Marisa Silver
Hardcover | Pages: 324 pages Rating: 3.9 | 7998 Users | 1164 Reviews
Identify Out Of Books Mary Coin
| Title | : | Mary Coin |
| Author | : | Marisa Silver |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 324 pages |
| Published | : | March 7th 2013 by Blue Rider Press |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction |
Rendition During Books Mary Coin
*An NPR Best Book of 2013**A BBC Best Book of 2013*
In her first novel since The God of War, the critically acclaimed author Marisa Silver takes Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” photograph as inspiration for a breathtaking reinvention—a story of two women, one famous and one forgotten, and of the remarkable legacy of their chance encounter.
In 1936, a young mother resting by the side of a road in Central California is spontaneously photographed by a woman documenting the migrant laborers who have taken to America’s farms in search of work. Little personal information is exchanged, and neither woman has any way of knowing that they have produced what will become the most iconic image of the Great Depression.
Three vibrant characters anchor the narrative of Mary Coin. Mary, the migrant mother herself, who emerges as a woman with deep reserves of courage and nerve, with private passions and carefully-guarded secrets. Vera Dare, the photographer wrestling with creative ambition who makes the choice to leave her children in order to pursue her work. And Walker Dodge, a present-day professor of cultural history, who discovers a family mystery embedded in the picture. In luminous, exquisitely rendered prose, Silver creates an extraordinary tale from a brief moment in history, and reminds us that although a great photograph can capture the essence of a moment, it only scratches the surface of a life.
Describe Books Supposing Mary Coin
| Original Title: | Mary Coin |
| ISBN: | 0399160701 (ISBN13: 9780399160707) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Out Of Books Mary Coin
Ratings: 3.9 From 7998 Users | 1164 ReviewsCriticism Out Of Books Mary Coin
I read an article on Marisa Silver in the LA Times and ran out to buy this book. Earlier this year I read Eight Girls Taking Pictures, based on the lives of lesser-known woman photographers, but Dorothea Lange and her photo Migrant Mother have always intrigued me. This beautifully-written book offers a fictional exploration of the lives two women that touch very briefly but with consequences for both women. The third main character, history professor Walker Dodge, is completely fictional andA very familiar face stared out at me from the stack of trade paperbacks at the small independent bookstore in New Hampshire but I had not seen it cropped so tightly or in color for that matter. It was "Migrant Mother" a picture taken by Dorthea Lange of Florence Owens Thompson as part of the WPA project during the Depression and which really captured the terrible reality faced by the Okies displaced from their land to the California fruit orchards. If you are a fan of Steinbeck's "Grapes of
As is my custom, I will not give a complete synopsis of this book, but some discussion of the background should suffice. The photo on the front jacket is familiar to many of us. It is a view of awoman of the depression era,a long-suffering, hard-toiling migrant worker. Of interest, the novel is actually inspired by the woman, Florence Thompson, who was discovered by photographer, Dorothea Lange.Silver has related this tale by basing it on the difficult existence of Mary Coin, who married at
Sorry folks. Once again I feel like the skunk at the picnic, but I have to be honest.IMPRESSIONS AFTER 100 PAGES: Marisa Silver has some admirable writing skills. However, this story began to feel like a fictionalized recitation of the life of Florence Owens Thompson, the lady in the 1936 Dorothea Lange photo "Migrant Mother." (The photo has been cropped and colorized for the novel's dustjacket.) Furthermore, the addition of Walker, the modern-day historian, is distracting and superfluous.
Sorry folks. Once again I feel like the skunk at the picnic, but I have to be honest.IMPRESSIONS AFTER 100 PAGES: Marisa Silver has some admirable writing skills. However, this story began to feel like a fictionalized recitation of the life of Florence Owens Thompson, the lady in the 1936 Dorothea Lange photo "Migrant Mother." (The photo has been cropped and colorized for the novel's dustjacket.) Furthermore, the addition of Walker, the modern-day historian, is distracting and superfluous.
The story of the photograph of The Migrant Mother as told by author Marissa Silver absolutely fascinated me. I knew it was a fictionalized account, but I was willing to accept it as quite possibly true. The issues of motherhood and enduring extreme poverty are worthy of a long discussion.At first, the only thing that bothered me was the jumping around of time periods. I wanted to know how old each character was at the time of the various events and the author made me figure that out on my own.
My book club discussed this in October. Both NPR and the BBC chose it for a Best Book of 2013, and in its interwoven tale of three characters (one present-day) is a great introduction to the history of migrant laborers in California during the Depression.
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