from her sons, one who felt neglected. She divorced Maynard, married Paul Taylor. This was not an easy book to read by the end of the book where she photographed Japanese interment camps but she did her job well.
I enjoyed her early years when she traveled to CA in 1918 and ended up staying and established herself as a photographer with her own studio. Life with her husband Maynard Dixon (an artist) was not an easy one nor was her time spent away from her sons, one who felt neglected. She divorced Maynard, married Paul Taylor. This was not an easy book to read by the end of the book where she photographed Japanese interment camps but she did her job well.
January 15, 2019
For me the need to research when I finish a book based on a real life person is a testament to an amazing book. Learning to See did that for me. When I closed the book. I needed more. Wiki to the rescue...I was able to immerse myself in the life of Dorothea Lange even more. I loved this book. Elise is an amazing storyteller. The amount of research is absolutely staggering.
✨
I love historical fiction. It is a genre I hold close. The way Elise writes...based on true events is quite possibly my favorite. I have a story saved in my highlights on Instagram about the book specifically...watch it. In the meantime. Put this book on your TBR for January 22. If you are a historical fiction fan, you will not be disappointed. If you want to read something she has out now...read The Other Alcott.
✨
I love historical fiction. It is a genre I hold close. The way Elise writes...based on true events is quite possibly my favorite. I have a story saved in my highlights on Instagram about the book specifically...watch it. In the meantime. Put this book on your TBR for January 22. If you are a historical fiction fan, you will not be disappointed. If you want to read something she has out now...read The Other Alcott.
April 3, 2019
Fictional story inspired by Dorothea Lange life. Majority of the book follows chronological order but every now and then we will have a short chapter written from the perspective of the protagonist final years. The story was a pleasant read, except maybe the part with the dialogues between Dorothea and her older son, Dan, which I found terribly pompous. After finishing I felt that main character didn't had an extraordinary life, it was the times she lived in that were more interesting. Also that was the first time I've ever learned about Executive Order 9066, which left me craving for more information about it and how it influenced peoples lives. In my copy of this book (ARC), majority of the photographs that were described in the story were attached in the last couple pages and I've discovered them after finishing reading. So just heads up for you.
May 26, 2019
I did not love this book. I was looking forward to learning about Dorothea Lange's professional side, but this novel strayed too close to the Women's Lit genre it indubitably belongs to. However, I was fascinated by the mention of Lange's photos of Japanese Internment Camps. This led me to borrow photography books from the library that include photos taken at Manzanar by Lange, Ansel Adams (my blood boils just thinking of an essay he wrote in his book), and Toyo Miyatake. The contrast in their approaches is striking.
October 16, 2018
An account of the life of Dorothea Lange which touches only briefly on her most famous photograph, Migrant Mother. Instead, Dorothea is personalized as a wife and mother, supporting her husbands emotionally and financially.
I read this EARC courtesy of Wm. Morrow and Edelweiss. Pub date 01/22/19
I read this EARC courtesy of Wm. Morrow and Edelweiss. Pub date 01/22/19
Displaying 1 - 30 of 448 reviews