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Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:Returning to her Midwest roots, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick draws a page from her grandmother's photo album to capture the interplay between shadow and light, temptation and faith that marks a woman's pursuit of her dreams. She took exquisite photographs, but her heart was the true image exposed. Fifteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele loves nothing more than capturing a gorgeous Minnesota landscape when the sunlight casts its most mesmerizing shadows. So when F.J. Bauer hires her in 1907 to assist in his studio and darkroom, her dreams for a career in photography appear to find root in reality. With the infamous hazards of the explosive powder used for lighting and the toxic darkroom chemicals, photography is considered a man' s profession. Yet Jessie shows remarkable talent in both the artistry and business of running a studio. She proves less skillful, however, at managing her growing attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer. This luminous coming-of-age tale deftly exposes the intricate shadows that play across every dream worth pursuing�??and the irresistible light that beckons the dreamer… (more)
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As an
The story moved very slowly for my taste and was repetitive, sometimes boring to me. And, generally not being a romance reader, I really did not like the way the romance was developed. Although there were some insights into the photography of the period, I had hoped for more. I did enjoy the photographs included in the book, thought they were interesting and lovely.
The book explored the difficulty of being a woman who
Although I never read inspirational fiction I would pick up the sequel to this, to find out what happens to Jessie and her family.
Jane Kirkpatrick takes her readers on a journey in the life of Jessie, a teenage girl who loves taking pictures. Jessie is a young woman who takes a job in the studio of Mr. Bauer, who has promised to help her learn much about taking pictures and developing them. There at the studio with her friend Voe, Jessie learns all that she can under Mr. Bauer's tutorledge, and also comes to know Mr. Bauer and his family quite well. When Mr. Bauer becomes sick, Jessie helps take over the studio and finds that she does quite well, and wants to spend her life in photography and eventually own her own studio. As the months go by though, Jessie's life is filled with tempatation as she trys to deny her attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer. As Jessie trys to decide what is right she must also decide what is important for her career. Will her growing fondness of Mr. Bauer get in the way?
This book was quite different from anything I have ever read. It drew me in from the beginning, from the storytelling to the diary entries and pictures included. All of those things and also Mrs. Kirkpatrick's abounding research made this story, one I will soon not forget!
Unfortunately, that was the whole story and the rest of the events seemed contrived and the book stretches on long after I was interested in it. It's valid to say that Jessie's struggles with her actions and her faith are well done and not forced upon the reader. Her interactions with Mr. Bauer seem to be made too much of and were not as intriguing as they could have been. Also, Mrs. Bauer's illness and the interactions between Mr. and Mrs. Bauer are tedious and too long...observations that their relationship was struggling would have been enough and kept the story flowing better. Overall, I struggled to finish this story and won't be reading the sequel. It was a good effort with some enjoyable parts.
This is a well researched novel based on her grandmother Jessie's life as a young woman who wants to be a professional photographer in a profession dominated by men in the early 1900s. She is apprenticed by a portrait photographer, an "older man" by her standards (she is only 15 at the time), with whom she becomes infatuated. This is also the story of him and his family. It is impossible to describe the complexity of the story told in this book, which flows easily and simply and beautifully for the reader. It also has actual photographs taken of or by Jessie, which make it even more personal. You come away feeling you know the characters.
While this has been described as a Christian book, and it is published by a Christian press, I did not consider it such. It is simply a beautiful story of a remarkable young woman. I am anxiously awaiting the next volume in Jessie's story.
Kirkpatrick captures the restrictive era in her descriptions of Winona, Minnesota, and early photographer but some of the dialog is awkward and she repetitively describes Jessie's futile attempts to deny her attraction to Mr. Bauer and vice versa.
I do not read much Christian fiction so I can't compare to other works in this genre but this story was over-long and rather tedious.
learns the trade of photography from an expert. But working with Mr. Bauer soon turns into something much deeper than just taking pictures and as Jessie grows up to become a woman, she has to decide which path to take: follow her dream career or her budding love for F.J.?
A Flickering Light was my first book that deals with photography. I have read my share of painters, musicians, poets and writers as main characters, but never a photographer. And I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in this book. Ms. Kirkpatrick managed to turn this not very interesting to me subject into something I found myself intrigued by. Part of it is probably that this book had a personal meaning to the author, as it is based on the life of her grandmother, who was herself a photographer’s assistant. Another part of the book that maybe was even more important than the photography aspect, was Jessie’s drive and determination to overcome whatever troubles may come only to fulfill what truly mattered to her. The book is set in the early 1900’ but this theme of going after your dreams is as timeless and important as it can get.
As I mentioned, A Flickering Light is book one in the Portrait of a Woman series and I gladly will continue with Jessie on her quest for what matters.
She loves to take pictures. She is interested in every aspect of photography. Jessie is overjoyed
It is during her teenage years, 15 to be exact, that she begins her apprenticeship with a photo studio in town. She decides that being a photographer will be her career. She wants to learn the business of running a studio. The photographer is hesitant to bring her into the profession because he fears that she may seek employment elsewhere after he has trained her. This will be a gamble that he needs to take. So, he agrees to teach her the business for 6 months without pay. She agrees and finds this life very exciting and is eager to learn. During the 3 year span of working beside him, romantic notions rush into her head. She realizes that he is married and has children, but since she has never been in love, she does not know how to deal with matters of the heart.
Oh, how my father loved to take pictures. In that respect, this book was interesting to me. It was rather tedious reading because I think the author rambled on too much about the photographer’s family life. I just wanted to read about the photography aspect of the book. Toward the end of the book, I felt as if the author was writing a romance book instead of a historical fiction one.
A Flickering Light is a memoir about the Kirkpatrick's grandmother and her photography career. Kirkpatrick does a very job depicting the lives and the context of that era.