This book sounded very interesting to me, a young girl at the beginning of the 20th century becomes apprentice to a photographer in Minnesota, “biographical fiction” based on the author's grandmother. I was delighted when a generous winner of an Advanced Reading Copy passed it on to me.

As an ARC, it did have errors that most likely were corrected prior to publication, as I expect in an uncorrected proof. Aside from that, I'm afraid it is just not my kind of book. The author is a writer of Christian fiction, not one of my favorite genres, and I did not realize that when I requested it. Still, the book did not get as preachy as it could have. To me, the characters seemed a bit too much cut from cardboard. One of the characters was referred to as “damaged Roy” because he stuttered.

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. ( )

I have tried multiple times to engage with this book. I love coming-of-age stories. The photography angle is also appealing. However, Jessie seems to be an adult disguised as a teen. If her age hadn't been stated I would have assumed she was much older than fifteen. It made me think of 15th - 19th century art where the portraits of children of nobility were 'small adults' in their demeanor and dress. (See, http://www.fundacionjakober.org/index... for examples). I was hopeful but frustrated. I will pass the book along for another LibraryThing user to enjoy.

This is a novel set in early 20th century Minnesota detailing the life of Jessie Gaebele. As a fifteen-year old Jessie already knows what she loves and wants to do for the rest of her life: photography. From the moment she gets her first camera from her uncle, she is enchanted by the nature and landscape and wants to capture their beauty forever. Things get complicated when Jessie gets a job in a photo studio of F. J. Bauer and there is now a real possibility that her dream may become a reality as she

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. ( )

I've tried more than once to sit down and read this book. "Maybe this time I'll get through it," I tell myself. I've never been able to get past the second chapter. It has all the elements I usually enjoy; a heroine with a goal working against the odds to achive her dream and a period setting. But it just doesn't work for me. The first mention of the photographer's wife and how she "doesn't understand him" always irritates me and I find myself wanting to take her aside and talk her into leaving the jerk. After four tries I'm throwing up my hands and admitting defeat.

This was an interesting read for me as I especially enjoy historical biographies. I was drawn to this story because it was about a Midwest person. The discussion of the photographer's wife was sad. I found the attraction to the older man a little hard to believe.