The Effects of Light

"The Effects of Light" is a daring look into the world of photography today. A story of the deep love between motherless sisters and the bonds they hold with the adults in their lives. These two sisters, five years apart, begin at a very young age to model (mainly nude) for a good friend of their fathers. Throughout the eight years of modeling, the girls grow older and into puberty and one into a woman, but for the other tragety hits before true adulthood. This is the base, and conflict of this compelling novel. Was this tragedy caused by nude photographs of young girls? That is for the reader to decide. As for my Title, I say this is more of a Non fiction book because what many dont know is that the author of this book actually grew up with her younger sister being a nude model for a famous photographer. Many of the acts of the photographer are directly from the real photographer (Jock Sturges). The way the author describes the acts and thoughts of Myla (roughly based on herself) and Pru (roughly based on her little sister) are very accurate to how she really feels or felt being a figurative model under the age of 18. I think that this is a very important book for all art critics and anyone who disagrees with the work of Jock Sturges to read. Although, much of this book is fiction (ie. death), you will get to hear the side of these models from their point of view, not the ones who trash these photographs. I jumped to the bookstore when this book came out. Jock Sturges is not only my favorite photographer, but a teacher of mine, and Bthe author shows that these young models are given the choice of getting in front of the camera not forced. Aside from all that, this is a great book that needs to be read.

THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT is a disarming, provocative book. Gorgeous prose, compelling characters, and a forceful plot keep the pages turning fast. All these elements should make for a really "easy read." Just sweep through the pages, weep at the ending, then move on in your life with a sense of pleasure, as one can do with so many well-written books these days. Sure, the tale is tragic -- it concerns the terrible death of a young girl and its devastating consequences on her older sister's life -- but Americans love their tragedy, both cushioned, as in THE LOVELY BONES, and stark, as in Marya Hornbacher's recently published THE CENTER OF WINTER. So why does this book linger and disturb so effectively? The answer is simple, the implications complex. More than just a good story, THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT not only aspires to be, but also deftly becomes that rarity: a highly readable novel of ideas. This does not mean that the book simply presents smart people caught in the act of thinking. No, it requires the reader to join in on the thinking with tools provided -- sometimes a little awkwardly, but mostly quite matter-of-factly -- along the way. Multiple points of view abound. This is helpful, because the topic we are given to contemplate is a difficult one for many Americans to stomach. Can photographs of nude girl children ever be considered art? If we answer "Yes" to this question, knowing what we presumably know about the world, how do we protect both the art and the girls in the art? And what happens if we fail to protect them? What is our moral responsibility to our children and their constitutional freedoms? Who owns their bodies? Who gets to say? As well as an extended meditation on the moral force of art, THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT is equally an exploration of what it means to be a good parent. Who is a good parent? Is it possible to be one if you are a distracted and brilliant widowed father who imbues his daughters with such a sense of self-confidence and well-being that they don't know how to fear the world sufficiently? That is one possible description of David Wolfe, the girls' father. Another would be this: a man who wants his daughters to feel the power of their own minds and voices as they learn to grow up in a community held together by optimism and a belief in the life of thought. David may seem foolish in his hope, but Beverly-Whittemore allows us to puzzle over whether such foolishness could ever be the source of such terrible tragedy. David bears no small resemblance to Atticus Finch in his idealistic assumption that people ought to be good. We should ask no less of them. This is a beautifully structured novel, composed of two intertwined narrative strands, broken occasionally by single-page "Proofs," verbal depictions of single black and white photographic images. One of the narratives, a first person account by Prudence, the younger sister, allows us to watch as the tragedy unfolds; the second allows us to witness Myla, the bi

THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT is a luminous story --- part family drama, part mystery, and part rumination on the philosophy of art. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore combines these elements to create a poignant, thought-provoking, and well-crafted debut novel. For more than a decade, Myla Rose Wolfe has been living under an assumed name. As Kate Scott, a medieval literature professor at a small, secluded East Coast college, she is free of the scandal associated with her family. But when she receives a package from a lawyer who's acting on behalf of an anonymous client, she realizes that no matter how far she runs, or how many details she fabricates about her life, she can't outrun her past. She heads home to Portland, Oregon, to relive the event that changed her family forever --- and to once again become Myla Wolfe. In the first few pages of the book readers learn that Myla's father and 13-year-old sister, Pru, died within months of one another thirteen years ago, sending Myla into a tailspin of grief. The question of how they died is part of what fuels the narrative, and Beverly-Whittemore keeps the suspense heightened by parsing out details about what happened. As children, Myla and Pru posed for family friend and photographer Ruth Handel. The photos --- taken over a period of ten years and some of which depict the young girls naked --- generated a national controversy about exploitation versus art. Myla and Pru's father, a brilliant, widowed college professor, was determined to instill in his daughters a sense of independence, and he allowed them to choose whether or not they wanted to be in Ruth's photographs. To the surprise of Myla and Pru, who enjoyed posing for the photographs and the sense of artistic accomplishment it gave them, the photos were viewed by some as child pornography. Beverly-Whittemore makes interesting use of the photographs as a plot device, including sections called "proof" interspersed throughout the book. Each one describes a photograph of Myla and Pru, the circumstances of which are then revealed in the narrative. The story is propelled along through scenes set in the present as the reader follows Myla's quest to revisit her past, but the heart of the tale lies in the passages narrated by Pru. Reminiscent of THE LOVELY BONES, 13-year-old Pru tells her own story and is a vital presence in the novel. The events she recounts also shed light on Myla's character, their sisterly bond and the dynamics of the family. If you pared THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT down to its basic elements, it still would be a compelling read with engaging characters and a suspenseful storyline. But Beverly-Whittemore doesn't stop there. Through contrasting images of light and dark, artist and audience, past and present, she has created a thinking-person's page-turner. The effect is truly remarkable...and dare I say enlightening? --- Reviewed by Shannon McKenna

A friend of mine in publishing gave me an advanced copy of this book, and after reading it in one marathon sitting last Sunday, all I have to say is...wow. This may be the author's first published work, but it is clear from her effortless prose and detailed plot that talent runs through her veins. I cannot recommend this book more strongly, and I already cannot wait for Beverly-Whittemore's next one.

Lately I've been thinking about first novelists in terms of the gender divide. Ambitious young women tend to write beautifully crafted, lyrically written books exploring passionate human relationships (often gone wrong), while ambitious young men tend to write somewhat atmospheric books that demonstrate some particular aspect of learning or expertise (often esoteric or obsessive.) In both cases what's best is usually the writing itself: one great sentence after another. The ability to develop a good old-fashioned plot, rich with characters who are actually doing things, seems to come with age if it comes at all. So along comes THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT, intent on breaking these unwritten rules. It's a fearless performance, not afraid of trying, and often succeeding, at being brilliant and original, in order to make you think hard about the connection between morality and art. It's also not afraid of pulling, hard, at the heartstrings. And it's a great STORY, full of suspense and tension. I suspect critics will be tempted to slap the author on the hand for being so smart, so earnest, and so talented at the art of story-telling. But I don't think such gate-keeping will work. There's nothing faddish about this first novel; I don't think there will be a way to keep Beverly-Whittemore out of the serious literary running. I read books for a living, and here's one I couldn't put down.