A dazzling novel of one of America’s most celebrated photographers, Dorothea Lange, exploring the wild years in San Francisco that awakened her career-defining grit, compassion, and daring.
“Jasmin Darznik expertly delivers an intriguing glimpse into the woman behind those unforgettable photographs of the Great Depression, and their impact on humanity.”—Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
In this novel of the glittering and gritty Jazz Age, a young aspiring photographer named Dorothea Lange arrives in San Francisco in 1918. As a newcomer—and naïve one at that—Dorothea is grateful for the fast friendship of Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking Chinese American with a complicated past, who introduces Dorothea to Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of the city. Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art, and politics. She also finds herself falling in love with the brilliant but troubled painter Maynard Dixon. As Dorothea sheds her innocence, her purpose is awakened and she grows into the artist whose iconic Depression-era “Migrant Mother” photograph broke the hearts and opened the eyes of a nation.
A vivid and absorbing portrait of the past, The Bohemians captures a cast of unforgettable characters, including Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and D. H. Lawrence. But moreover, it shows how the gift of friendship and the possibility of self-invention persist against the ferocious pull of history.
The Bohemians is a fictionalized historical semi-biography of Dorothea Lange written by Jasmin Darznik. Released 6th April 2021 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a beautifully written and moving account of the first years of Lange's life in California and her early career from 1918-1920 (and a little after). The prose is lyrical and evocative and so skillfully woven into the real historical facts that it's often difficult to figure out where reality shades over into fiction.
Although it's historical fiction, written with scenery, prices, and dialogue true to the time period, there are also many issues and experiences relevant to today which could have been taken directly from the news headlines, including anti-immigrant prejudice, misogyny, poverty, and a pandemic! The book is also full of fun cultural references and artists to read up on and look up. I got almost as much enjoyment from playing the reference hunting game as I did reading the actual narrative.
Four and a half stars. Definitely worth a look, especially for fans of historical fiction.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
