A beautiful story of a friendship between two very different women, set in San Francisco beginning in 1918, but at the same time so much more than that, Jasmin Darznik’s The Bohemians is a sometimes dazzling, sometimes heartbreaking, look at a world of one hundred years ago that at times looks shockingly like our world today.
Through the lens of historical fiction, Darznik brings us the world of Dorothea Lange as a young woman in her 20s, not too many years before she gained fame as a documentary photographer and photojournalist, her experiences in the artists’ mecca that San Francisco had become, and primarily her close friendship with Caroline, a young woman of Chinese descent who helped open Dorothea’s eyes to people and issues she had seldom (if ever) previously considered. Dark, difficult issues such as racial discrimination and prejudice, child trafficking, corrupt politicians, patriarchy, and societal exclusion are all addressed throughout the story with a sincere and unflinching hand. So many concerns that we tend to think only exist in the “modern” world have been clearly illustrated here as problems that have existed for many years.
Most striking of all, however, based on the time period this story is set in, is the descriptions of the Spanish Flu that ravaged the world between 1918 and 1920. From angry discussions about a requirement to wear masks, to fear and dread that spread much faster than accurate information, and politicians who seemed to believe they could legislate where the virus would strike next, the reflection of today’s world was at times disturbing. Conversely, it was incredibly refreshing to read the accounts of life eventually returning to normal and being able to leave the fear and devastation in the past and once again embrace the aspects of life that had been so important pre-pandemic.
Personally, my favourite aspect of The Bohemians is that it provided the same excitement and wonder of the late-night scenes in the film Midnight in Paris, where Owen Wilson’s character is suddenly in a world populated by Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Dali, as well as Gertrude Stein and Picasso. The Bohemians draws Lange’s world very much like this. She is at a party one evening when she is introduced to Ansel Adams the same way someone might be introduced to their neighbour’s boss. Frida Kahlo and Imogen Cunningham appear in the story, along with Lange’s one-time husband Maynard Dixon. The cameos by some of these giants will at times leave readers with a deep interest in art or art history absolutely giddy.
Lovers of historical fiction will not be let down by this beautifully told story, but it will likely be of equal fascination to those interested in tracing some of the problems and issues in society today, those interested in the history of the San Francisco Bay area, and anyone looking for a complicated but compassionate story of a long time, deeply-held, friendship between two fascinating women.
The Bohemians is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up The Bohemians? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
In 1918, Dorothea Lange leaves the East Coast for California, where a disaster kick-starts a new life. Her friendship with Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking woman with a complicated past, gives her entrée into Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of San Francisco. Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art, and politics. She also finds herself unexpectedly–and unwisely–falling in love with Maynard Dixon, a brilliant but troubled painter. Dorothea and Caroline eventually create a flourishing portrait studio, but a devastating betrayal pushes their friendship to the breaking point and alters the course of their lives.
The Bohemians captures San Francisco in the glittering and gritty 1920s, with cameos from such legendary figures as Mabel Dodge, Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and DH Lawrence . At the same time, it is eerily resonant with contemporary themes, as anti-immigration sentiment, corrupt politicians, and the Spanish flu bring tumult to the city–and as the gift of friendship and the possibility of self-invention persist against the ferocious pull of history.
