An Absence So Great: A Novel
Written by Jane Kirkpatrick
Narrated by Susan Denaker
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Did photography replace an absence in her life or expose the truth of her heart's emptiness?
While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele's personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she's put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as "water under the bridge," she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.
Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can't keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.
Jane Kirkpatrick
Jane Kirkpatrick is the author of twenty books and is a two-time winner of the WILLA Literary Award. Her first novel, A Sweetness to the Soul, won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award, an honor given to writers such as Barbara Kingsolver and Larry McMurtry. For twenty-six years she "homesteaded" with her husband Jerry on a remote ranch in Eastern Oregon. She now lives with Jerry, and her two dogs and one cat on small acreage in Central Oregon while she savors the value of friendship over fame.
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Reviews for An Absence So Great
8 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From my blog...An Absence So Great is the second novel in Jane Kirkpatrick's Portrait of a Heart series, the first novel being A Flickering Light. It was not until I had finished the novel and read the author's notes that I discovered this series is based on her grandmother's life. An Absence So Great is a beautifully written novel, which takes place in 1910 Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jessie Gaebele, an unmarried 18-year old has left her hometown of Winona, Minnesota to work as a photographer in the Johnson Studio, while boarding with the delightful Harms family. Jessie is an adventurous woman, especially for the time period, and has set in her mind three conditions that must be met before she will travel home. First she must have enough money saved to buy her own studio in Winona, second, she must prove to herself she can make wiser decisions and third she must be able to tell herself the truth about her feelings for Fred Bauer. Jane Kirkpatrick writes a beautiful historical novel with a strong main character and so many delightful characters that come in and out of Jessie's life. One of my favourite parts was when a new section would begin with a photograph and a description of the photograph, the time, the place, the emotions, and one was transported back to the world in which Jessie lived. An Absence So Great is a beautiful novel of learning, finding out what is important in one's life, being true to oneself, love, loss, and family. An Absence So Great makes for a delightful evening of reading and would be a brilliant selection for a discussion group.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My thoughts: Again I found myself reading a book for review that has books preceding it. So it is better of course if you read the first book, The Flickering Light as it is the first book in the series. Jessie is a young woman who has a passion for photography and her goal is to have her own studio. One of the obstacles she faces is the time she lives in where if a woman wants to branch out from being a wife and mother, she is told to "let your husband/father/brother do this sort of work and you go get married and have babies". In the early 1900's a woman had to fight to be able to do things she wants to but if she does that she is considered to be a "loose" woman. Jessie relies on her faith and determination to achieve her goals. She is also trying to go on after a forbidden and scandalous relationship with a unhappily married man whom she also worked with. The man had mercury poisoning from the solutions used in developing pictures. I enjoyed this story and I was drawn to it because the story takes place in Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Eau Clare to be exact. I grew up in Milwaukee so I found it interesting to read what Milwaukee was like at the turn of the century. In each chapter there was a picture and a description of how this picture was taken and it turns out that the author actually used some of her grandmothers pictures as reference.An enjoyable read! Received this review copy from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jane Kirkpatrick was inspired to write this book based upon a collection of stories told through her grandmother’s history. She also used real photographs some of her family and some taken at the turn of the century which are showcased throughout the novel. An Absence so Great tells a story of a young woman pursuing her dreams as a renowned photographer and a woman torn between loving the wrong or perhaps right man. Not so much a romance novel as this is a look into a woman’s heart for true worth and independence.The book for me started very slow and took awhile to really appreciate, but once I got mid-way through the book it held my interest enough to finish it and find out where Jessie’s heart would lead her. Taking the hard road, one a woman in fiction seldom takes---that being, forgoing staking her claim on the man she loves and leaving everything behind to venture pursuing her own dreams. Number one it was brave and number two due to the fact Fred was married it was a wise decision. That said, I had a hard time liking Fred’s character, whether it was an inability to connect with him or my irritation with Jessie’s feelings for him, I thought the chemistry between them didn’t work and perhaps I was turned off by the fact that Jessie and Fred’s relationship although not sexual started while Fred was still married. Even more I think the age difference was off, Jessie is 18 and Fred is much older with thinning hair, children and a mustache. Ultimately I know love has no age boundaries (of course I’m speaking of legal adults here) but no matter how you slice it- the outcome for these particular characters is laced with tough times ahead. The writing itself was very beautiful and the fresh layout to a somewhat common love story gave the book its originality. I loved the historical background of the book and thought the research defiantly showed on the pages. Sure to be a pleaser for historical and Christian romance fans.