A Flickering Light

Jessie Ann Gaebele is a photographer's assistant in 1907. She struggles with her career, her responsibilities to her family, and her inappropriate feelings for her married employer, F.J. Bauer. Annmarie Lee is the perfect voice for the sensible Jessie. She gives Jessie an air of innocence that is fitting for a young woman coming of age in a small town. Lee portrays the object of Jessie's affection, Mr. Bauer, with a quiet, almost-gruff voice that highlights his German accent. As the point of view shifts between the protagonists, Lee keeps the narration on track, also providing unique voices for members of the Gaebele and Bauer families. The real challenge in this narration is the voicing of the children, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, and in this Lee especially shines. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 9, 2009
Historical novelist Kirkpatrick (A Tendering in the Storm
) is exceptionally authentic in her use of early 20th-century history. Virtually all the characters are real figures; protagonist Jessie Ann Gaebele is inspired in this “biographical fiction” by the writer's own grandmother. Jessie Ann loves photography, and when she is hired as an assistant to photographer F.J. Bauer, she learns about the field of her dreams and also about herself, as she finds herself attracted to her married boss, who battles his own feelings in return. Kirkpatrick renders the war among desire, duty and restraint with exquisite nuance. There are no unsympathetic characters in this tangle of relationships. Bauer's wife—also named Jessie—may be difficult to live with, but she has her reasons. The period detail—dangerous chemicals used in photography, debilitating and frequent illnesses, the routine constraints on women's choices—offers a compelling portrait of the time. Kirkpatrick deserves a wide audience for this coming-of-age tale that is aching and hopeful.