12/01/2018
Hooper (The Other Alcott) tells a fictionalized account of photographer Dorothea Lange, famous for her depictions of people suffering in the Great Depression and World War II Japanese internment camps. Starting with Lange's arrival in San Francisco in 1918, the book depicts her tempestuous marriage to artist Maynard Dixon, the birth of their two sons, her growing skill and fame as a photographer, her work with the Depression Era Resettlement Administration, and her eventual marriage to professor Paul Taylor. Lange felt conflicting desires to create art, serve the downtrodden, and be with her children, whom she sent into foster care for large portions of their childhoods. Short chapters set in 1964 show her continuing rocky relationship with son Dan. The book describes the creation of some of her most famous images, including source notes and small thumbnail pictures. The background depicts many other famous people Lange knew and worked with, such as novelist John Steinbeck and photographer Ansel Adams. VERDICT A fascinating and sometimes surprising introduction to a woman known for her iconic photographs but not her eventful life. Plenty for book groups to discuss about work-life balance.—Jan Marry, Lanexa, VA
11/19/2018Migrant Mother picture in 1936. Hooper’s Lange is scrappy, fighting for success first as a portrait photographer in San Francisco in the late 1910s and into the 1920s, then as a documentarian of American life during the Great Depression and WWII. Lange’s tenacity stems from a troubled childhood—a bout with polio that left her with a twisted foot, an absent father, and an overworked mother. She’s determined to do better than her parents by attaining a rewarding career and a happy family life. But Lange’s first marriage, to painter Maynard Dixon, unravels with his infidelities. When their incomes take a hit from the Depression, Lange decides they should separate and place their two sons in foster care. She finds a better second marriage to Paul Taylor, an economist, but spends years trying to repair her relationships with her sons. Historical fiction fans will gobble up Hooper’s novel and be left with the satisfied feeling that they have lived through much of the 20th century with Dorothea Lange. Agent: Barbara Braun Assoc. (Jan.)
Historical fiction fans will gobble up Hooper’s novel and be left with the satisfied feeling that they have lived through much of the 20th century with Dorothea Lange.” — Publishers Weekly
“Hooper makes me not only feel for Lange, but also wish I could call her up like her friend, Imogen [Cunningham], and tell her I’m coming over for a visit.” — Forbes
“Hooper excels at humanizing giants....seamlessly weaving together the time, places and people in Lange’s life...For photo buffs and others familiar with her vast body of work, reading the book will be like discovering the secret backstory of someone they thought they knew.” — Washington Post
“A fascinating and sometimes surprising introduction to a woman known for her iconic photographs but not her eventful life.” — Library Journal
“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.I give it my highest recommendation.” — Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of Fallen Beauty and Hemingway’s Girl
“Elise Hooper’s Dorothea Lange is magnetic!...This is a winning novel from the first page.” — Devin Murphy, national bestselling author of The Boat Runner and Tiny Americans
“Written with grace, empathy, and bright imagination, LEARNING TO SEE gives us the vivid interior life of a remarkably resilient woman. Dorothea Lange’s story is about passion and art, love and family, but also about the sacrifices women make—and have always made—to illuminate the truth of the world.” — Danya Kukafka, National Bestselling author of Girl in Snow
“Gorgeously written with exquisite historical detail, Learning to See is a fascinating tale of one remarkable woman’s life. Told with the same precise prose and terrific nuance as her stunning debut, The Other Alcott , Elise Hooper proves once again that she’s a masterful storyteller.” — Lisa Duffy, author of The Salt House
“A powerful and timely view of America told through the lens of Dorothea Lange, a fascinating woman whose photographs shone a light on the nation’s forgotten and abandoned...Detailed and thoroughly immersive, Learning to See grips the reader and highlights an important period in American history.” — Chanel Cleeton, author of Next Year in Havana
“Hooper does an admirable job at condensing a multitude of decades and careers into an immensely entertaining and page-turning novel.” — Historical Novel Society
“Her adventures illuminate the world of intrepid female artists in the late 1800s, a milieu too little appreciated today [...] The Other Alcott comes alive in its development of the relationship between Louisa and May.” — New York Times , Sunday Review of Books
“More than ever, we need books like this – in celebration of a woman overlooked by history, one whose story helps shed light on our own contemporary search for love, identity and meaning.” — Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl
“To read this book is to understand why the women behind Little Women continue to cast a long shadow over our imaginations and dreams. Hooper is a writer to watch!” — Elisabeth Egan, author of A Window Opens
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.I give it my highest recommendation.
Gorgeously written with exquisite historical detail, Learning to See is a fascinating tale of one remarkable woman’s life. Told with the same precise prose and terrific nuance as her stunning debut, The Other Alcott , Elise Hooper proves once again that she’s a masterful storyteller.
Hooper does an admirable job at condensing a multitude of decades and careers into an immensely entertaining and page-turning novel.
Hooper makes me not only feel for Lange, but also wish I could call her up like her friend, Imogen [Cunningham], and tell her I’m coming over for a visit.
Written with grace, empathy, and bright imagination, LEARNING TO SEE gives us the vivid interior life of a remarkably resilient woman. Dorothea Lange’s story is about passion and art, love and family, but also about the sacrifices women make—and have always made—to illuminate the truth of the world.
Hooper excels at humanizing giants....seamlessly weaving together the time, places and people in Lange’s life...For photo buffs and others familiar with her vast body of work, reading the book will be like discovering the secret backstory of someone they thought they knew.
A powerful and timely view of America told through the lens of Dorothea Lange, a fascinating woman whose photographs shone a light on the nation’s forgotten and abandoned...Detailed and thoroughly immersive, Learning to See grips the reader and highlights an important period in American history.
Elise Hooper’s Dorothea Lange is magnetic!...This is a winning novel from the first page.
To read this book is to understand why the women behind Little Women continue to cast a long shadow over our imaginations and dreams. Hooper is a writer to watch!
More than ever, we need books like this – in celebration of a woman overlooked by history, one whose story helps shed light on our own contemporary search for love, identity and meaning.
Her adventures illuminate the world of intrepid female artists in the late 1800s, a milieu too little appreciated today [...] The Other Alcott comes alive in its development of the relationship between Louisa and May.
Hooper excels at humanizing giants....seamlessly weaving together the time, places and people in Lange’s life...For photo buffs and others familiar with her vast body of work, reading the book will be like discovering the secret backstory of someone they thought they knew.
Cassandra Campbell’s sensitive narration of this novel tells the moving story of documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, whose iconic images of poor and migrant people during the Great Depression brought a human element to a tragic period in U.S. history. Arriving in San Francisco in 1918 at the age of 22, Lange was determined to support herself and quickly became a successful portrait photographer. Campbell’s expressive voice embodies the indignation Lange felt at many people’s dire economic circumstances in the 1930s, which led to her work for the U.S. government documenting destitute migrant families and, later, Japanese-Americans living in internment camps. Campbell’s equally warm and sympathetic voice reflects Lange’s guilt and self-doubt as her health began to fail and her children suffered as she put her work before all else. J.E.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile
Cassandra Campbell’s sensitive narration of this novel tells the moving story of documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, whose iconic images of poor and migrant people during the Great Depression brought a human element to a tragic period in U.S. history. Arriving in San Francisco in 1918 at the age of 22, Lange was determined to support herself and quickly became a successful portrait photographer. Campbell’s expressive voice embodies the indignation Lange felt at many people’s dire economic circumstances in the 1930s, which led to her work for the U.S. government documenting destitute migrant families and, later, Japanese-Americans living in internment camps. Campbell’s equally warm and sympathetic voice reflects Lange’s guilt and self-doubt as her health began to fail and her children suffered as she put her work before all else. J.E.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile
